Leadership and teamwork

Below are the competencies relevant to leadership and teamwork – please refer to the level 4 competencies in the intercollegiate document (2025) for more information.

Core

• escalate effectively, supporting colleagues from other organisations, providing advice as appropriate, and be able to support resolution of professional differences using multi-agency guidance to raise concerns through a formal process
• possess sufficient expertise and experience to provide up to date, evidence-based advice and information about safeguarding children and young people or children and young people in care to the employing body including senior managers, executive directors and the Board, and should have the confidence to deliver oversight and assurance with a proactive and reactive approach
• provide specialist advice to practitioners, both actively and reactively, including clarification on national and local organisational policies, legal issues, e.g. relating to care orders or criminal investigations, and the management of complex safeguarding of children and young people situations
• possess expertise and ability to participate with a trauma-informed approach in sub-groups, as required in national guidance, of the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSP)/the safeguarding panel of the health and social care trust/the Child (or Public) Protection Committee in Scotland/the safeguarding committee of the Health Board or trust in Wales

Additional – safeguarding

• possess clinical expertise and knowledge to offer clinical advice in complex safeguarding cases
• provide expertise and support, and escalation if needed, to enable child protection medical examinations and reports to be completed appropriately
• liaise and escalate as needed where processes are not working effectively and child safeguarding is not being met
• support professional colleagues where they have been instructed by Court or are involved in legal process
• act as an expert resource and source of support for those working at level 3

Additional – children in care

• possess clinical expertise and knowledge to be able to clinically support staff, offer quality assurance/peer review, clinically support in complex cases
• support professionals to contribute to Court reports or information used in other legal processes related to children and young people in care
• act as a resource and source of support for those working at level 3 and/or supervise staff working with children and young people in care
• have confidence and expertise to provide safeguarding advice from a health perspective for children and young people in care where safeguarding issues arise within the care system