Official Statistics

Child death reviews: year ending 31 March 2011

Data from local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs) in England.

Documents

Pre-release access list: OSR11/2011

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternative.formats@education.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Main text: OSR11/2011

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternative.formats@education.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Main tables: OSR11/2011

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternative.formats@education.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Underlying data: OSR11/2011

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email alternative.formats@education.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Reference Id: OSR11/2011

Publication Type: Statistical Release

Publication data: Underlying Statistical data

Local Authority data: LA data

Region: England

Release Date: 19 July 2011

Coverage status: Final

Publication Status: Published

The data collection was introduced from 1 April 2008 and is designed to collect information on the number of child deaths which have been reviewed by child death overview panels (CDOPs) on behalf of their LSCBs.

This third year of collection includes reviews completed between 01 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 and for the first time includes additional information about the characteristics of the children who died from all CDOPs (for example the age, gender and cause of death). This additional information was optional for last year’s collection. This is also the first year which data has been collected on the number of deaths which CDOPs assessed as having modifiable factors. Previously CDOPs were asked to assess if a death was preventable.

Data collected from CDOP on the reviews completed between 01 April 2009 and 31 March 2010 can be found in ‘Preventable Child Deaths in England: Year Ending 31 March 2010’.

Key figures

  • 4,061 child death reviews were completed by child death overview panels (CDOPs) in the year ending 31 March 2011.
  • Of the child death reviews completed in the year ending 31 March 2011, 800 were identified as having modifiable factors (20% of all the child death reviews which were completed).
  • CDOP are asked to categorise the likely cause of death. They also record the event which caused the death. Death categorised as being due to trauma and external factors had the highest proportion of deaths identified as having modifiable factors (68%). Deaths due to malignancy had the lowest proportion of deaths which were identified as having modifiable factors, only 4%. Deaths where the event which led to the death was drowning had the highest proportion of deaths identified as having modifiable factors (72%). 69% of deaths were the event which led to the death was a road traffic accident/collision were identified as having modifiable factors. This is based on the child death reviews completed in year ending 31 March 2011 where there was sufficient information available for the CDOP to determine if there were modifiable factors in the death.
  • Modifiable factors are identified in a higher proportion of deaths of older children (38% of deaths in children aged 15 to 17 years) compared to younger children (16% of deaths in children ages under 1 year). This is based on the child death reviews completed in year ending 31 March 2011 where there was sufficient information available for the CDOP to determine if there were modifiable factors in the death.

As part of a Government drive for data transparency in official publications we have included supporting data for this publication as an additional table, and also supplementary information showing the data collection form and the collection guidance notes.

Sarah Wolstenholme
0207 340 8479

Sarah.Wolstenholme@education.gsi.gov.uk

Updates to this page

Published 19 July 2011

Sign up for emails or print this page