All practitioners working with children and young people have a responsibility to ensure that the child’s welfare is seen as a priority at all levels of practitioner activity. Practitioners are individually responsible for being satisfied about the substance and progress of safeguarding plans for service users.

What is Escalation? 

Escalation is the formal process of challenging decisions made by other professionals, groups or organisations. Escalation policies and procedures ensure that all professionals have a quick and straightforward means of resolving differences of professional opinion to safeguard the welfare of children and young people.  

When to use the Escalation Policy?

The Escalation Policy should be used whenever there are concerns about professional practice, safeguarding decision-making, or resource allocation that may impact the safety or well-being of a child. It applies to all practitioners, whether working in a paid or voluntary capacity. 

This policy is designed to support practitioners in understanding the escalation process and feeling confident in knowing when and how to raise concerns constructively. 

 Examples of when to escalate concerns raised:

• Around a decision for referral from one agency to another; whether the referral should be made or accepted. 
• About a Child and Family plan or its implementation 
• About an intervention to bring about the necessary changes 
• About the outcome of an assessment 
• Over the sharing of information and communication in a particular case 
• About the position taken by management linked to a specific safeguarding case which remains unresolved 

Warwickshire Safeguarding Children’s Partnership (WSCP) have produced a Practitioner Escalation Policy which provides comprehensive guidance for practitioners. The policy offers a four-stage procedure and a clear reporting and monitoring process, with timescales provided (within working days).

All organisations should have a policy for internal escalation of disagreements about safeguarding issues which is made known to staff in their induction and refresher safeguarding training.

Multi-Agency Chronology 

A multi-agency chronology brings together significant information from all professionals and agencies involved with a child, young person, or family into one clear timeline. By providing a shared understanding of events, concerns, strengths, and interventions, it helps practitioners identify patterns, assess risk more effectively, and make informed decisions. A well-maintained chronology supports timely communication, strengthens multi-agency working, and helps ensure that children and families receive the right support at the right time.

WSCP Multi Agency Chronology FINAL 2026

To access the WSCP Practitioner Escalation Policy, monitoring form and supporting briefings, please click on the links below:

WSCP Escalation Monitoring Form – NEW

WSCP Escalation Policy – NEW

Briefing-Escalation-FINAL 2026– NEW

WSCP 7MB – Escalation – NEW

Please find the contact details for teams within Warwickshire Children and Families Service here.

Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for all agencies is available here:  WSCP Escalation Policy Single Point of Contact (SPOC) FINAL

Important: 

WSCP will only accept escalations at Stage 4. Any forms submitted without evidence of Stages 1–3 will be directed to the relevant agency to resolve. Please ensure you have completed and recorded Stages 1-3 before submitting to WSCP. 

WSCP Escalation Process Flowchart