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Escalation policy: Resolution of professional disagreements
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Occasionally situations arise when workers within one agency feel that the actions, inactions or decisions of another agency do not adequately safeguard or promote the welfare of a child. The purpose of this protocol is to ensure that in such situations issues between agencies are resolved in a timely manner.
Professional disagreements will sometimes arise over another professional’s decisions, actions or lack of actions in relation to a referral, an assessment or a plan which are considered not to be in the child’s best interests. This policy relates is applicable to all agencies including the statutory, voluntary, community and faith sectors. Disagreements can be healthy and foster creative ways of working with children and families. However, disagreements always require resolution.
The child’s safety and wellbeing must be the paramount consideration at all times and professional differences must not detract from timely and clear decision making.
Potential areas of disagreement include:
- Criteria for referrals
- Outcomes of assessments
- Roles and responsibilities of workers
- Service provision
- Information sharing and communication.
The stages involved in the policy are outlined in the table below:
|
Stage |
Who’s involved |
What’s involved |
|
1 |
Frontline staff and Line Managers |
In most instances frontline staff can resolve disagreements through sharing information and discussion. This should be done within 1 working day. If this still not be resolved it should be resolved to the individual professional’s line managers who will review the information and seek to resolve it within a further 1 working day.
|
|
2 |
Second tier managers
|
Where disputes remain they should be escalated to second tier management within both agencies for review. |
|
3 |
Head of Service |
If dispute remains then it should be escalated to the Head of Service with the specialist area of Children’s Service’s who will liaise with their equivalent in the other agency. |
|
4 |
Head of Safeguarding |
If the dispute continues then it should be reported to the Head of Safeguarding who will identify how to resolve this issue as well as reporting it to the Chair of Coventry Safeguarding Children’s Partnership ( CSCP) who will determine if there is any learning to be extracted from the case and shared with the wider CSCP Partnership. |
All discussions should take place within the appropriate timescales and any agreed action should be fed back and recorded on the child’s file.
Serious case reviews (now called Safeguarding Practice Reviews under Working Together 2018) have often identified that disagreements are not escalated due to the individual feeling less experienced or knowledgeable than their counterpart. It is essential that in these circumstances the professional follows the escalation policy to afford themselves the opportunity to check their decision making.