Death of a Care Leaver One Minute Guide

Death of a Care Leaver One Minute Guide

Who is this guide for?

This guide is for those practitioners working across both North Yorkshire and the City of York.

Statutory guidance requirement:

In December 2023, the Department for Education updated Working Together.  Chapter 5 Learning from Serious Child Safeguarding Incidents now requires the local authority, on behalf of safeguarding children partners, to notify the Secretary of State for Education and Ofsted of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24.

Why is it important that the Death of a Care Leaver is reported?

By submitting a notification, it will ensure that relevant learning from incidents is identified and fed back into the wider safeguarding system to prevent future harm or death and will allow the Department for Education to understand and learn more about what has happened so they can make better informed policy decisions to prevent future deaths.

What to do if you know a Care Leaver has died?

If you are a practitioner in York or North Yorkshire and you become aware of the death of a care leaver up to the age of 24 then you are responsible for completing the Child Death Review Form.

When should a notification be made?

As outlined in Working Together to Safeguard Children, local authorities have a duty to notify Ofsted and the Secretary of State where a child dies or is seriously harmed, and abuse or neglect is known or suspected within five working days of becoming aware it has occurred. This includes the notification following the death of a care leaver.

Who is responsible for notifying the Secretary of State and Ofsted?

The local authority is responsible for notifying the Secretary of State for Education and Ofsted of the death of a care leaver up to and including the age of 24. The notification should be made in the same way as for a Child Serious Incident Notification.

Does a Rapid Review or Local Safeguarding Practice Review need to happen?

No. However, if local partners believe that multi-agency learning can be gained from the death of a care leaver, they may wish to undertake a local child safeguarding practice review, even if the criteria for a serious incident does not apply.  It is the responsibility for each local authority area to decide.  For example, for North Yorkshire a discussion may be had at Safeguarding Practice Review Subgroup and within City of York a discussion may be had at the Case Review Subgroup.

For further support or guidance please visit:

• North Yorkshire Children Partnership Website
• City of York Children Partnership Website
• Or contact Child Death Review Officer: cdop@northyorks.gov.uk

Last Updated 21 November 2024