Introduction
This case study from North Somerset offers a strong example of how councillor-led scrutiny can be used creatively and constructively to address complex challenges; in this case the recruitment and retention of childrens social workers.
Although CfGS did not directly support this work, we are shining a light on it as an example of good practice. It demonstrates how local scrutiny can be purposeful, inclusive and focused on improvement, aligning with our wider mission to strengthen governance and accountability in local government.
A councillor’s journey in North Somerset
Joe Tristram is a councillor at North Somerset Council, representing the Banwell and Winscombe ward as part of the Green Group. He also serves as the Chairperson of the Children and Young People’s Services Policy and Scrutiny Committee, among other committee roles.
Background and Context
I was first elected in May 2023 and then very quickly after that appointed to chair the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Panel. At the time, I knew nothing about the work our local authority does in children’s services. I was learning fast. I went to a lot of meetings and started to get to grips with the various mechanisms available to a scrutiny panel to help children’s services do a better job. I latched onto the idea of working groups – though I understand they go by other names as well – but that’s the term we favour in our authority. I saw them as a way to both investigate specific issues and make recommendations for improvements.
So I started looking for ways that my panel, now been renamed a committee, could actually be useful. At the same time, I was made very aware that our Children and Young People’s Services had been rated by Ofsted as “Requires Improvement” for several years – three or four, I think, at that point. No one wanted to stay in that position.
I began homing in on something practical we could focus on. One issue I kept hearing about was the instability in our children’s social care workforce. At the time, 40% of our social workers were agency staff. That clearly wasn’t ideal for the children and families, because of the lack of continuity, and financially, because agency workers cost more.
So I thought, this sounds like something we might be able to do something about or at least explore. It felt like there was potential.
Challenges and Opportunities
Challenges
One of the main challenges was that the issue of child protection and safeguarding was seen as a national problem. I was told several times that we shouldn’t expect to make much progress locally if it’s something affecting the whole country. There was also the financial context. This was a time when there was no spare funding for new initiatives, and we were operating with key vacancies unfilled – our senior social worker post, for example, had been vacant for 18 months.
Opportunities
Listening to experiences of those who have been on a similar journey was the first opportunity I benefitted from. I found it really encouraging to hear from a councillor with a similar remit to me at Torbay Council. They made it clear that, even though this was a national issue, local action could still have an impact. That gave me hope that something useful could be done in our area.
Getting together and listening to people on the frontline in our council was the next step. When we held the face-to-face meeting with social workers and managers, what stood out was that, despite some people feeling disheartened, most came with constructive ideas and things they wanted to see change and believed could make a difference. That was a real source of encouragement for me. It showed there were people inside the organisation who genuinely wanted to help improve things.
And then, having the example from Torbay of someone who had been through this and made real improvements, was another reminder that progress is possible.
Initiatives and Actions Taken
The specific goal was to reduce the turnover of children’s social workers by:-
- Increasing the recruitment rate
- Reducing the rate at which people leave
A three step approach
We went through three phases in total:
1. Understanding the problem
The biggest initiative we undertook was setting up a working group focused on workforce stability in children’s social care. It became clear early on that the service had been rated “Requires Improvement” by Ofsted for several years, and one issue that kept coming up was the high proportion of agency staff – around 40% at the time. This lack of continuity was affecting both service quality for families and children, and the council’s budget, given the higher cost of agency workers.
Before forming the group, I had to be sure that it was an area where scrutiny could actually have an impact – that we weren’t just exploring something out of interest, but that recommendations might influence real change. Once I had confirmation that it was appropriate, I began looking at what steps we could take as a panel to contribute usefully to the improvement journey.
2. Gathering information
To understand the issue properly, we organised meetings with social workers, managers, and other stakeholders in the service. The Scrutiny Officer played a key role in arranging these. We held one meeting on Teams and then followed it up with an in-person session where around 13 people attended—a mix of frontline staff, managers, and councillors. These sessions helped us gauge whether there was shared recognition that workforce instability was a problem, and to collect ideas on how to improve the situation.
In addition to internal conversations, I also looked outside our authority to learn from others. I contacted my colleague, the executive member for children’s services in Torbay. They started this role when their service had been rated at the level below “Inadequate” for a decade and led a transformation that brought it up to “Good” within two years. A number of practical steps were shared that might be relevant to us.
I also made contact with an officer at Devon County Council through a local councillor who had to step down due to ill health, but who kindly connected me beforehand. That officer shared the outcomes of a similar working group they had recently run, which gave us a strong example of what effective improvement planning could look like.
3. Making recommendations
After gathering all this information, the next step was to organise and present it in a way that would support decision-making. That meant learning how to work with the formal report template used by the council. This included assessing the risks involved in our recommendations and applying a Red-Amber-Green (RAG) rating system -something I had not encountered before.
The challenge was in translating what we’d heard, both locally and from other authorities, into a coherent set of recommendations that could be submitted to the Children’s Directorate and eventually to the Cabinet. This was my first experience with that kind of process, so it involved a steep learning curve, but it gave us a structured way to propose meaningful changes.
Outcomes and Impact
There have been improvements, although it is unclear to what extent these are directly due to our actions or if they would have occurred regardless. A specific recommendation was made to establish an in-house college for social workers when they join. Additionally, exit interviews with recommended questions have been introduced to understand why staff leave and what might have influenced their decision.
Currently, the proportion of agency social workers has reduced from 40% to approximately 20%. A senior social worker has been in post for about ten months. While I do not claim credit for these changes, as other factors may have contributed, including the arrival of a new director of Children’s Services who introduced ideas aligned with our recommendations.
Regarding risk status, most issues have improved from red to green, indicating significant progress. We have not had a repeat Ofsted inspection for Children’s services overall, but there has been a focused Ofsted inspection on the SEND services, which no longer requires improvement and is rated as good.
The recommendations report was published in May 2024, so the impact observed has been achieved within just over a year.
Joe's top tips
Approach service officers with curiosity and openness to understand their view of the problem.
Where possible, go outside the organisation to gather perspectives, especially from other councils working in children’s services.
Be broad and inclusive in who you consult, adapting to the context and service area.
Begin by identifying what the organisation is fundamentally trying to achieve.
Use your council’s corporate priorities and aspirations as a guiding framework.
Treat seemingly abstract goals (like “empowering people”) as meaningful and actionable, not just “airy fairy nonsense.”
Lessons learned
It is important to regularly remind yourself of the purpose behind the work. Staying grounded in what you are actually trying to achieve helps keep the process meaningful.
People generally want to contribute. When they are given the right environment, a space where they feel safe and heard, they are often eager to share their ideas. Many individuals have valuable insights and are pleased to be asked for them.
Creating the right conditions for open dialogue is essential. In our case, we kept the meeting informal and chose a room that felt appropriate in size and tone. We avoided using the formal council chamber, which helped set a more relaxed atmosphere.
We used a variety of ways to gather input. For example, we started with a flip chart and posed open-ended questions such as “Why do you think we’re here?” and “What do you think the problem is?” This quickly generated a wide range of responses and helped people feel involved from the outset.
Once people began talking, the conversation flowed naturally. The simplicity of the approach, including open questions, a welcoming space, and genuine interest, was key. It did not require complex tools or elaborate planning, just thoughtful facilitation.
Had the group been larger, we would have adapted the format. We might have used smaller tables focused on specific topics. But for the size we had, the setup allowed everyone to contribute meaningfully to a shared discussion.
Future Directions
We have asked the executive member for children’s services, who presented this work to Cabinet, to provide regular follow-up reports. I initially presented it to the children’s services scrutiny panel, and she then took it forward to Cabinet.
We have agreed that these updates will be ongoing. The next one is likely to coincide with the anniversary of the original presentation. We have already received the first follow-up report, and the intention is to continue checking in at regular intervals to ensure that progress is being made and that things are moving in the right direction.
At CfGS, we support local government improvement by working closely with councils to highlight the great work being done.
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