Chronologies - capturing important events and cumulative harm

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Chronologies are important  because they give a clear, organised picture of a child’s history, helping practitioners spot patterns of risk, change, or harm that aren’t obvious in individual case notes. They support stronger analysis and decision‑making by showing what has happened over time, how parents have responded to support, and whether the child’s circumstances are improving. Chronologies also keep the child’s lived experience central, improve multi‑agency understanding, and ensure continuity when cases move between workers.

Chronologies can be used by anyone who works with children and families. They support understanding of significant events and their impact over time.

Chronologies should include;

• Key dates: eg anniversaries  + impact on the child
• Significant events: eg events/periods of concern, events/periods of strength, missed appointments, incidents such as missing episodes, injuries that cause concern, police involvement, abuse/neglect reported or observed etc. + impact on the child
• Key professional interventions:  start and finish of professional interventions/involvement, what service, when, what was done, what worked. Record referrals to social care & outcome of referral. + impact on the child

[Insert example chronology template here]

How are you, as an individual or as a team, recognising the cumulative nature of
neglect, rather than focusing only on isolated incidents?

Chronologies are essential for understanding cumulative harm. Putting systems in
place to help to capture a shared, multi-agency chronology would lead to patterns of
neglect being noticed and identified allowing for interventions to not only focus on
isolated incidents but on the broader context of what is going on in the child’s life.

CSPRP Website Briefing Paper_Neglect_Cumulative Harm