One minute guide: Professional curiosity

Professional curiosity means to look beyond what you see. This encourages practitioners to explore and understand what is happening in someone's life, rather than making assumptions or accepting what they are told at face value. It involves looking out for signs that things are not right and seeking out the evidence of what is really happening. It is a combination of looking, listening, asking direct questions, checking out and reflecting on ALL the information you receive. An example of where practitioners were seen to have taken information at face value was in the case of Daniel Pelka.

Professional curiosity and looking beyond what you see means:

• testing out professional assumptions about different types of families
• considering information from different sources to gain a better understanding of family functioning which, in turn, helps to make predictions about what is likely to happen in the future
• seeing past the obvious and
• questioning what is observed.

It is a combination of looking, listening, asking direct questions, checking out and reflecting on ALL of the information received. It’s not about being intrusive or judgmental, it’s about thinking critically, noticing inconsistencies, and asking “What else might be happening here?” or “Is there more to this story?” 

How practitioners can be professionally curious

Here are some considerations when seeking to be professionally curious:

• As practitioners, you should not presume to know what is happening in the family home and should ask questions and seek clarity if you are not certain.
• Don't be afraid to ask questions of families, and do so in an open way, so they know that you are asking to ensure that children are safe, not to judge or criticise.
• Look to use the Rethink Formulation Model as a framework for asking questions and exploring the issues you are curious about.
• Think about using tools to understand the daily lived experience of the child such as A Day in the Life (adapted from the work of Jan Horwath).
• Be open to the unexpected, and incorporate information that does not support your initial assumptions into your assessment of what life is like for an individual.
• Seek clarity, either from the family or other professionals.
• Be open to having your own assumptions, views and interpretations challenged, and be open to challenging others.
• Consider what you see as well as what you’re told. Are there any visual clues as to what life is like, or which don’t correlate with the information you already hold?
• Use supervision and other appropriate forums as an opportunity to explore cases and exercise professional curiosity, for example by: playing ‘devil’s advocate’; presenting alternative hypotheses; and presenting cases from the child, young person, adult or another family member’s perspectives.

How to be professionally curious in virtual settings

When engaging with children, young people, and families through virtual or online platforms, exercising professional curiosity can be more challenging. The ability to observe behaviours, physical conditions, and environmental factors may be limited. Additionally, it can be difficult to assess whether an individual is alone, able to speak freely, or experiencing coercion. Therefore, you should consider how to incorporate professional curiosity when seeing people virtually. This may require a creative approach, such as asking whether the conversation can be overheard during a phone call.  

By asking a person if they can talk openly (closed question) this should give you an indication of whether there is the potential for guarded answers to your questions. By establishing this at the very beginning, you can reduce the pressure on the person you are speaking to. You may wish to agree a code word between you and the person you are talking to so you can quickly establish on further meetings whether that person can talk safely and openly.

During video calls, consider the following:

• Is there anything about what you are seeing which prompts questions or makes you feel uneasy or concerned?
• What is the body language telling you?
• Are you observing behaviour which is indicative of abuse or neglect?
• Does what you are seeing support or contradict what you are being told?

The key elements of professional curiosity should not be forgotten when working virtually, including questioning what you see and hear, not taking things at face value and the use of supervision to explore and test out your hypotheses.

Potential barriers to professional curiosity

It is widely recognised that there are many barriers to seeking out information effectively. It is only by knowing and challenging these within ourselves and in our practice that we are often able look further, think wider and see more. It is essential to identify any potential barriers and work with the child, young person or family to overcome these. If barriers, adopting a restorative approach is key. Clearly explaining the purpose behind your questions or requests for clarification helps build trust and ensures they understand that the goal is to support their well-being and safety.

Look to utilise the Leeds Practice Principles to support your restorative approach and to help you identify systemic barriers. If a practitioner feels that they have tried a restorative approach and barriers with the family remain, they should consider discussing this in supervision with their line manager or with their Designated Safeguarding Lead.

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