The Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership are commissioning this review in partnership with NHS England who will be undertaking a concurrent review into mental health services. The NHS England reviewer will sit on the CSPR Panel and will work collaboratively with the lead reviewer for the CSPR contributing to the adult mental health aspects of the review.

The review has been triggered following the rapid review into the deaths of 3 children Bristol in February 2024. We aim to both better understand the circumstances leading to the children’s deaths and any learning for the partnership – and answer the broader research questions for the Bristol safeguarding system. We are looking for a lead reviewer with a depth of practice expertise in the safeguarding and child protection response for families from global majority communities.

Our research questions are the following:

1. How effective were practitioners in understanding and responding to the children’s lived experience in their response?
2. How were decisions about risk and safety made at key points in relation to the maternal mental health? Were these decisions evidence based and how did contributing factors including service demand and intersectionality/bias inform them consciously and unconsciously?
3. What can we learn about how to work effectively and ethically with family and community networks in establishing safety for children and for adults who are experiencing mental health crisis?
4. What barriers are there to issues of honour-based violence and domestic abuse being identified, assessed and protective action being taken?
5. How are agencies fulfilling their equalities duties and practicing with cultural competency in the use of statutory powers and intervention?