Professional curiosity

This practitioner's guide has been produced by Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee in partnership with practitioners from NHS Tayside and Children and Families' Social Work. It aims to provide all practitioners working directly or indirectly with children, young people and their families in Perth and Kinross, with clear practice guidance on how to be professionally curious and use this approach in the course of their work.

Professional curiosity is about exploring and understanding what is happening with an adult at risk and their family. This practitioner's guidance has been produced by the three Tayside Adult Protection Committees based on the Perth & Kinross Child Protection Committee (CPC) guidance. 

This practitioner's guidance covers what professional curiosity is, the barriers to using it, courageous and difficult conversations, and effective use of supervision to support curious and authoritative practice.

This short video explains key concepts relating to professional curiosity. It accompanies the resource pack on the same subject.

Please note that this resource is from an English local authority (Waltham Forest). The context is different but its messages are transferable to Scottish Adult Support and Protection.

This resource pack aims to raise awareness about embedding professional curiosity in practice. It can be used in team meetings, as part of group/individual supervision, or for individual professional development.

It includes several practical tips and practice scenarios. There is an accompanying video explaining key concepts.

This presentation, and accompanying defensible-decision making framework, form the basis of a one-day training session.

Topics covered in the session are:

This pack contains core resources, for instance on professional curiosity, that inform all ASP work. It also contains financial harm specific resources. Within the pack, there are links to numerous videos and podcasts, including those where people speak of their lived experience of financial harm.

This pack contains core resources, for instance on professional curiosity, that inform all ASP work. It also contains domestic abuse specific resources. Within the pack, there are links to numerous videos, including to those of people with lived experience of domestic abuse.

This pack contains core resources, for instance on professional curiosity, that inform all ASP work. It also contains hoarding specific resources. Within the pack, there are links to numerous videos, including to those of people with lived experience of hoarding.

This video sets out basic knowledge on hoarding behaviour. It looks at why and how people hoard, trauma, and how hoarding behaviour can run in families (including in children). It also includes material on the Clutter Rating Scale, which helps with assessing risk. The video stresses the need for time, multi-agency working, and professional curiosity to work effectively with people who hoard.