Child Death Review Data Release: Year ending 31 March 2024

Please note this is no longer our most recent data release. You can find a list of all our data releases in our Publications section.

1. Introduction

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The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) was launched on 1 April 2019 and collates data collected by Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) in England, from reviews of all children who die at any time after birth and before their 18th birthday. There is a statutory requirement for CDOPs to collect these data and to provide them to NCMD, as outlined in the Child Death Review statutory and operational guidance. The guidance requires all Child Death Review (CDR) Partners to gather information from every agency that has had contact with the child, during their life and after their death, including health and social care services, law enforcement, and education services. This is done using a set of statutory CDR forms and the information is then submitted to NCMD.

Every child who dies is a precious individual and their deaths represent a devastating loss for parents, siblings, grandparents, carers, guardians, extended family and friends. With all child deaths there is a strong need to understand what happened, and why. We must ensure that anything that can be learned to prevent future deaths from happening is identified and acted upon.

The data in this report summarise information about child deaths in England up to 31 March 2024 and the findings of reviews carried out by a CDOP on or before 31 March 2024.

It should be read in conjunction with the data tables, where more detail is available.

2. Child death notifications

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There were 3,577 child (0 – 17 years) deaths in England in the year ending 31 March 2024, an estimated rate of 29.8 deaths per 100,000 children. The number of deaths decreased by 4% on the previous year but remained higher than 2019-20. Infant (children under 1 year) deaths decreased by 2% on the previous year and deaths of children aged between 1 and 17 years decreased by 8% (Figure 1). Although the number of infant deaths decreased, the estimated infant death rate increased from 3.8 to 3.9 per 1,000 live births. 

Figure 1. Number of child death notifications, by year ending 31 March

The child death rate varied across regions in England, with the rate ranging from 24.2 to 40.7 per 100,000 population of 0-17-year-olds (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Estimated child death rate per 100,000 population, by region

The child death rate in the year ending 31 March 2024 remained highest for children of black or black British ethnicity (55.4 per 100,000 population) and Asian or Asian British ethnicity (46.8 per 100,000 population) (Figure 3). The rates for all ethnic groups have decreased in comparison to the previous year.

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Figure 3. Estimated child death rate per 100,000 population, by ethnicity

Within these ethnicity groupings, over a five-year period, the child death rate was highest for children of Asian Pakistani ethnicity (57.0 per 100,000 population), followed by any other Asian background (51.8 per 100,000 population), black African (51.3 per 100,000 population) or black Caribbean (51.3 per 100,000 population) (Figure 4). This was more than double the rate of children from a white British ethnic background (22.9 per 100,000 population). The child death rate was lowest for those of Chinese ethnicity (16.4 per 100,000 population).

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Figure 4. Estimated death rates for children aged between 0 and 17 years per 100,000 population, by ethnicity (years ending 2020-2024)

The child death rate for children resident in the most deprived neighbourhoods of England was 42.9 per 100,000 population, more than twice that of children resident in the least deprived neighbourhoods (17.2 per 100,000 population) (Figure 5). The child death rates decreased from the previous year for both quintiles, although the difference in rates between these areas is still higher than any year recorded before 2023.

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Figure 5. Estimated child death rate per 100,000 population, by most/least deprived quintiles

Over the five-year period, death rates for children of black and Asian ethnicity remained higher than for children of white British ethnicity across all five deprivation quintiles (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Estimated death rates for children aged between 0 and 17 years per 100,000 population, by IMD quintile and ethnicity (Years ending 2020 – 2024)

For children aged between 1 and 17 years, the highest death rate continued to be for children aged between 15-17 years (19.3 per 100,000 population), followed by 1-4-year-olds (16.1 per 100,000 population) (Figure 7). Death rates for all age groups decreased in comparison to the previous year.

Figure 7. Estimated death rates for children aged between 1 and 17 years per 100,000 population, by age group

Infant deaths

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Deaths of infants (babies under 1 year of age) accounted for 61% of all child deaths in the year ending 31 March 2024.

The infant death rate was 3.9 per 1,000 live births, an increase from the previous year (3.8), and remained higher than 2019-20 (Figure 8). For infants born at 24 weeks or over, the estimated death rate was 2.7 deaths per 1,000 live births of the same gestational age; the same rate as the previous two years.

Figure 8. Estimated infant death rate per 1,000 live births

Patterns of infant deaths were similar to those reported for all child deaths. The estimated infant death rate continued to be highest for infants of black or black British ethnicity (6.8 per 1,000 live births); more than double the rate of infants of white ethnicity (3.2 per 1,000 live births) (Figure 9). The death rate of infants of Asian or Asian British ethnicity (5.4 per 1,000 live births) also continued to be higher than for white infants.

Figure 9. Estimated infant death rate per 1,000 live births, by ethnicity

Within these ethnicity groupings, over a five-year period, the infant death rate was highest for infants of black Caribbean ethnicity (9.2 per 1,000 infant population), followed by black African (8.4 per 1,000 infant population), and Asian Pakistani (7.2 per 1,000 infant population) (Figure 10). This was higher than the rate for white British ethnic background (2.8 per 1,000 infant population).

The death rate of infants who were resident in the most deprived neighbourhoods of England (5.5 per 1,000 infant population), remained more than twice that of infants resident in the least deprived neighbourhoods (2.0 per 1,000 infant population) (Figure 11). Similar to all child deaths, the infant death rates for the most and least deprived areas have decreased compared to the previous year but the difference in rates between these areas remained higher than the prior three years.

Figure 11. Estimated infant death rate per 1,000 infant population, by most/least deprived quintiles

Infant mortality varied across regions of England, with rates ranging from 3.1 to 5.7 per 1,000 live births (Figure 12).

Figure 12. Estimated infant death rate per 1,000 live births, by region

Neonatal deaths

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Neonatal deaths (deaths of babies under 28 days of age) accounted for 42% of all child deaths in the year ending 31 March 2024.

The estimated neonatal death rate was 2.7 per 1,000 live births, an increase from the previous year (2.6) and remained higher than 2019-20 (Figure 13). The estimated neonatal death rate for babies born at 24 weeks or over was 1.6 deaths per 1,000 live births of babies born at 24 weeks or over; the same as the previous two years. The neonatal mortality rate ambition is to reduce to 1.0 deaths per 1,000 live births of babies born at 24 weeks or over, by 2025.

Figure 13. Estimated neonatal death rate per 1,000 live births

80% of neonatal deaths were of babies born at a premature gestational age (before 37 weeks) (Figure 14), which was an increase from those seen in previous years. The proportion of neonatal deaths notified to CDOPs of babies born under 24 weeks gestation also increased (39% vs 33% in the year ending March 2020).

This increase in deaths of babies under 24 weeks is difficult to interpret but may be impacted by multiple factors, such as more consistent recognition of signs of life by clinical teams, babies receiving survival focussed care, appropriate completion of MCCDs (medical certificate of cause of death), and better reporting to CDOPs.

Figure 14. Proportion of neonatal deaths by gestational age at birth

Further information on child death notifications can be found within Tables 1-13, including a breakdown of infant and child death rates by Integrated Care Boards, further breakdowns of ethnicity groupings and child death rates by ethnicity and deprivation.

3. Child death reviews by CDOPs

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3,345 child deaths were reviewed by CDOPs in England between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 (some of these deaths may have occurred in earlier years); a similar number to the previous year and the highest number since 2019-20 (Figure 15).

The proportion of reviews that identified modifiable factors continued to rise with 43% of deaths reviewed in the year ending 31 March 2024 identifying modifiable factors. The proportion of reviews with modifiable factors varied per region from 34% to 57% (Table 14).

Figure 15. Number of child death reviews by CDOPs, by year of review and modifiable factors

The most common primary category (i.e., the likely cause) of death for reviews in 2023-24 was Perinatal/neonatal event, which was recorded for 31% of all child death reviews, followed by Chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies (24%), Sudden unexpected and unexplained death (8%), Acute medical or surgical condition (8%) and Malignancy (8%) (Figure 16). These patterns were similar to previous years.

The most common primary category of death for children under 1 was Perinatal/neonatal event; for children aged between 1 and 9 years it was Chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies; and for children aged between 10 and 17 years it was Malignancy. Figure 16 shows the number of reviews by primary category of death and age group.

Figure 16. Number of child death reviews by CDOPs by primary category of death and age group, year ending 31 March 2024

The CDOP is responsible for identifying any modifiable factors in relation to the child’s death. Modifiable factors are defined as factors which, by means of nationally or locally achievable interventions, could be modified to reduce the risk of future child deaths. 

Deaths categorised as Trauma or other external factors had the highest proportion of reviews with modifiable factors (76%), followed by Sudden unexpected and unexplained death (75%), Deliberately inflicted injury, abuse or neglect (73%) and Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm (68%) (Figure 17).

Figure 17. Number of reviews completed by CDOPs by primary category of death and whether modifiable factors were identified, year ending 31 March 2024

Contributory and modifiable factors identified in child death reviews

As part of the child death review process, CDOPs must record any contributory factors identified during the review and decide which may be modifiable. Definitions of these terms can be found in the statutory child death analysis form or guidance notes can be found in the contributory factors guidance. More than one factor can be identified in each child death review.

The most common recorded modifiable factors by CDOPs during reviews of infant deaths were smoking by a parent/carer (198, 27% of infant death reviews with categorised modifiable factors, 10% of all infant death reviews), high maternal body mass index (BMI) (169, 23%, 8%), and smoking in pregnancy (164, 22%, 8%) (Figure 18).

The most common recorded modifiable factors by CDOPs during reviews of deaths of children aged 1 – 17 years were poor communication between agencies (46, 12% of child death reviews (1 – 17 years) with categorised modifiable factors, 4% of all child death reviews (1 – 17 years)), issues with treatment (e.g., delay in starting treatment, side effects or complications developed as a result of treatment, or medical or surgical error) (37, 9%, 3%) and lack of appropriate supervision (e.g., young child unsupervised in a bath) (34, 9%, 3%) (Figure 19).

Known to social care

For reviews completed in the year ending 31 March 2024, 15% of children were known to social care at the time of their death; a similar proportion to previous years (14%) (Figure 20). A further 14% were reported as previously known to social care, which has increased each year from 10% in the year ending 31 March 2020.

Of the 499 reviews where the child was known to social care at the time of their death, 46% identified modifiable factors. The proportion of reviews that identified modifiable factors remains higher for children who were known to social care (46%) than children who were never known to social care (40%).

Figure 20. The proportion of child death reviews by CDOPs, by year of review and whether the child was known to social care

For reviews completed by CDOPs in 2023-24, 4% of the deaths were subject to a local or national Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) (Figure 21), which is a similar proportion to the previous year (3%). Of the 114 reviews where a CSPR took place, 81% of CDOP reviews recorded modifiable factors, an increase from the previous year (74%).

Figure 21. The proportion of child death reviews by CDOPs, by year of review and whether there was a Child Safeguarding Practice Review

Timeliness of CDOP reviews

42% of reviews in the year ending 31 March 2024 were completed by the CDOP within 12 months of the death, a decrease from the previous year, and a continuing fall from 2020 where 67% of reviews were completed within 12 months (Figure 22). The median time taken to complete reviews in 2023-24 was 411 days (around 14 months).

Figure 22. Proportion of child death reviews completed by CDOPs within 12 months of the death

4. Technical information

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All reference tables including further breakdown of data can be found here. 

A child for these purposes is defined as a child aged 0 up to their 18th birthday, excluding stillbirths and planned terminations of pregnancy carried out within the law.

All CDOPs continue to submit data to NCMD on an ongoing basis.  NCMD is dependent on accurate data entry by the CDOPs, and specifically, category of death is presented within the data release as it was submitted by the CDOP. The data included within this release represent child deaths that were submitted to NCMD that were going to be, or had been, reviewed by a CDOP in England. In a small number of reviews, this may include deaths of children usually resident outside of England.

CDOPs are required to assign a category of death to each death reviewed within the Analysis Form, the final output of the child death review process. The classification of categories is hierarchical where the uppermost selected category is recorded as the primary category should more than one category be selected. The definitions for each category can also be found in the analysis form.

The estimated neonatal and infant death rates reported have been calculated using ONS data for live births, and the rate is presented per 1,000 live births.

The estimated child (0-17 years) death rate and death rate of children aged 1-17 years have been calculated using population data of children the same age in England, from the ONS mid-year population estimates (for years ending 31 March 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, 2024), or Census 2021 data (for all years). The rate is presented per 100,000 children of the same age. ONS publish live births data and population estimates using calendar years. As this CDR data release uses financial years, live births and population estimates that correspond to the largest proportion of the financial year were used, for example, 2019 live births and mid-year population estimates were used to calculate rates for deaths occurring in the year ending 31 March 2020, and so on.

Table 4 uses the population of infants (0-year-olds) as a proxy measure for live births, as the data for live births by deprivation and region was not available. This may have a small impact on the rates presented. Due to availability of published population data, each table uses different underlying populations. This means that there may be a small difference in rates reported at national and regional level between tables.

The populations for tables 1 and 2 use the most recent data for all years; for tables 3, 4 and 11 populations for year ending 31 March 2023 are used for year ending 31 March 2024; for tables 6, 12 and 13 Census 2021 data is used for all years.

The data sources are reported under each table and figure.

In some instances, the number of deaths presented is low, and therefore the confidence intervals will be wider. Therefore, all rates should be interpreted alongside actual number of deaths.

Changes were made to data collection of ethnicity by NCMD in April 2021, April 2023 and January 2024 so the following categories are likely to be underestimated. In April 2021 ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’ was added to ‘White’ and ‘Arab’ was added to ‘Other ethnic group’. In April 2023 ‘Roma’ was added to ‘White’ and added to the paper forms in January 2024.

For further information on NCMD data processing please see our Privacy Notice. 

5. Acknowledgements

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The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) Programme is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) is led by a consortium of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, and the Royal College of Nursing. Its aim is to promote quality improvement in patient outcomes, and in particular, to increase the impact that clinical audit, outcome review programmes and registries have on healthcare quality in England and Wales. HQIP holds the contract to commission, manage, and develop the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), comprising around 40 projects covering care provided to people with a wide range of medical, surgical and mental health conditions. The programme is funded by NHS England, the Welsh Government and, with some individual projects, other devolved administrations, and crown dependencies. www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes.

© 2024 Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) 

Our partners

Child Death Review Data Release: Year ending 31 March 2023

Please note this is no longer our most recent data release. You can find a list of all our data releases in our Publications section.

1. Introduction

Back to contents

The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) was launched on 1 April 2019 and collates data collected by Child Death Overview Panels (CDOPs) in England from reviews of all children who die at any time after birth and before their 18th birthday. There is a statutory requirement for CDOPs to collect this data and to provide it to NCMD, as outlined in the Child Death Review statutory and operational guidance. The guidance requires all Child Death Review (CDR) Partners to gather information from every agency that has had contact with the child, during their life and after their death, including health and social care services, law enforcement, and education services. This is done using a set of statutory CDR forms and the information is then submitted to NCMD.

The data in this report summarise the number of child deaths up to 31 March 2023 and the number of reviews of children whose death was reviewed by a CDOP before 31 March 2023.

It should be read in conjunction with the data tables, where more detail is available.

2. Child death notifications

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There were 3,743 child (0 – 17 years) deaths in England in the year ending 31 March 2023, an estimated rate of 31.8 deaths per 100,000 children. The number of deaths increased by 8% on the previous year and was the highest number of deaths in a year since NCMD started data collection in 2019 (Figure 1). Infant (children under 1 year) deaths increased by 4% on the previous year and deaths of children aged between 1 and 17 years increased by 16%.

There were 391 deaths during December 2022, the highest in any single month since 2019.

The child death rate in each region of England ranged from 24.2 to 41.1 per 100,000 population of 0-17 year olds (Figure 2), an increase on the previous year for most regions.

The child death rate in the year ending 31 March 2023 was highest for children of black or black British ethnicity (56.6 per 100,000 population) and Asian or Asian British ethnicity (50.8 per 100,000 population) (Figure 3). The rates for both of these ethnic groups continued to increase in comparison to previous years, whilst the death rate for children of white ethnicity decreased from the previous year and remained lower than all other ethnic groups.

The child death rate for children resident in the most deprived neighbourhoods of England was 48.1 per 100,000 population, more than twice that of children resident in the least deprived neighbourhoods (18.7 per 100,000 population) (Figure 4). Whilst the death rate in the least deprived neighbourhoods decreased slightly from the previous year, the death rate for the most deprived areas continued to rise, demonstrating widening inequalities.

Figure 4. Estimated child death rate per 100,000 population, by most/least deprived quintiles

For children aged between 1 and 17 years, the highest death rate continued to be for children aged between 15-17 years (21.3 per 100,000 population), followed by 1-4 year olds (17.6 per 100,000 population) (Figure 5). Death rates for all age groups increased in comparison to the previous year.

Infant deaths

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Deaths of infants (babies under 1 year of age) accounted for 59% of all child deaths in the year ending 31 March 2023.

The infant death rate was 3.8 per 1,000 live births, an increase from 3.6 in the previous year (Figure 6). However, the estimated death rate for infants born at 24 weeks or over was 2.7 deaths per 1,000 live births of the same gestational age, the same rate as the previous year.

Patterns of infant deaths were similar to those reported for all child deaths. The estimated infant death rate continued to be highest for infants of black or black British ethnicity (8.7 per 1,000 live births), approximately three times the rate of infants of white ethnicity (3.0 per 1,000 live births) (Figure 7). The death rate of infants of Asian or Asian British ethnicity (6.2 per 1,000 live births) also continued to be higher than white infants. Infant death rates for those of black or Asian ethnicity increased in comparison to the previous year, however, the rate of deaths for infants of white ethnicity decreased.

The death rate of infants who were resident in the most deprived neighbourhoods of England was 5.9 per 1,000 infant population, more than twice that of infants resident in the least deprived neighbourhoods (2.2 per 1,000 infant population) (Figure 8). Similar to all child deaths, inequalities in infant deaths widened, with the infant death rate for the most deprived having increased, despite the rate for the least deprived having decreased from the previous year.

The infant death rate in each region of England ranged from 2.9 to 5.3 per 1,000 live births (Figure 9).

Neonatal deaths

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Neonatal deaths (deaths of babies under 28 days of age) accounted for 41% of all child deaths in the year ending 31 March 2023.

The estimated neonatal death rate was 2.7 per 1,000 live births, an increase from 2.4 in the previous year (Figure 10). However, the estimated neonatal death rate for babies born at 24 weeks or over was 1.6 deaths per 1,000 live births of the same gestational age, a decrease from 1.7 in the previous year. The neonatal mortality rate ambition, derived from ONS data, is 1.0 deaths per 1,000 live births of babies born at 24 weeks or over, by 2025.

79% of neonatal deaths were of babies born at a premature gestational age (before 37 weeks) (Figure 11). This proportion was an increase from those seen in previous years, likely due to a rise in deaths notified to CDOPs of babies born under 24 weeks gestation (39% vs 33% in the previous year).

This increase in deaths of babies under 24 weeks is difficult to interpret but is likely impacted by multiple factors such as more consistent recognition of signs of life by clinical teams, babies receiving survival focussed care, appropriate completion of MCCDs (medical certificate of cause of death), and better reporting to CDOPs.

Further information on child death notifications can be found within Tables 1-11, including a breakdown of infant and child death rates by Integrated Care Boards.

3. Child death reviews by CDOPs

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3,271 child deaths were reviewed by CDOPs in England between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023 (some of these deaths may have occurred in earlier years), a 19% increase on the previous year and the highest number since 2019 (Figure 12).

The proportion of reviews that identified modifiable factors continued to rise with 39% of deaths reviewed in the year ending 31 March 2023 identifying modifiable factors. The proportion of reviews with modifiable factors varied per region from 27% to 52% (Table 12).

The most common primary category (i.e., the likely cause) of death for reviews in 2022-23 was Perinatal/neonatal event, which was recorded for 34% of all child death reviews, followed by Chromosomal, genetic and congenital anomalies (24%), Malignancy (9%) and Sudden unexpected and unexplained death (7%) (Figure 13). These patterns were similar to previous years.

The most common primary category of death was Perinatal/neonatal event for children aged under 1, Malignancy for children aged between 1 and 9 years, and Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm for children aged between 10 and 17 years. Figure 13 shows the number of reviews by primary category of death and age group.

The CDOP is responsible for identifying any modifiable factors in relation to the child’s death. Modifiable factors are defined as factors which, by means of nationally or locally achievable interventions, could be modified to reduce the risk of future child deaths. 

Deaths categorised as Deliberately inflicted injury, abuse or neglect had the highest proportion of reviews with modifiable factors (81%), followed by Sudden unexpected and unexplained death (76%), Trauma or other external factors (71%) and Suicide or deliberate self-inflicted harm (50%) (Figure 14).

Following recent improvements to how contributory and modifiable factors are recorded in the statutory analysis form, we expect to be able to include further detail on the specific factors reported in future data releases.

For reviews completed in the year ending 31 March 2023, 15% of children were known to social care at the time of their death, a similar proportion to previous years (14%) (Figure 15). A further 14% were reported as previously known to social care, which has increased each year from 10% in the year ending 31 March 2020.

Of the 496 reviews where the child was known to social care at the time of their death, 42% identified modifiable factors. This was a similar proportion to previous years, and remains higher than reviews of children who were never known to social care (35%).

For reviews completed by CDOPs in 2022-23, 3% of the deaths were subject to a local or national Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) (Figure 16), which is a similar proportion to the previous year (4%). Of the 96 reviews where a CSPR took place, 75% of CDOP reviews recorded modifiable factors, a decrease from the previous year (78%).

45% of reviews in the year ending 31 March 2023 were completed by the CDOP within 12 months of the death, a similar proportion to the previous year, but a fall from 2020 where 67% of reviews were completed within 12 months (Figure 17). The median time taken to complete reviews in 2022-23 was 392 days (around 13 months).

4. Technical information

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All reference tables including further breakdown of data can be found here.

A child for these purposes is defined as a child aged 0 up to their 18th birthday, excluding stillbirths and planned terminations of pregnancy carried out within the law.

All CDOPs continue to submit data to NCMD on an ongoing basis. The NCMD is dependent on accurate data entry by the CDOPs, and specifically, category of death is presented within the data release as it was submitted by the CDOP. The data included within this release represents child deaths that were submitted to NCMD that were going to be, or had been, reviewed by a CDOP in England. In a small number of reviews, this may include deaths of children usually resident outside of England.

The estimated neonatal and infant death rates reported have been calculated using ONS data for live births, and the rate is presented per 1,000 live births.

The estimated child (0-17 years) death rate and death rate of children aged 1-17 years have been calculated using population data of children the same age in England, from the ONS mid-year population estimates (for years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021), or Census 2021 data (for years ending 31 March 2022 and 2023). The rate is presented per 100,000 children of the same age. Following the 2021 Census, ONS plan to release rebased mid-year population estimates for previous years. This rebased data was not available at the time of analysis, and therefore population estimates used in the years ending 31 March 2020 and 2021 are still based upon previous census information. Following release of the rebased estimates from ONS, this CDR data release will be updated using the most accurate population data available in future years. This may have a small impact on the trend reported.

ONS publish live births data and population estimates using calendar years. As this CDR data release uses financial years, live births and population estimates that correspond to the largest proportion of the financial year were used, for example, 2019 live births and mid-year population estimates were used to calculate rates for deaths occurring in the year ending 31 March 2020, and so on.

Census 2021 data (population of 0-17 year olds in England) was used to calculate rates of child death by ethnicity (Table 6) for all years for the child death rate and death rate of children aged 1-17 years. This was because this population data by ethnicity was not available for previous years.

The data sources are reported under each table and figure.

Table 4 uses the population of infants (0 year olds) as a proxy measure for live births, as the data for live births by deprivation and region was not available. This may have a small impact on the rates presented.

Where the most recent live births data for 2022 was not available in the level of detail required at the time of analysis, this was derived using the proportional split from previous years, and assumes this to be stable over the years. This affects Tables 3, 6, and 8. Future releases will be updated to include the most recent data available.

In some instances, the number of deaths presented is low, and therefore the confidence intervals will be wider. Therefore, all rates should be interpreted alongside actual number of deaths.

For further information on NCMD data processing please see our Privacy Notice.

5. Acknowledgements

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The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) programme is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) as part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). HQIP is led by a consortium of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the Royal College of Nursing, and National Voices. Its aim is to promote quality improvement in patient outcomes. HQIP holds the contract to commission, manage and develop the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP), comprising around 40 projects covering care provided to people with a wide range of medical, surgical and mental health conditions. NCAPOP is funded by NHS England, the Welsh Government and, with some individual projects, other devolved administrations and crown dependencies (www.hqip.org.uk/national-programmes).

© 2023 Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP)

Our partners

The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) was notified of 3,470 child deaths in England between April 2021 and March 2022, 396 more than the previous year. In the same period, 2,724 child deaths – which might have occurred during the period or before – were reviewed in detail by child death overview panels.

Child death overview panels notify the NCMD of each child death within 48 hours, and provide basic information about the child’s characteristics and suspected cause of death. As the death is reviewed, this basic information is developed into a comprehensive record of the circumstances of the child’s death with input from all professionals who had contact with the child.

The data gives broad insights into when and where these deaths occurred; the characteristics of the children who died, including sex and age group; and where modifiable factors were identified. It also sets these statistics against those seen in previous years.

The data will be analysed in greater detail, and with more specific focus, in our series of thematic reports, which aim to pull out key findings and recommendations. This data release gives readers the opportunity to explore the data freely – though we recommend reading the data tables alongside the commentary report for context.

Note: The NCMD’s annual data release was previously known as the LSCB1 return

NCMD 2nd_Annual Report June 21

(NOTE: There was an error in Figure 12 in the original publication; this is an updated, corrected version as at 15 June 2021).

Further resources: To support understanding and sharing of this report, find below a number of infographics which highlight key findings:

• Child deaths by age 2019-20 (infographic)
• Child deaths – prematurity 2019-20 (infographic)
• Child deaths – deprivation 2019-20 (infographic)
• Child deaths – location 2019-20 (infographic)
• Child death – modifiable factors 2019-20 (infographic)
• NCMD second annual report presentation (Powerpoint file)

Media enquiries: If you are a member of the public or a journalist requiring further information about this report, please contact the NHS England media team:
– Email: nhsengland.media@nhs.net
– Tel: 0113 825 0958.

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Child Death Review Data: Year ending 31 March 2020 (previously LSCB1)

• Reference Tables: Child Death Reviews Data (year ending 31 March 2020)
• Table 1 CSV data

Background: These data have been published for a number of years, and are used by CDOPs to inform the production of their local annual reports. Data for 2018/19 and 2017/18 were published by NHS Digital and, prior to that, they were published by the Department for Education. The format has been kept consistent with previous publications, however due to a change in data collection processes, there are a few changes from previous years which are detailed in Section 6 of the report.

*Previously the responsibility of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs)