Social services have been issued a warning after a young child suffered a life-threatening head injury.

Brighton and Hove’s Local Safeguarding Children’s Board conducted a review into the case of the boy known as Child G.

The boy was the child of drug addicts and had been under the care of social services in another area before moving to Brighton.

Social workers were not made aware other children had been removed from his mother’s care, and because he was only a temporary resident in Brighton his case was not “flagged up” with a GP.

The Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) said: “It is important if Brighton and Hove is to become a safer place for children to live for everyone to embrace the learning from the review.”

The report said: “Child G is a young child born to substance misusing parents, who had been on a child in need plan in another area, when he moved, unplanned into Brighton and Hove.

“Shortly after his move G sustained a life-threatening head injury.”

Local authorities have a legal duty to safeguard and promote welfare of children seen as in need in their area.

Social services and support workers who deal with vulnerable children were given a list of six recommendations in the report – called a learning review – to improve joined-up thinking between agencies and better protect children.

The report said: “The issue of temporary residents and the lack of referral onto the health visiting service was identified. There is a ‘flagging system’ within practices that can highlight the child as being vulnerable on the GP system. The flagging system is not used if the family are temporary residents. G was not a permanent resident therefore he was not flagged and referred directly to the health visiting service.

“Updated assessments should always be carried out when a child subject to a Child in Need (CIN) plan moves into the area.”

Services ‘must learn from other areas’

Services that work with vulnerable children are urged to learn from cases in other areas.

A Serious Case Review (SCR) should be carried out in every case where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and either a child dies, or a child is seriously harmed, and there are concerns about how they were protected.

If a case does not reach the threshold for an SCR, but there are still lessons that could improve safeguarding practice in Brighton and Hove, then the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) can commission a multi-agency Learning Review like in the case of Child G.