Professional Challenge Procedure and Practice Guidance

Darlington Safeguarding Partnership has revised its Professional Challenge Procedure and Practice Guidance (approved by DSP L&D Group December 2025).

Many Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Safeguarding Adult Reviews identify a reluctance to challenge interagency decision making or to escalate concerns where resolution cannot be reached. Reviews have often identified professionals who are concerned with a decision made by another agency; however their concerns have not been followed up with robust professional challenge and escalation which may have altered the professional response.

Professional challenge in safeguarding refers to the process where practitioners from different agencies or within the same agency 
constructively question decisions or practices that may not adequately protect a child or adult at risk.  If you feel that a practitioner, or an agency, is not acting in the best interests of the child or family or adult, you have a responsibility to respectfully challenge the practitioner whatever their job role or agency and escalate that concern if resolution is not achieved.

Professional Challenge Procedure and Practice Guidance [new window]

Professional Challenge 7 minute Practitioner Briefing [PDF Document]

You may also wish to refer to the DSP 'Our Pledge' established in January 2024,.The Pledge is to be read out at the start of multi-agency meetings with an expectation that all agencies share and support the use of the pledge.  Its purpose is to enable multi-agency practitioners to have the confidence to have open and honest conversations with each other in order to do the very best for children, adults and their families.

DSP 'Our Pledge' [PDF Document]