The WSSCP Escalation Policy and the process to follow has been updated and is now in line with the Pan Sussex Escalation Policy.

 Why has it changed?

The process has changed to be more in line with East Sussex And Brighton & Hove Safeguarding Children Partnerships. Professional curiosity and professional challenge are both a normal and healthy part of safeguarding practice and this is reflected in the stage that professionals are now required to inform the WSSCP of their escalation. Previously, the WSSCP Escalation process required professionals to inform the WSSCP at Stage 2. The Pan Sussex Escalation Policy encourages more open discussions around safeguarding in the early stages and for the professional escalating to inform the WSSCP at Stage 3.

The WSSCP still requires professionals to complete the Escalation Policy template when reporting escalations. This is to ensure the WSSCP Business Team are able to track escalations, monitor response times and identify any themes. The template has also been updated to ensure the correct information is provided to both the Partnership and the agency receiving the escalation.

To access the Pan Sussex Escalation Process and accompanying documents click on the link below-

https://www.westsussexscp.org.uk/professionals/professional-disagreements-and-concerns/escalating-professional-differences

To access WSSCP Professional Curiosity training click on the link below –

https://www.westsussexscp.org.uk/professionals/training/training-calendar

The first WSSCP podcast is now live and can be accessed on the Professional Log In section of the WSSCP website. If you've not yet emailed us to request a username and password for this area of the website, you can do so by contacting us on wsscp@westsussex.gov.uk 

The podcast can be found by clicking the "Under 1 Themed Learning Review"" tab and is 30 minutes long. It talks about a specific group of cases relating to 3 babies, outlines the case and explores the learning from this review and how practitioners should review and if neccessary adapt and improve their practice to ensure they are safeguarding under 1's effectively. (There is also a link to evaluate the podcast once you have listened to this resource)

Conflict between parents is normal, but if exposure is frequent, intense and poorly resolved, this can have a damaging impact on children, resulting in long-term mental health issues and emotional, social and behavioural and academic problems as they grow up.

Parental conflict can be reflected in a wide range of behaviours, from constructive (helpful) to destructive (harmful) behaviours. Harmful behaviours in a relationship which are frequent, intense and poorly resolved can lead to a lack of respect and a lack of
resolution.

The WSSCP has collaborated with a range of organisations to provide practitioners with a suite of resources, tools and training to support work around identifying parental conflict within families and providing intervention to ensure children and young people are living in an environment where parents/caregivers are able to manage conflict appropriately.

Tools & Resources Coming Soon.....

Animation  - "Healthy Relationships" - This resources is suitable for children, parents and practitioners and provides an easy to understand introduction to what parental conflict can look like and how it can affect children in the family from a child's perspective.
"Between Us" Relationship App -  This resource is aimed at parents to use independently and/or with support from practitioners. Access requires a request emailed to WSSCP@westsussex.gov.uk
Pre - Recorded Webinar - This webinar, developed by Tavistock Relationships aims to provide practitioners with an overview of parental conflict is, how to identify this within families and how to start a conversation with families.
Podcast -  This podcast is developed by Tavistock Relationships and aims to provide practitioners with the opportunity to listen to a discussion about parental conflict from subject specialists, find out about the data around RPC and how to support their work with families who are experiencing conflict within their relationship.
Getting on Better" cards - Developed by relationship specialists OnePlusOne, these cards are designed for practitioners to use with parents to support conversations around relationships and how to reduce tensions and arguments.

Reducing Parental Conflict Training - There will be a range of training sessions available around reducing parental conflict, including introductory and advanced levels of training.

Please be aware that there is an expectation that practitioners who access these resources, will engage in the evaluation work planned. Thank you in advance for supporting the evaluation process to ensure the resources we provide are fit for purpose and support your work with children and families effectively.