Pool of National Reviewers

Pool of National Reviewers

In 2017 the Government legislated to introduce new national child safeguarding practice reviews (‘national reviews’). National reviews will be commissioned and supervised by the newly appointed Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (‘the Panel’), chaired by Edward Timpson CBE.

The Panel are required by law to set up a pool of potential reviewers to conduct national reviews and make this list public.  The list of individuals in the pool can be found here.

This recruitment exercise is to recruit individuals to the pool of national reviewers whom the Panel will call on to conduct national reviews. Inclusion in the pool is, therefore, not a guarantee of work.

The Panel have stated that:

“Nothing is more important than keeping children safe and the work of the National Panel will be pivotal in driving improvements in child safeguarding practice.

The Panel is working with local areas, and the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, to make sure we develop the most effective learning system to improve safeguarding practice. To support this aim we are looking to recruit additional members to a pool of reviewers which the Panel will draw on to undertake national reviews of cases which raise issues which are particularly complex or of national importance.

The aim of the pool of reviewers is to deliver national reviews which are: 

• dynamic and effective
• delivered within required timescales
• short, crisp and focused
• identify the underlying systemic issues arising from cases that have national relevance or consequences
• be systems focused and highlight learning in a way that can be embedded consistently and coherently across agencies and the system
• challenging and capable of identifying flaws in the established ways of doing things
• be forward facing and identify improvements capable of building the resilience of child safeguarding practice over time”.

In order to be selected for inclusion in the pool of national reviewers, applicants should provide evidence of an ability to:

• Involve safeguarding partners and practitioners to contribute their perspectives without fear of being blamed for actions they took in good faith.
• Recognise the complex circumstances in which practitioners work together to safeguard children.
• Understand practice from the viewpoint of the individuals and organisations involved at the time rather than using hindsight.  
• Distil findings and analysis from a number of studies and cases in order to inform the report’s recommendations.
• Arrive at evidence-based recommendations which focus on professional learning and increasing expertise.
• Involve families, including surviving children, sensitively and transparently, so that they understand how they will be involved and have appropriate expectations. This is important for ensuring that the child is at the centre of the process.
• Work to an agreed schedule. In most cases this will be a within a maximum of 6 months, with set dates for sharing drafts of the review with the Panel.  
• Build relationships with interested parties quickly and instil their confidence. 
• Deploy political intelligence, with an understanding of the critical levers for, and obstacles to, change.
• Handle information securely, being transparent about the way data is collected and analysed.  
• Handle media attention sensitively and in consultation with the Panel, having an awareness of how information lands in the public domain.

The Panel will also consider a potential reviewer’s knowledge, understanding and practice relevant to the ability to undertake and write a national review. This may involve professional knowledge and practice specific to the case or cases under review. For most cases a reviewer will be required to get to grips quickly with:

• The complex circumstances in which professionals work together to safeguard children, including the impact of management, supervision, resources, skills and training.
• The relevant national and local legislative and policy frameworks within which services operate.
• The local and national safeguarding system, including an understanding of the critical levers for change, the priorities at play, and how these interact across networks. 
• The principles of the systems methodology recommended by the Munro review. The methodology employed by the reviewer should provide a way of looking at and analysing front line practice as well as organisational structures and learning. The methodology should be able to reach recommendations that will improve outcomes for children.

Applicants should be aware that the Panel may require additional skills and experience from those listed above, depending on the nature of the review

National reviews should be completed and published within six months of the date to initiate a review.  

Please review applicant pack below for details on how to apply:

Interview Dates:  5^th, 6^th 11^th and 12^th June 2019