Information for Professionals
Working Together 2023
Threshold of Need Guidance
Safeguarding Children
Safe & Together Training
Safe and Together is an internationally recognised training programme, with an associated package of tools and resources, designed to help child protection professionals to improve their response to domestic abuse.
The Safe & Together Model encourages professionals to:
- Hold perpetrators responsible for their abusive behaviour
- Support survivors towards safety and freedom
- Improve children’s safety and wellbeing
The model’s name comes from the idea that wherever possible, children should be kept ‘safe and together’ with their non-abusing parent – in most cases their mother.
You can learn more by visiting the Safe and Together institute: Domestic Violence Training Courses & Education Resources | Online DV Classes & Trainings | Safe & Together Institute (safeandtogetherinstitute.com)
There is a video you can watch that explains the model in detail: Our Mission and Vision video
Here is a video regarding Coercive Control: Coercive Control explained video
There are lots of Safe & Together videos on You Tube and webinar/podcasts on the Institute website: Respect | Home
LSCP Escalation Policy
Escalation Of Concerns
Differences of opinion, concerns and issues can arise for practitioners at work and it is important they are resolved as effectively and swiftly as possible.
On occasion, where concerns need to be raised with another agency, workers should ensure this occurs as soon as possible following the disagreement and all information clearly recorded. Having different professional perspectives within safeguarding practice is a sign of a healthy and well-functioning partnership. These differences of opinion are usually resolved by discussion and negotiation between the practitioners concerned.
When any professional considers a child is at immediate risk of Significant Harm, then the individual must ensure their concerns are escalated on the same working day using established safeguarding procedures. At no time must professional disagreement detract from ensuring a child is safeguarded. The child’s welfare and safety must remain paramount throughout.
Differences could arise in a number of areas of multi-agency working as well as within single agency working.
Differences are most likely to arise in relation to:
- criteria for referrals
- outcomes of assessments
- roles and responsibilities of workers
- service provision
- timeliness of interventions
- information sharing and communication.
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and front-line staff need confidence in talking with each other about decisions that have been made, discussing any concerns regarding those decisions and where there isn’t agreement; escalating those concerns as appropriate.
Remember, equally important is the culture of how we work; and it is vital that front-line staff are encouraged to remain professionally curious and to raise issues where they feel that their concerns for children and young people aren’t being addressed. Escalation is….an effective mechanism for resolving professional disagreement. Escalation is not….a negative action or criticism.
To help staff resolve professional differences, the HFLSCP has developed a simple multi agency Escalation Policy
NB: This Policy does not replace any single agency escalation or complaint policies and should be used in conjunction with internal policies and procedures.
The purpose of the LSCP Escalation Procedure is to ensure that all partner agencies working within Hammersmith and Fulham have a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences in professional perspectives in order to safeguard the welfare of children and young people.