Sending Shared Lives love this Christmas

We were joined by representatives from the Casey Commission, who gave an update on the Commission’s work and explained how people involved in Shared Lives can provide feedback.

We also updated schemes on our ongoing discussions with the Department for Education, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission around the regulation of Shared Lives arrangements for 16–17-year-olds. Talking about where those conversations are and what we’re doing to represent schemes’ interests at a national level.

Alongside this, schemes shared updates with one another, highlighting the different local contexts they work in and the practical ways they are developing Shared Lives in their areas.

The session took place at the end of Care Leavers Month, and ambassadors on our Care Leavers Programme wanted to mark this in a way that felt personal.

They led a creative activity called “Sending Shared Lives love”, designed to share messages about Shared Lives with people who can influence decisions locally and nationally. Instead of traditional Christmas cards, our ambassadors created cards using handprints, placing their own hands at the centre of each design.

On the day, people wrote messages to those they felt needed to hear about Shared Lives – including local MPs, senior leaders, commissioners and key partners in their areas. Each card was signed by ambassadors with a short personal message about what Shared Lives has meant to them and then posted.

The day was co-produced with our ambassadors, who shaped the agenda and led the activity – keeping lived experience at the centre of the Community of Practice.

Find out more about how we work with schemes and care-experienced young people through our Care Leavers Programme.

Care Leavers Programme overview