Two years of the Young People Leaving Care programme: a personal reflection

My journey with Shared Lives began long before I joined Shared Lives Plus. I first heard the name while working across children’s and adults’ services. Later, it appeared again across the table at a looked-after child (LAC) review meeting, where I was sitting as a foster carer. From there, I transitioned into becoming a Shared Lives carer myself, then joined my local team as a development worker because I simply couldn’t get enough of the model!  

Now, after moving into a role with Shared Lives Plus, I’m involved more closely in strategic delivery. But even with that shift, the reason why remains the same. Without those early beginnings, without seeing first-hand what Shared Lives can mean for people, the difference it makes and the ethos and relationships at the heart of it, the role simply would not feel the same. 

I’ve recently celebrated one year with Shared Lives Plus, just as the Young People Leaving Care Programme celebrates its second year. In the programme’s first year of delivery, it quickly began to thrive. That momentum grew even further with the introduction of our three care-experienced ambassadors. 

I joined shortly after them and, looking back over the past year, it has been amazing to see the development and growth of not just the programme itself but the young people too. At the heart of that progress are those three individuals who, from the beginning, have been steering the programme’s direction of travel using their own lived experiences. As their confidence has grown and their roles have developed, their impact has soared. It’s been a joy to see that unfold over just 12 months and makes me so excited for what is still to come.   

From an initial 12 schemes, we welcomed scheme number 40 in June 2026 as the programme continues to gain traction. It feels as though the reach of Shared Lives is growing and expanding, and that is because of the work being done on the ground by every scheme.  

The programme was designed around four key objectives: 

1. Influence national policy to remove barriers to the growth of Shared Lives
2. Improve outcomes for young people leaving care accessing Shared Lives
3. Provide practical support to schemes delivering Shared Lives to young people leaving care 
4. Support growth and evaluation to develop, sustain and innovate the programme

In the last 12 months, we’ve been building on these objectives through both strategic and operational work to raise awareness and embed understanding of care experience within the Shared Lives model.  

A big development is our new 10-module training programme. Born from collective discussions with schemes on the programme, the training seeks to support carers through the transition of young people moving from foster care to Shared Lives. It is rooted in trauma-informed practice and has been written and filmed by experts by experience. 

The programme is run through trusts and grants, and we are always looking for ways to innovate and expand its reach for care leavers. Two projects currently sit alongside the main programme: Shared Futures and Shared Days. 

Shared Futures 

Funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Shared Futures is being piloted in five areas. It explores how Shared Lives could reach young people leaving care who fall outside Care Act/Social Services and Wellbeing Act eligibility. This test-and-scale project aims to widen our reach and help prevent young people from facing homelessness or unsuitable accommodation and support. 

Shared Days 

Funded by the National Lottery Reaching Communities grant, Shared Days is a two-strand project working across five pilot areas. It looks at how we can expand day arrangements within Shared Lives to scaffold relationships for care-experienced young people aged 16 and over. It also supports the development of peer support groups, helping young people build lasting, meaningful relationships with others who share similar experiences. 

Both innovation projects have been driven by our ambassadors, who continue to lead the way in showing where Shared Lives needs to be to make a difference for as many young people as possible. 

We believe Shared Lives does care differently.

Recent data from the programme reports that 100% of young people said their mental health and wellbeing had improved since moving into Shared Lives. In addition, 68% reported that Shared Lives had directly supported them to remain in, or gain, employment, education and training.  

Our aim is to continue expanding our reach to care-experienced young people, empower and advocate for care leavers with neurodiversity, autism, mental health needs and complex trauma, and continue building a supportive, sustainable community of practice at the heart of the programme.

The Young People Leaving Care Programme still has so much opportunity ahead of it. We want to continue making sure Shared Lives for care-experienced young people is known about in every locality so it can keep expanding and help reduce the cliff edge of leaving care. 

As the programme grows, so does the possibility of more young people finding support, stability and relationships that feel rooted in everyday life. That is what makes Shared Lives so powerful and why it matters. 

Find out more about Shared Lives for young people leaving care and sign up to our strategic advice newsletter for further updates.