Strategic spotlight: Growing and diversifying Shared Lives across South Yorkshire

In 2024, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) secured ARF funding to grow and diversify Shared Lives across the four local authority areas: Barnsley, Sheffield, Doncaster, and Rotherham. The project’s aims were to expand Shared Lives so more people could benefit, and to diversify provision to support people with mental ill health, those living with dementia, young people moving into adulthood, and unpaid carers in need of respite.

Running from May 2024 to June 2025, the project was led by Rotherham Council as the consortium’s lead authority. It brought together Shared Lives leads from each local scheme, Shared Lives carers, supported people, and stakeholders from health, social care, and the voluntary sector.

Project focus areas included:

• Developing a strategic Shared Lives carer recruitment campaign.
• Strengthening referral pathways into Shared Lives.
• Diversifying the service for people with mental ill health, dementia, and respite support for unpaid carers.
• Improving transitions into Shared Lives for young people.
• Increasing awareness and understanding of Shared Lives.
• Establishing opportunities for cross system collaboration and problem solving.

Support provided by Shared Lives Plus

To help achieve these aims, a team of skilled consultants from Shared Lives Plus provided a wide range of tailored support:

Scoping and insight development
• Conducted 20+ scoping interviews and 10+ workshops with Shared Lives carers, supported people, commissioners, practitioners, adult social care leaders, children’s services, and other partners to identify the barriers and opportunities for Shared Lives development.
• Identified challenges including low awareness of Shared Lives among internal and external teams, and a need for stronger partnerships.

Feedback captured included:

“The mum of a young man I support has benefitted from Shared Lives; she trusts the support that her son receives. Sometimes the mum will join her son and the Shared Lives carer at events. This has helped to open up social circles for the mum.” – Shared Lives carer.

“First time in my life I have felt like living with a family.” – Person supported in Shared Lives.

“I was a foster carer already and my young person wanted to stay with us, and it was a natural transition for both of us to continue to do what we love.” – Dual registered Foster and Shared Lives carer.

Awareness raising and partnership building
• Delivered a South Yorkshire-wide event in January 2025 to raise the profile and build a shared momentum for developing Shared Lives – attended by 50+ people including Shared Lives carers, supported people, social care and health professionals, and voluntary sector partners.

• Facilitated cross-system discussions and captured personal commitments from attendees, including pledges from ICB leaders, dementia charities, young people, and service managers to champion Shared Lives and integrate it into strategic plans.

Operational and strategic development
• Delivered scheme “deep dives” and audits of carer recruitment processes.
• Developed Shared Lives champions in key teams and delivered bitesize training for social workers to improve referrals.
• Collaborated on a South Yorkshire-wide carer recruitment strategy with tailored messaging.

Sustaining momentum
• Facilitated follow-up meetings to build partnerships with health teams, community organisations, and children’s services.
• Secured agreement to embed Shared Lives in local strategic plans and to continue the consortium’s collaboration beyond the ARF period.

Achievements (as of March 2025)
• 37 additional people supported in Shared Lives.
• 15 new Shared Lives carers recruited or in approval.
• Increases in target diversification areas (mental ill health, dementia, unpaid carers, and young people).
• Improved awareness among practitioners, commissioners, and senior leaders.
• Stronger inter-area collaboration and shared learning between schemes.
• Increased engagement with supported people to shape future recruitment and service design.
• Tailored recruitment initiatives, including personalised approaches in Doncaster.

Comments from Shared Lives leads and senior leaders:

• “Shared Lives Plus have been excellent partners of this project from day one.”
• “[There’s been] measurable growth in carers and people supported across all pillars, showing tangible outcomes.”
• “Clear alignment of the ARF project with our Council’s adult social care transformation goals.”
• “Overall, I cannot overstate how supportive Shared Lives Plus have been throughout the Project.”
• “Social workers now have increased knowledge of the offer/option of Shared Lives.”

Delivering a project of this scale across four local authority areas brought both opportunities and complexities. Different stages of Shared Lives development and varied local priorities required tailored approaches but also encouraged valuable knowledge-sharing.

Differences in funding timelines and procedures meant progress varied, yet this flexibility allowed schemes to align work with local capacity. Balancing delivery with operational duties and CQC inspections tested resources but highlighted the dedication of staff and partners.

Working without pre-existing joint governance structures meant building relationships from scratch, laying foundations for stronger future collaboration. The project’s breadth enabled each area to focus on the priorities most likely to deliver lasting impact.

Ian Spicer, Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health at Rotherham Council said: “Rotherham Council is committed to enabling people to live well and as independently as possible for as long as possible – and the Shared Lives scheme plays a part in this.

“This Accelerating Reform Fund project has made a real difference, not only in Rotherham but across South Yorkshire. It has helped to create new opportunities and build on partnerships to enable us to build on the momentum created through this project.”

Find out more about Shared Lives in South Yorkshire
Learn more about Shared Lives in South Yorkshire:
• Shared Lives Rotherham
• Shared Lives Barnsley
• Shared Lives Doncaster
• Shared Lives Sheffield

If you’re interested in our consultancy support to help establish, grow, or diversify Shared Lives in your area, contact our strategic advice team at consultancy@sharedlivesplus.org.uk or read more about our offer: Consultancy support – Shared Lives Plus.