What is CDOP?
In line with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018, the responsibility for ensuring the review of child deaths is carried out is held by ‘child death review partners’ who, in relation to a local authority area in England, are defined as the Local Authority (LA) for that area and any Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) operating in the Local Authority area.
For the Blackpool, Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen region, the deaths of all children under the age of 18 are reviewed by the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) which is administered through the Children’s Safeguarding Assurance Partnership. The Panel are not given any names and the details are dealt with anonymously, with the main purpose being to identify lessons and prevent future child deaths.
The child death review partners operate in line with the requirements of the statutory guidance:
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 and;
Child Death Review: Statutory and Operational Guidance (England) 2018.
CDOP Annual Report
In addition, the Child Death Overview Panel also publish an Annual Report on the partnership arrangements which highlights trends and patterns across the Pan-Lancashire area. A public copy of the report is made available (small numbers are suppressed to protect the identity of individual cases) and can be accessed below:
CDOP Annual Report 2020/21 (public copy)
You can find out more about some of our CDOP activities and functions through the CDOP Topics links provided below.
The resources below may provide useful information to support bereaved families. In addition, further information can also be found in our dedicated SUDC section.
The Child Death Review process
If you are a parent or carer and would like more information on CDOP, the leaflet on the left provides information and guidance about the child death review process.
Bereavement Services
The Panel has collated information relating to local bereavement services where families can be referred for support following the death of a child (updated November 2021). Click or tap on the image on the left to access this information.
You may also find additional useful information and supporting resources in the SUDC section highlighted in the CDOP Topics above.
Notifying CDOP of a child death is done online using Form A of the eCDOP system. To notify CDOP of a child death, please click/tap the eCDOP Reporting button in the CDOP Topics section below.
Should you require further information or guidance about reporting a child death, please contact a member of the CDOP Team using the Enquiry Form at the bottom of this page or Telephone: 01772 530329
The purpose of a child death review is to review and analyse information in relation to each child that dies in order to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of other children. Through the child death review process, the panel aim to determine any contributing factors and identify any learning or themes arising from the process that may prevent future child deaths. The panel will make recommendations to organisations where actions have been identified which may prevent future deaths.
All Child Death Overview Panels must submit information to the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD). NCMD is a public-sector programme that gathers information on all children who die before their 18th birthday across England. Their national data collection and analysis system is the first of its kind anywhere in the world to record comprehensive data on the circumstances of children’s deaths which is standardised across a whole country (England).
The NCMD aim to publish a number of reports based on the data they collect (with amalgamated and anonymised data) throughout the life of the programme. Further information on NCMD publications can be found at: www.ncmd.info/publications
All CDOPs prepare an Annual Report on local patterns and trends in child death. The report includes any lessons learned, actions taken and scrutinises the effectiveness of the wider child death review process. Note: The CDOP Annual Report will never include any identifiable case information.
Since 1 April 2008, there has been a statutory requirement that CDOPs conduct a review for all child deaths aged 0-17 years who normally reside in their area (excluding stillbirths and legal terminations of pregnancy). A child death review must be carried out for all children regardless of the cause of death.
The Child Death Review: Statutory and Operational Guidance (England) was published in October 2018 and sets out the full process that follows the death of a child who is normally resident in England. The guidance can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-death-review-statutory-and-operational-guidance-england
The child death review process starts from the moment of a child’s death to the completion of a review meeting and normally takes between 4-18 months to complete. The length of the review may vary depending on individual circumstances and whether there are any related investigations. Whilst there are recommended timeframes for investigations, they may be potentially be delayed for a variety of reasons.
NHS England has published a guide for parents and carers which can be accessed from the SUDC section of this site. The guide has been put together by a group of support organisations, professionals and bereaved parents. The guide is designed for parents and carers of a child under 18 and explains the steps that follow the death of a child and the support that is available.
Families should also be assigned a key worker who acts as a single point of contact and someone whom they can turn to for information on the child death review process.
