National templates for LSCBs to use when collecting information about child deaths

In accordance with Working Together to Safeguard Children (paragraph 7.2) all Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) need to keep information about each child's death. The data will help inform strategic planning on how best to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the area. This information is then discussed by the Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) (set up by the LSCB) to ensure lessons are learnt about how to reduce the incidence of preventable deaths in the future.

In order to assist LSCBs in this task, the Department commissioned Warwick University to lead development work on the templates which can be used by all LSCBs. These data-collection templates build on the data set used in the study undertaken by the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE), and on the findings from Preventing childhood deaths: A study of 'Early Starter' Child Death Overview Panels in England, a study commissioned by the Department. The templates have recently been updated in response to user feedback and are available to download from this page.

Please note that the national templates supersede the CMACE dataset. The Departments national templates should be used for the implementation of LSCB responsibilities under Working Together to Safeguard Children and the information provided will feed into the LSCB preventable child death data collection.

Important: Please use the Department's national template Form A (notification of child deaths) for all child death notifications, including neonates (deaths of infants aged less than 28 days) and deaths defined as 'expected' as well as those that were defined as 'unexpected'.

Neonatal Deaths (those from birth to 28 days of life) should be reported to the MPMN Portal. If this death has occurred in hospital the notification to the MPMN portal may already have been made by the midwifery unit or neonatal unit with a copy to their local CDOP coordinator so please check before submitting the notification.

If the death has not been reported to the Portal by the midwifery or neonatal unit please complete a notification form on the MPMN Portal. Access to the Portal is by registration only. In order to obtain registration details please email enquiries@mpmn.nhs.uk. Please also securely send a copy of the MPMN Perinatal Notification Form to your CDOP coordinator  together with the supplemental form B2 for Neonatal death.

Please note hard copy CMACE forms must no longer be submitted. All death notifications must be made via the MPMN Portal.