Student nurses set for skills boost through new adult social care placements – including Shared Lives

The move aims to encourage more students to pursue a career in adult social care and give them valuable skills in care closer to patients’ homes, as the government shifts care from hospital to community under its Plan for Change.

The new strategy will embed social care placements into nursing degrees, giving students first-hand experience of services that help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. Placements are currently not routinely offered, but could now include residential care, supported living, Shared Lives or home care, helping students understand how early intervention prevents ill health.

Speaking at the launch, Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock said:

“Nursing is a skilled, challenging, and deeply rewarding profession that plays a central role in the delivery of modern, compassionate, person-centred care. Too few student nurses currently consider a career in adult social care. That’s not because the work isn’t valuable – quite the opposite. It’s because the profession hasn’t always been visible. And for too long, outdated perceptions and limited exposure during training have made it harder for students to see what’s possible. This new strategy aims to change that.”

Developed with Skills for Care and the Council of Deans for Health, the Undergraduate Nursing Strategy sets out clear expectations for universities, care providers and system leaders to work in partnership to offer placements. Guidance will support them to co-design placements that meet course requirements and offer real-world experience.

Students will gain practical insight into supporting people with complex or chronic conditions like learning disabilities, frailty or mental health needs – helping them manage symptoms and maintain quality of life in familiar settings. Community-based placements may include using digital tools to help people stay safely at home or working with families and community teams to offer early support.

By learning to spot changes early and using preventative technology such as alarms, sensors or remote monitoring, students will help people stay well at home and reduce avoidable hospital admissions.

Through the Plan for Change, the government aims to shift healthcare from sickness to prevention; hospital to community; and analogue to digital. This national strategy will help embed those shifts into nursing education and support delivery of the 10-Year Health Plan. Social care nursing will play a vital role, helping to create a more integrated, sustainable, person-centred care system.

Ewan King, Chief Executive of Shared Lives Plus, said:

“We’re delighted that Shared Lives care will be included in this exciting new chapter for student nurse training. It’s exactly the kind of community-rooted, preventative care we need more of – and we know that when nursing students experience it first-hand, it will open new perspectives and career pathways in social care. Greater awareness of Shared Lives, through this programme, could also lead to more referrals and more people having the opportunity to choose this model of care.”

So far in 2025, there have been around 30,000 applicants for undergraduate nursing degrees. Further details on the structure of clinical placements will be outlined in the upcoming Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery, currently being developed by the Chief Nursing Officer for England.