The Herefordshire Safeguarding Children Partnership has updated the Professional Differences – Multi-agency resolution protocol. Professional should now refer to Version 3 (September 2022), which is available in the Herefordshire section of the West Midlands Child Protection Procedures website.
To access the HSCP Professional Differences – Multi-agency professional resolution protocol, see – HSCP Professional Differences – Multi-agency professional resolution protocol
A Learning Briefing has been prepared to summarise the policy and escalation stages – read the Learning Briefing here.
Serious case reviews, nationally and in Herefordshire, have routinely highlighted the importance of professionals challenging decisions to ensure the best outcomes for children and their families. The Professional Differences policy explains what to do when a professional has a concern with another agency’s decision or action related to a child or young person; and how to respond to that challenge.
Version 3 reflects new role titles, clarifies requirements for reporting and the role of the Partnership Team, and condenses and simplifies parts of the guidance. Revisions were also made to the Report to HSCP Form in Appendix 2, to streamline the Form and enable it to be submitted for ongoing escalations, with updates provided until the matter is resolved. The Report to HSCP Form should be completed for all escalations that reach Stage 2.