Pembrokeshire County Council's Children's Services has won a national award.

The council won the category Developing a Sustainable Workforce at the 2015 accolades for care initiatives in Wales.

And the authority was named runner-up in another category recognising leadership qualities.

The accolades are run by the Care Council for Wales to showcase and celebrate social work. It is open to teams and organisations across the public, voluntary and independent sectors in Wales.

The citation for the council's winning submission read: 'The judges were impressed by the visionary approach taken to change the whole system for not only children's services, but also the culture of the council, while providing a career structure and development opportunities for staff.'

County Councillor Sue Perkins, cabinet member for education and safeguarding, said both the winning entry and the runners-up award reflected great credit on the authority and its staff.

She added: "I believe the awards are a milestone in the life of the council. The comments of the judges - particularly those relating to the change in the culture of the council - are particularly reassuring.

"While they show that we have made significant progress as an organisation in the last few years, we understand that there is always room for improvement."

The accolade was given to the council for implementing a workforce strategy which recruited high-quality social workers and aimed to achieve a stable and effective workforce with a minimal number of agency staff.

Among the key outcomes of the strategy which impressed judges were reduced caseloads for social workers, a reduction in job vacancies and improved staff morale.

In addition, the council was the sole runner-up in the category entitled Leadership to achieve confident, competent and professional workers.

The project submitted aimed to support young care leavers giving them direct access to personal assistants, support agencies and practical help.

At the heart of the scheme is a supper club which allows young care leavers - who can be socially isolated - to meet up and access services.

As a result the supper club has become a forum for young people to discuss their wishes and needs.