13.13 Managing professional disagreements

If there are disagreements between agencies or individuals over the handling of concerns about children, or associated decision-making by an individual agency, and the agencies/professionals are unable to resolve differences through discussion and/or meetings, their disagreements must be brought to the attention of managers. If agreement still cannot be reached, the issue must be referred to the senior managers.

An agency or individual who does not agree with a decision must feel able to, and know how to, use the local escalation process for professional disagreements. Agencies should act on their concerns in a timeframe that is consistent with the degree of concern they hold and immediate action should be taken in the event that there is a concern that the child is at risk of abuse or neglect.

Records of any disagreements much be maintained by all the agencies involved.