Resolution of Professional Differences including Escalations

Effective partnership working is key to keeping children and young people safe from harm. The Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership celebrates the outstanding safeguarding work completed by practitioners across services and encourages constructive challenge as part of our culture of learning and partnership working.

The first part of this procedure sets out how professionals can recognise good practice undertaken by their multi-agency colleagues.

The second part of this procedure sets out the expectations and pathways for managing differences of professional opinions in the child/young person’s best interest. Its focus is on resolution, rather than investigation or adjudication.

The procedure can be used between any agencies working to safeguard children and young people within Hertfordshire. It promotes emergency action when needed but allows time for reflection and opportunities for discussion and review in non-urgent situations.

It can be used in relation to specific concerns about individual children/young people/families or in relation to thematic issues. It may relate to where one or more professionals are concerned about a decision that has been made, the progress of agreed plans, resource, or capacity issues.

Agencies will need to consider how they track resolution activity so they can be assured that issues have been resolved.

Working together to safeguard children - GOV.UK states:   

“Safeguarding partners and relevant agencies must act in accordance with the arrangements for their area and will be expected to understand each other’s differences of views and resolve such differences locally. Lead Safeguarding Partners should therefore agree a system to resolve disputes and issues between partners within multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.” (Page 42, Para 110.)

Children's Social Care National Framework 2023 highlights:

“All organisations, including safeguarding partners and relevant agencies, should use the National Framework to:

• raise aspirations for what high-quality support and practice with children, young people and families can achieve;
• establish a shared approach and strong relationships across agencies, so everyone can engage constructively in delivering effective support to children, young people and families;
• embed voices of children, young people and families in the design and delivery of services and support;
• determine the right support, challenge, and accountability across agencies so that everyone can work towards the goal of seeing families thrive, and understand the impact of their services in helping to deliver that ambition. (Page 16).

This procedure should not be used where there are concerns about a professional’s suitability to work with children/young people and these concerns should be notified to the Local Authority’s Designated Officer (LADO).

Importance of Professional Curiosity

Professional curiosity is the capacity and communication skill to explore and understand what is happening with a child, adult, or family. It involves enquiring more deeply and using proactive questioning and challenge. Exercising professional curiosity is crucial in seeking resolution to professional differences as it ensures that practitioners do not make assumptions or take things at face value. Instead, they actively seek to understand the underlying issues and dynamics at play.

Barriers to professional curiosity include disguised compliance, the ‘rule of optimism,’ normalisation, confirmation bias, and professional deference. Overcoming these barriers requires practitioners to be alert to risks, aware of assumptions, and confident in managing tension and uncertainty.

Supporting professionally curious practice involves:

• Playing ‘devil’s advocate’ and asking ‘what if?’ questions to challenge and support practitioners;
• Presenting alternative hypotheses and providing opportunities for group supervision to stimulate debate and curious questioning;
• Encouraging practitioners to review records, check facts, and engage fully with the people they are working with;
• Monitoring workloads and supporting practitioners to manage stress and pressure.

Developing curiosity skills includes being flexible, open-minded, and not taking things at face value. Practitioners should actively seek full engagement, take responsibility for their safeguarding role, and use their communication skills to explore case history and gather information from various sources.

It is important to recognise and celebrate the great work that is achieved by multi-agency professionals working with our children, young people, and families.  This may include using Good Practice Bulletins based on compliments received, using the Partnership’s website, newsletters, etc., to recognise and celebrate good practice.

If you would like to raise a compliment with the HSCP please send to AdminHSCPHSAB@hertfordshire.gov.uk

There is a clear expectation that any differences of opinion are resolved, in a timely manner, at professional level through discussion, exploration, and negotiation. If resolution cannot be achieved within a timescale that is acceptable based on the risk to the child/young person then this should be raised with a line manager.

Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 states:

‘If local authority children’s social care decides not to proceed with a child protection conference, then other practitioners involved with the child and family have the right to request that local authority children’s social care convene a conference, if they have serious concerns that a child’s welfare may not be adequately safeguarded. As a last resort the safeguarding partners should have in place a quick and straight forward means of resolving differences of opinion.'

When Children’s Services decide not to convene an ICPC, a professional of another agency may request a Conference be convened if (s)he has serious concerns that a child/young person’s welfare may not otherwise be adequately safeguarded. Any such request should normally be agreed, in line the processes within this chapter.

If the matter is not quickly resolved through discussion, the professional who is challenging the Children’s Services’ decision must put his/her reasons for doing so, in writing, to the Children’s Services manager responsible for the decision within one working day. The Children’s Services Manager should usually give full information about the reasons for his/her decision in writing to that professional within one working day, before the matter is escalated to more senior managers (see (trix please link). Some professionals should not be given this information, without the consent of the parent(s) for example, a privately employed health or education professional, or a professional member of a church.

The whole process to any final decision should be completed within 72 hours.

Resolution of Professional Differences including Escalations – Health Services in Document.