Decision Making Principles

Aims:

This session aims to help participants to evidence the decision making process to enable accountable and transparent safeguarding decisions to be made. Drawing on the Work of Terry O’Sullivan (Decision Making in Social Work and Michael Preston Shoot (Making Good Decisions: law for social work practice) an evidence-based approach will be explored.

Objectives:

This will be achieved by:

• Considering the principles of good decision making.
• Examining when decisions have to be made, what the foundations are to doing it effectively and transparently.
• Thinking about who supports decisions and who is included, in particular, the person at risk of harm.
• Exploring the issues of working within a rights based perspective with other stakeholders in a partnership process.
• Evaluating outcomes, and reaching consensus rather than compromise.

Outcomes:

By the end of the session, delegates will have had the opportunity to examine effective and evidence based decision-making in light of the Safeguarding processes which will be further explored with the support of members from the Safeguarding Hub.