Problem
Children’s services across the UK are facing rising caseloads, increasingly complex needs, and persistent staffing pressures creating a perfect storm that can threaten service quality and staff wellbeing. Social workers and managers also report spending valuable hours searching for and interpreting policies, procedures, and legislative frameworks—time that can be better spent in direct work with children and families.
Solution
We created “Policy Buddy” trained on publicly available materials, including North Yorkshire’s Children and Families Service procedures and key documents from Ofsted and the Department for Education. It provides clear responses to queries through a ChatGPT-style interface, available in over 50 languages. Crucially, each response cites its sources, enabling professionals to assure the information’s validity and relevance.
Outcome
Practitioners are saving an average of 5-7 hours per week on searching for and interpreting policies and legislation – time redirected to work with children and families. Social workers report increased confidence in navigating complex cases because Policy Buddy creates a ‘safe space’ for practitioners to ask questions without fear of judgement, supporting continuous professional development and unleashing their creativity.