he said: he told herefordshire council it must compensate gemma and her sisterfor breaching their rightcourts that have been critical of children's services in herefordshire. we've spoken to a number of social workers who have recently left the department. worried about their future job prospects, they've asked not to be identified. when i started, i was told 20 - was the magic number for cases. by the time i left, i had . a caseload of 36 children. so, then, you're really cutting corners and ticking boxes. - and the support wasn't there from senior practitioners. - and when that was raised i with management, it was, "well, that's your problem." i witnessed senior managers causing direct line managers to break down in tears. it's a culture of bullying, it's a culture of control. it's not safe for families and it's not safe for social workers. like most councils, herefordshire has struggled to recruit and retain front line staff. last year, the department lost 50, more than half, of its children's social workers. and we've discovered that three quarters of its child protection social wor