🔍 Professional Curiosity
Quick Reference · safeguard-hub.org
⚖️ What WT2026 Requires
Working Together 2026 is explicit: practitioners must maintain professional curiosity and not accept information at face value when working with families.
SCR and SUSR learning repeatedly identifies a failure of professional curiosity as a factor where children came to serious harm, particularly in cases involving:
- Domestic abuse hidden from services
- Neglect normalised over time
- Disguised compliance by parents
- Professionals seeing the adult, not the child
- Optimism bias, assuming things will improve
🔢 The 6 Practical Methods
1
Observe
, look beyond the stated facts; body language, home conditions, how child and adult interact
2
Question
, ask open, curious questions; don't accept vague or incomplete answers without gently probing
3
Research
, check agency history, previous referrals, GP notes, school records before visits
4
Challenge
, respectfully challenge inconsistencies; it is professional, not confrontational
5
See the child
, alone, in their own space; do not allow the parent to answer for the child
6
Triangulate
, cross-check what you are told against what you observe and what other agencies report
🚧 Common Barriers
- Disguised compliance: family appear engaged. Scrutinise actual change, not just co-operation.
- Optimism bias , hoping things will improve; focus on evidence
- Familiarity , long-standing cases; step back and view with fresh eyes
- Fear of conflict , professionals avoid challenge to keep relationship intact
- Workload: high caseloads suppress curiosity. Escalate if this is the case.
- Cultural humility deficit , assumptions about "normal" that exclude marginalised groups
🗣️ Voice of the Child
Professional curiosity includes actively seeking and recording the child's own perspective, not just what adults say about the child.
- See the child alone where possible, even briefly
- Use age-appropriate language and tools (drawing, Three Houses)
- Record what the child said , not your interpretation of it
- If the child is non-verbal, observe closely and document
- Ask: "What do you like? What worries you? What would you like to change?"
- Don't stop at one visit, trust develops over time
📝 Recording Standards
- Record facts separately from analysis
- Note what you observed, smelled, heard, not just what was said.
- Record your professional judgement and why you made the decision you did
- If you did NOT refer, record why not
- Use contemporaneous notes, record same day where possible
- Avoid jargon and abbreviations that others won't understand
- Records may be read at a serious case review. Write accordingly.
🚨 When to Escalate
If your professional curiosity raises concerns that are not being acted on, escalate:
- Speak to your line manager / DSL immediately
- If disagreement with another agency, use the professional challenge / escalation policy .
- If a child is at immediate risk, do not wait for agreement: refer to MASH or call 999.
- Whistleblowing protections apply (Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998)
"It is better to be wrong and refer than to be right and stay silent."