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Conclusions: Workload management strategies to reduce unnecessary workloads

How to use workload management strategies to reduce unnecessary workloads.

Use small teams and qualitative approaches

Some areas use small teams to manage workloads. This makes it easier for managers to understand staff skills and development needs, so they can allocate work fairly. Weekly meetings help move referrals quickly to the right teams, avoiding delays.

Small teams give staff more support and guidance, but they also face challenges like high referral numbers and delays in moving cases between teams. Managing capacity during busy periods can be challenging. Small teams work best when there is good planning and enough resources to support them.

Use data to manage caseloads

Councils take different approaches to data in workload management:

  • Cambridgeshire uses their case management and other management systems to track caseloads, measure workload complexity, and plan future workforce needs. They are also developing a case weighting system to improve efficiency
  • North Tyneside has moved away from data-driven weighting systems, instead using managerial discretion. Team leaders allocate cases based on their knowledge of staff skills and family needs

Both approaches have benefits. Cambridgeshire uses data to plan its workforce, while North Tyneside focuses on small teams and personalised support. Using both data and staff insights can help councils manage workloads, support staff, and improve services for families.

Develop specialist teams and roles

Having specialist teams for complex cases like early placement with permanent families and pre-birth assessments ensures children and families get the right support. Moving cases into these teams quickly also takes pressure off the front door and assessment teams.

Training champion practitioners in areas like domestic abuse or contextual safeguarding gives social workers access to expert knowledge, reducing the need for individual research.

To ensure specialist teams work effectively, councils should:

  • adjust caseloads to reflect case complexity so social workers can provide the right level of support
  • balance experience by allowing practitioners to work across different case types, preventing burnout and vicarious trauma
  • engage with communities and agencies to identify emerging needs and allocate resources where they are most needed
  • combine data-driven planning, small team structures, and specialist roles to reduce workload pressures, support staff, and improve outcomes for children and families

Next page: Practice tool: Effective strategies to improve workload management

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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