Strategic Spotlight – Portsmouth
The Accelerating Reform Fund (ARF) has provided an unprecedented investment into the adult social care sector and an important opportunity to build good foundations, fast track innovation, and stimulate Shared Lives growth across the UK in the years to come.
Over half of all Integrated Care Systems (ICS) across England chose to prioritise the growth of Shared Lives using the ARF, and in Portsmouth a priority is to develop and refine Shared Lives practices to better support care experienced young people transitioning from children’s services.
Local project aims
As part of our consultancy offer, Shared Lives Plus have been working with Portsmouth City Council across four areas as part of the ARF, one of these is focusing on the expansion and development of their Shared Lives service for young people.
Achievements
As of April 2025, the project is ongoing. Key achievements to date include:
- Connecting colleagues from Children’s services with the Shared Lives service
- Created an opportunity for engagement and collaboration to further develop Shared Lives for young people leaving Children’s care
“We have found working with Shared Lives Plus very rewarding, we particularly have enjoyed working with the team regarding our care leavers project. The support and guidance in reaching out to other teams, has helped us to begin to build strong relationships, and we are already seeing an increase in teams contacting us to ask for advice.”
Support provided by Shared Lives Plus
As part of our consultancy offer Shared Lives Plus have provided a wide range of support:
- Reviewed existing processes in place to understand areas for improvement
- Liaised with various team members across Children’s social care in Portsmouth (i.e., fostering, Children in Care).
- Developed supporting documents for further developing Shared Lives for Care Leavers, such as FAQs for foster carers, professionals, and young people, and its pathway, in Portsmouth City Council
- Delivered mapping sessions with team members to detail actions and next steps for development
Find out more about Shared Lives in Portsmouth
023 9261 6700 or shared.lives@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Shared Lives Plus continue to provide support on this project, therefore further outcomes and achievements are expected to develop. If you are interested in our consultancy support to help establish, grow, or diversify Shared Lives in your area, please contact our strategic advice team on consultancy@sharedlivesplus.org.uk or you can read more about our support offers here.
