Professional Curiosity in Social Work: A Practical Guide

What is Professional Curiosity?

Professional curiosity is the capacity and willingness to explore and understand what is happening in a family, rather than accepting what you're told at face value. It means asking questions, following up on concerns, and seeking to understand the full picture—even when this feels uncomfortable or challenging.

Related concepts include "respectful uncertainty" and "healthy scepticism." All describe the same core skill: maintaining an inquiring, questioning stance while remaining respectful and building relationships.

Why Professional Curiosity Matters

Serious case reviews repeatedly identify lack of professional curiosity as a factor when children are seriously harmed. Common findings include:

• Professionals accepting explanations without checking
• Not asking about the "invisible" parent or other adults
• Focusing on the presenting parent rather than all household members
• Not seeing the child or seeing them only briefly
• Not asking about or observing the child's daily life
• Assuming that engagement equals safety

Barriers to Professional Curiosity

Organisational Barriers

• High caseloads leaving little time for thorough exploration
• Pressure to meet timescales over quality
• Tick-box culture that doesn't reward curiosity
• Poor supervision that doesn't challenge thinking

Personal Barriers

• Desire to be liked and avoid conflict
• Discomfort with asking difficult questions
• Fear of being seen as judgemental
• Optimism bias—wanting to believe things are okay
• Over-identification with parents

Family Barriers

• Hostile or intimidating parents
• Articulate parents who seem credible
• Parents who appear to be cooperating
• Families who manage access carefully

Practicing Professional Curiosity

Asking Good Questions

• Use open questions: "Tell me about..." "What happens when..."
• Follow up on inconsistencies: "You mentioned X, but earlier you said Y—help me understand"
• Ask about the ordinary: "What does a typical day look like?"
• Ask about the absent: "Who else is in the home? Who else has contact with the children?"
• Ask about the unsaid: "What haven't we talked about that I should know?"

Questions to Ask Yourself

• What don't I know about this family?
• What am I assuming without evidence?
• Who haven't I seen or spoken to?
• What would I want to know if I was starting fresh?
• What does this child's day actually look like?
• Am I accepting explanations too easily?

The Invisible Adults

Professional curiosity means understanding who is really in a child's life:

• Who lives in the household?
• Who stays overnight?
• Who has regular contact with the children?
• What is known about these adults?
• Have relevant checks been done?

The "Invisible" Father

Reviews consistently identify that fathers and male partners are often absent from assessments. Curiosity means:

• Asking about fathers even when they're not present
• Making efforts to see and assess fathers/partners
• Checking backgrounds of all significant adults
• Understanding the role men play in the household

Seeing the Whole Home

Curious practice means observing beyond what you're shown:

• Ask to see where children sleep
• Notice which rooms you're not shown
• Observe children's belongings and spaces
• Note the condition of different areas
• Ask about rooms that are locked or inaccessible

Checking Information

Professional curiosity means verifying what you're told:

• Check stated addresses—do they exist? Who else lives there?
• Verify employment and income claims
• Contact other professionals for their views
• Review historical records
• Cross-reference accounts from different family members

Curiosity in Supervision

Good supervision promotes professional curiosity:

• Supervisors should ask curious questions about cases
• "What don't we know?" should be a standard question
• Challenge assumptions and optimism
• Encourage workers to return to basic questions
• Create space to reflect on what's puzzling

Balancing Curiosity and Relationship

Professional curiosity doesn't mean being suspicious or hostile. It means:

• Being honest about why you're asking questions
• Explaining that thorough understanding helps you help them
• Asking questions respectfully, not interrogating
• Acknowledging that questions may be uncomfortable
• Maintaining warmth while maintaining scepticism

When Curiosity is Blocked

If families resist your questions:

• Note the resistance and what it might mean
• Be clear about what you need to know and why
• Explain the consequences of not having information
• Seek information from other sources
• Consider what the resistance tells you about risk
• Discuss in supervision

Recording Professional Curiosity

Your records should show:

• The questions you asked
• What you observed, not just what you were told
• Gaps in your knowledge and how you're addressing them
• Inconsistencies and how you followed them up
• Your analysis of what the information means

Conclusion

Professional curiosity is not an optional extra—it's a core safeguarding skill. It means maintaining an inquiring stance, asking questions that might be uncomfortable, looking beyond surface presentations, and never assuming you have the full picture.

In a context where families may—consciously or unconsciously—present partial truths, professional curiosity is what enables us to understand children's real experiences and keep them safe. It's uncomfortable sometimes, but it saves lives.