What happens when a child dies

We understand that reporting the death of a child is an incredibly difficult and sensitive task. The following guidance aims to provide the important steps to help ensure the right support and learning can follow.  If you are a professional needing to report a child’s death, please complete the eCDOP form using the link below, so that the appropriate agencies are notified and the necessary review processes can begin.

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Please remember, it is a statutory requirement to notify CDOP of all child deaths from birth up to their 18th birthday. If multiple agencies are involved, please liaise to agree which one will submit the notification. However, unless you know someone else has already done so, please notify CDOP with as much information as possible.

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Note: Only complete a notification form if you are registering a death for the first time.

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Complete eCDOP form here

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Once submitted, a coordinator will contact all professionals and agencies who were involved with the child or family. Those identified will be sent a reporting form to complete and return as soon as possible to support the review process.

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If abuse or neglect is suspected as a possible cause of death, the Child Death SPOC will inform the Head of Safeguarding for Children and Business Manager of CSCP who will then log a Serious Incident Notification. 

 
Child Death Reviews
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The Child Death Review process applies to all children, defined by the Children Act 1989 as individuals under 18 years of age. A review should be conducted for every child death, regardless of the cause. This includes the death of any live-born baby for whom a death certificate has been issued. Croydon is part of the Southwest London Child Death Overview Panel (SWL CDOP), which also includes the boroughs of Sutton, Merton, Wandsworth, Richmond, and Kingston. All child deaths of Croydon residents will be reviewed by Croydon / SWL CDOP.

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Prior to review at the SWL CDOP, there will have been a Joint Agency Response (JAR) meeting IF the JAR criteria are met. This must be held within 5 working days of a child’s death. The Joint Agency Response meeting is chaired by the Designated Doctor for Child Death Reviews.

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Joint Agency Response (JAR) criteria are set out in Working Together 2023.

 

A JAR is required if a child’s death:

• is or could be due to external causes 

• is sudden and there is no immediately apparent cause (including sudden unexpected death in infancy/childhood) 

• occurs in custody, or where the child was detained under the Mental Health Act 

• occurs where the initial circumstances raise any suspicions that the death may not have been natural 

• occurs in the case of a stillbirth where no healthcare professional was in attendance.

 

All child deaths will be subject of a Child Death Review Meeting (CDRM). The CDRM is chaired by a Consultant Paediatrician from Croydon University Hospital. This is the multi-professional meeting that takes place prior to the child death review partners review (SWL CDOP). At the meeting, all matters relating to an individual child’s death are discussed by professionals involved with the case. Learning from cases will be published in an annual report this data is also shared with the National Child Mortality Database.