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Supporting workload management in North Tyneside

How North Tyneside local authority developed a new approach to caseload and workload management.

North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear which has used different strategies to manage workload by focusing on team structure and support systems. They stopped using a formal weighting system to allocate work because it was too rigid and did not support practitioners’ development. The old system assigned points to families based on need, but needs changed too quickly, making it hard to manage workloads well.

Developing a new approach to caseload and workload management

With the new approach, team managers:

  • manage small teams of social workers and family support workers
  • know the families and practitioners well
  • use their knowledge and discretion to allocate work based on the practitioner’s skills, experiences, and development needs
  • allocate work to the team as soon as referrals come in, even if it creates short-term pressures
  • follow clear guidelines to ensure every child or young person has a social worker

Using workload management models

Additional specialist roles take on important tasks so social workers can focus on working with families:

  • Integrated family support workers embedded in teams work directly, supporting with practical tasks
  • Business support professionals help with administrative tasks, including minute-taking and report distribution
  • Specialist teams focus on areas like pre-birth assessments and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. They advocate best practice, offer expertise, and support practitioners

Building a skilled workforce

An additional layer of management support provides reflective supervision to help practitioners develop their skills and practice expertise. This hands-on support helps them grow and improve their practice.

Keeping caseloads manageable

Senior managers set caseload targets to ensure fair workloads including:

  • 25 children per social worker in the front door service
  • 20 children per social worker in the long-term service
  • 18 children per newly qualified social worker by the end of their first year

Social workers usually handle no more than two sets of court proceedings at a time, though this depends on the stage of each case.

By focusing on fairer workloads, strong supervision and the right support, North Tyneside gives social workers the time and space to help families effectively.

Using smaller teams to improve case management

Small teams help managers and practitioners work more effectively by:

  • identifying each practitioner’s strengths and development needs
  • providing a clear picture of the families they support
  • understanding team skills and areas for growth
  • allowing managers to give tailored guidance and support
  • reducing delays in referring children for further support

Implementing solutions for managing workload pressures

Short-term pressures, like staff sickness or seasonal demand, can push caseloads above ideal levels.

North Tyneside's policy of ensuring every child has a named social worker can create bottlenecks, especially in the front door team. When referrals are high, children with Child in Need plans and lower-level needs may not transfer quickly to long-term teams, making it harder to take on new cases.

To manage this, North Tyneside has put several strategies in place, including:

  • a dedicated Child in Need team providing intensive support to stop needs escalating
  • senior managers taking on direct work during high-pressure periods
  • collaborative workload reviews, where service managers from early help, front door, and long-term teams review workload and identify families to move to early help services
  • a Child in Need clinic to review families' cases that have been open for 9 months or longer to assess progress and plan next steps

This approach helps keep caseloads under control, supports social workers, and ensures children get the right help at the right time.

Next page: Using workload management to provide a better service in Salford

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These resources have been developed by Research in Practice in collaboration with DfE.
Published: 24 September 2025
Last updated: 24 September 2025