• To be a standing group of Dorset Safeguarding Children Board (Dorset SCB) and Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Children Board (Bournemouth and Poole LSCB);
• To produce an annual report to both DSCB and LSCB by 31 January each year;
• To devise and deliver an agreed work plan that reflects the priorities of the DSCB/LSCB;
• The chair or deputy chair of the group to provide a verbal report/update at DSCB/LSCB meetings or at other times as agreed by the DSCB/LSCB;
• The group is empowered by Dorset SCB and Bournemouth and Poole LSCB to make decisions, where this is consistent with the achievement of the agreed work plan;
• Individual agencies retain responsibility for meeting their own particular statutory duties and responsibilities.

To be responsible for reviewing information on all child deaths on behalf of the DSCB/LSCB and be accountable to the DSCB/LSCB Chairs.

2.2 To discharge the responsibility of the DSCB/LSCB in relation to the deaths of any children normally resident in their area as follows;
(a) Collecting and analysing information about each death with a view to identifying: (i) Any case giving rise to the need for a serious case review
(ii) Any matters of concern affecting the safety and welfare of children in the area of the authority; and
(iii) Any wider public health or safety concerns arising from a particular death or from a pattern of deaths in that area;
(b) Recommending to the DSCB/LSCB procedures for ensuring that there is a coordinated response by the local authority, their Board partners and other relevant persons to an unexpected death.

2.3 An overview of all child deaths in the DSCB/LSCB areas covered by the Child Death Overview Panel will be undertaken. This will be a paper exercise based on information available from those who were involved in the care of the child both before and immediately after the death and other sources including, perhaps the coroner. The Panel will:

• hold regular meetings at time intervals which enable each child’s case to be discussed in a timely manner;
• review the appropriateness of the professionals’ response to each unexpected death of a child, their involvement before the death, and relevant environmental, social, health and cultural aspects of each death, to ensure a thorough consideration of how such deaths might be prevented in the future.
• identify any patterns or trends in the local data and report these to the DSCB/LSCB.

2.4 The functions of the Child Death Overview Panel will include:

• implementing, in consultation with the local Coroner, local procedures and protocols which are in line with this guidance on enquiring into unexpected deaths and evaluating these together with information about all deaths in childhood;
• collecting and collating an agreed minimum data set and where relevant seeking information from professionals and family members;
• meeting frequently to evaluate the routinely collected data on the deaths of all children and thereby identifying lessons to be learnt or issues of concern, with a particular focus on effective inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children;
• having a mechanism to evaluate specific cases in depth, where necessary, at subsequent meetings;
• monitoring the appropriateness of the response of professionals to an unexpected death of a child, reviewing the reports produced by the rapid response team on each unexpected death of a child, making a full record of this discussion and providing the professionals with feedback on their work. Where there is an ongoing criminal investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service must be consulted as to what it is appropriate for the panel to be considering and what actions it might take in order not to prejudice any criminal proceedings;
• referring to the Chair of the DSCB/LSCB any deaths where, on evaluating the available information, the Panel considers there may be grounds to undertake further enquiries, investigations or a Serious Case Review and explore why this had not previously been recognised.
• informing the Chair of the DSCB/LSCB where specific new information should be passed to the Coroner or other appropriate authorities;
• providing relevant information to those professionals involved with the child’s family, so that they in turn can convey this information in a sensitive and timely manner to the family;
• monitoring and advising the DSCB/LSCB on the resources and training required locally to ensure an effective inter-agency response to child deaths;
• organising and monitoring the collection of data for the nationally agreed minimum data set and make recommendations (to be approved by DSCB/LSCB) for any additional data to be collected locally;
• identifying any public health issues and considering with the Director(s) of Public Health how best to address these and their implications for both the provision of services and for training;
• co-operating with regional and national initiatives e.g. the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) (Found at: http://cemach.org.uk/) to identify lessons on the prevention of unexpected child deaths

The Child Death Overview Panel will have a core membership drawn from the key organisations represented on the DSCB/LSCB. It will include professionals from public health as well as child health. Other members may be co-opted as required. A member nominated by the LSCB Chairs will chair the overview panel. The chair of the overview panel will be a member of the DSCB/LSCB. She/he should not be involved in providing direct services to children and families in the area.

Chair: Adrian Dawson, Director of Public Health, NHS Bournemouth & Poole

Other members may be co-opted onto the group as appropriate.

The Panel will meet regularly at 3 monthly intervals but may hold extra meetings if matters are identified by the Chair of the Panel or Chairs of the LSCB which require an early response.

Meetings will be minuted by the CDOP Administrator and minutes will be circulated within 2 weeks of the meeting being held;

Agenda and supporting papers will be circulated at least one week in advance of the meeting

The chair of the group will ensure co-ordination with the other working groups and will facilitate an annual review of these terms of reference, amending as necessary

In the event of a dispute arising between agencies across or within groups which cannot be resolved, the chair will draw this to the attention of the DSCB/LSCB chairs for determination of appropriate action.