Professional curiosity

Professional curiosity is looking, listening, asking questions, checking out information, and reflecting on information received. It means being curious and seeking clarity around a situation, bringing together information from different sources to gain a better understanding of a person’s circumstances and level of risk.

Applying professional curiosity can help practitioners to identify the less obvious signs of abuse and neglect.

A recurring theme within Derbyshire Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) is a need for professional curiosity to be applied when safeguarding adults who have care and support needs.

Key principles of professional curiosity:

• do not make assumptions
• have an awareness of your own personal bias and how may affect the way you view a set of circumstances.
• remain open minded
• obtain information from different sources rather than taking information from one source at face value
• ensure you have an understanding of the person's past history
• ask clear questions in a respectful manner
• challenge the information you are being given if contradicts with what you have seen

A strategic briefing from Research in Practice examines professional curiosity in safeguarding adults. Curiosity is required to support practitioners to question and challenge the information they receive, identify concerns and make connections to enable a greater understanding of a person’s situation.

Professional curiosity resources

The Safeguarding Adults Boards Manager Network has produced a suite a resources called 'Have you thought about professional curiosity?', which is attached to this page.

Our 7-minute briefing, which is attached to this page, is a simple guide to explain professional curiosity and how it helps professionals spot hidden risks and make better decisions.