It must always be remembered that the welfare of the child is paramount and any disagreement between professionals should not delay a referral or a response to a referral.
If the professionals are unable to resolve differences through discussion and/or meeting within a time scale which is acceptable to both of them, their disagreement must be addressed by first line managers. Advice and consultation should also take place with the designated safeguarding lead officers as necessary.
If agreement cannot be reached following discussions between the above first line managers, the issue must be referred without delay through the relevant agencies’ line management.
The procedure for decision making at Initial Child Protection Conferences is dealt with in Section 13.5, Initial Child Protection Conference Procedure.
If the Conference Chair is unable to achieve a consensus as to whether or not the child should be made subject to a Child Protection Plan, s/he will make a decision and note any dissenting views within the child protection conference minutes. The person(s) with the dissenting view(s) must ensure that the wording is a true reflection of the opinion given at the conference.
The agency or individual who dissents from the Conference Chairs decision must determine whether s/he wishes to further challenge the result.
If the dissenting professional believes that the decision reached by the Conference Chair places a child at (further) risk of Significant Harm, it is expected that s/he will formally raise the matter with the Manager, Review and Child Protection.
The Manager, Review and Child Protection will liaise with the Conference Chair and either:
Concern or disagreement may arise over another professionals decisions, actions or lack of actions in the implementation of the Child Protection Plan, including Core Group meetings – see Implementation of the Child Protection Plan - Key Worker and Core Group Responsibilities Procedure.
The line managers of the professionals involved should first address these concerns.
If agreement cannot be reached following discussions between the above first line managers, the issue must be referred without delay through the relevant agencies’ line management and the support and advice of the Designated Doctor and lead officer for safeguarding should be sought.
If professional disagreements remain unresolved, the matter must be referred to the heads of service for each agency involved.
In the unlikely event that the issue is not resolved by the steps described above and/or the discussions raise significant policy issues, it may be helpful to raise the matter at a meeting of the Walsall Safeguarding Children Board Operations Group.
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