Case recording in child protection: An exploration of the evidence base and good practice

There is a statutory duty for all practitioners to record information in child protection work in England. Case recording is a daily task for practitioners, yet an under‐researched area of practice. This continuing professional development (CPD) paper will consider the context in which case recording takes place and highlight messages from child protection reviews and enquiries before exploring learning from contemporary research. The complexities of case recording will be considered and how practitioners can reflect upon and improve their daily case recording skills. Practitioners are encouraged to keep the child's views and experiences central and consider the long‐term impact of case recording on adults who have experienced abuse and neglect in childhood. Key Practitioner Messages Case recording is a complex and nuanced task, often missing the multiple perspectives inherent in a child's narrative. The views, experiences and identity of individual children and young people can be lost in case recording, especially for very young children, older children and those in sibling groups. Case recording has a support function for care experienced adults to understand their childhood histories, aiding recovery from abuse and neglect.