Innovation and dedication: what we learned from schemes across the UK

Over the years, Shared Lives Plus has led and supported a range of development projects to grow and diversify Shared Lives. This work has included expanding support to care leavers, people living with dementia and people experiencing mental ill health. Other projects have focused on specific areas of practice, such as increasing referrals into Shared Lives and recruiting more Shared Lives carers.

Together, these projects have created a valuable bank of learning for understanding what drives growth and diversification across the Shared Lives sector. However, the social care landscape is always evolving, as is practice across Shared Lives schemes and local authorities. Keeping up with these developments is vital for Shared Lives Plus to understand the sector and, in turn, know how we can best support Shared Lives schemes and carers across the UK.

Over the past two years, we have gathered evidence from schemes that have significantly increased the number of people they support. Our aim was to understand the key drivers behind this. This research hasn’t just been about analysing best practice, data and processes; it has also highlighted the passion and innovation of those involved in support at all levels.

While the number of people supported through Shared Lives has remained relatively stable in recent years, some schemes have grown significantly. This creates an opportunity to understand and promote the practices that make growth possible.

We conducted interviews and surveys with Shared Lives schemes that had experienced significant growth in the past two years, in the hope of:

• Gathering examples of best practice from schemes
• Understanding the drivers of growth by listening to those delivering Shared Lives and identifying themes across schemes
• Identifying what works across different contexts, such as commissioning models, scheme sizes and local priorities

Through in-depth interviews and surveys, we heard from a broad range of schemes delivering Shared Lives across a variety of contexts. We heard from both in-house and independent providers, schemes focused on live-in support and those developing their sessional offer, as well as schemes supporting a wide range of support needs.

Throughout these conversations, the drive and dedication of schemes to grow and expand was clear. One common thread was their openness in sharing what worked and why. For me, this signifies the overriding strength of the Shared Lives sector: collaboration stemming from a belief in the Shared Lives model and the shared desire to see it grow and benefit as many people as possible across the UK.

We aimed to gather insights that can be shared across the sector, providing a direct benefit to schemes and local authorities. Through this research, we want to share practical learning that helps schemes at all stages of development build on what’s already working.

Throughout 2026, we will release a series of briefings exploring best practice across the six building block areas previously identified in guidance we developed with Partners in Care and Health. The first overview report has now been published, and we hope schemes can adapt these insights to their local context, supporting both immediate improvements and the long-term development of Shared Lives.

Schemes with strong growth consistently talked about the impact of strategic leaders who advocate for Shared Lives, align it with local priorities and invest in the model. This commitment at a senior level has been central to many success stories.

Many schemes described strong partnerships with housing teams, fostering and children’s services, communications teams and, of course, social work teams. These partnerships reflected the wider buy-in for Shared Lives in local areas.

Clear and robust processes have also supported schemes in managing their work and planning the future direction of Shared Lives development.

The role that Shared Lives carers play in development was not underestimated. Schemes and local authorities described working to ensure carers feel valued, strengthening the support offered to them and investing in carer recruitment.

In the briefings released throughout 2026, we will take a closer look at each of these key areas:

1. Joined up working with local leaders
2. Effective partnerships with relevant teams and individuals
3. Social workers who are familiar with Shared Lives approaches
4. A high-performing Shared Lives team
5. Well-supported and connected Shared Lives carers
6. Well-resourced ongoing Shared Lives carer recruitment

Behind every piece of best practice we heard about was a team determined to provide outstanding support to people in their scheme. By sharing these insights with the wider sector, we hope this learning will not stay hidden and will contribute to the continued growth of Shared Lives across the UK.

Read the overview report.

To find out more about how Shared Lives Plus supports local areas through the ARF and our consultancy offer, visit our consultancy support page.

Ready to discuss how we can help you establish, grow, or diversify Shared Lives? Email us at consultancy@sharedlivesplus.org.uk