How Data Transformation is changing outcomes in children’s social are

The biggest barrier to better outcomes in children’s social care is not people. It is systems. Social workers in the UK spend just 20% of their time with the children, young people, and families they are there to serve. The remaining 80% is consumed by rigid, process-heavy administrative systems that dominate their workload.

Simpson Associates is working to change that through the help of Sector Principal Jonny Hoyle, a qualified social worker who spent years on the frontline before joining the consultancy. Simpson Associates is helping local authorities free their data from the systems that hold it back and put it to work where it matters most.

This blog is the first in a series exploring how data transformation is reshaping children’s social care, starting with the problem that brought Jonny to Simpson Associates in the first place.

The problem: Systems built for compliance, not outcomes

Social workers spend years studying and preparing to work directly with people. Yet when they enter practice, direct work with families is precisely what they have the least time for. Case management systems are often rigid and process-heavy, requiring practitioners to navigate complex workflows, fill every field, and tick every box before they can do the work that they trained for.

“It’s like a mechanic spending four days a week in the office and only one day a week actually fixing cars,” says Jonny Hoyle. “We’d never accept that in any other profession. But in children’s social care, this imbalance has persisted for decades.”

This is not a new observation. In 2011, Professor Eileen Munro’s landmark review of child protection identified case management systems as a significant barrier to good practice. Eleven years later, Josh MacAlister’s independent review reached the same conclusion. The systems were still getting in the way of actual social work.

Compliance is important. But as Jonny puts it, “Compliance at the expense of outcomes is not acceptable. When systems create so much friction that practitioners cannot spend meaningful time with the people they serve, it is the system that needs to change, not the people.”

What data liberation looks like in practice

When it comes to digital transformation, local authorities broadly face two paths. They can wait for their case management system providers to release new functionality, or they can take control, liberate their data, and build the insight and tools their workforce actually needs.

Simpson Associates helped North Yorkshire Council choose the second path. The focus was on something deceptively simple: freeing the local authority’s data from the confines of its case management systems and enabling a single, integrated view of each child. Instead of social workers spending time cross-referencing across different data silos, everything relevant to a child’s world became visible in one place. The team also created the ability to use new technologies and AI to help social workers rather than hinder them further.

The impact was significant. Key tasks that social workers perform regularly, such as finding a child’s safety plan or locating a birth certificate, improved by 94% in the time required when using this integrated, single-view approach.

“That is not a marginal gain. For a social worker juggling dozens of cases, saving even a few minutes per task adds up to hours per week. Hours that can be spent with children and families instead of behind a screen.” – Jonny Hoyle,

Beyond efficiency: Using data to keep children connected

Liberating data does not just save time, it changes how councils have traditionally operated.

The government rightly has a strong drive to ensure that wherever possible, children are kept safe and cared for within their families and their communities. Local authorities have traditionally been good at identifying parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. However, children’s networks are far broader than that, and data can help identify them.

Football coaches, dance teachers, youth workers, neighbours and friends’ parents are people who already know, love, and care about a child. With the right support, they can play a huge role in keeping that child safe or providing a home if they can no longer live with their parents. Meaning if we can use technology to identify the full breadth of a child’s network, then the social workers can spend their time sitting with those people, having real conversations, and helping the network to rally around a child. This is already happening in practice, as highlighted in recent BBC coverage exploring how data and AI are being used to help keep siblings connected in care.

The results? Fewer children placed with foster carers they do not know. Fewer children living in children’s homes. More children staying connected to the people and places that matter to them.

A smarter use of public money

For local authorities operating under significant budget pressure, the approach also makes financial sense.

Data liberation is about building insight from existing information rather than waiting for, or paying for, additional proprietary functionality from system providers. In many cases, freeing the data an authority already holds and building the tools its workforce actually needs is not only more empowering for frontline staff, it is more cost-effective too.

“I spent my career as a public servant,” says Jonny, “and I remain deeply conscious of the responsibility to spend public money wisely. This approach doesn’t just improve outcomes. It does it in a way that is sustainable and achievable now, without waiting for the next system update.”

Conclusion

The mission behind this work is simple. Get social workers out from behind their computers and back to the work they trained for: spending time with children, young people, and families, and improving outcomes for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Data transformation makes this possible. Not by replacing social workers, but by removing the systems-level friction that stops them doing their job. That is why Simpson Associates has a social worker leading its work in children’s services. In this series, we will continue to explore how data is reshaping what is possible in social care.

How Simpson Associates can help you?

Simpson Associates works with local authorities to free data from the confines of case management systems and turn it into something that genuinely supports frontline practice. From building a single, integrated view of each child to deploying AI tools that reduce administrative burden, we help councils move from reactive systems to proactive insight.

As a Microsoft Solutions Partner and Fabric Featured Partner, we bring deep expertise across data strategy, platform modernisation, and governance. Whether you need to build a modern data platform, strengthen governance with Microsoft Purview, or explore how AI can support your workforce, our team is here to help.

If your council is exploring how to get more value from its data, we would welcome the conversation. Get in touch with us now via email or live chat.