Teenagers in the care system: An urgent need

Every day, every month, every year, more and more teenagers are coming into the care system. In fact, one in four children in the care system right now is aged 16 and over. These children have intrinsic worth and value, but have often experienced huge instability, chaos and trauma in their young lives. Teenagers in the care system need safety, stability and love – and at Home for Good we believe part of the solution to this need lies in supported lodgings.

Supported lodgings is a provision whereby a teenager lives in the home of a ‘host’ individual or family; it’s a bit like foster care, but with more independence offered to the young person. The host will help them with learning to cook or preparing for a job interview, with budgeting or using the washing machine. It’s a bit like giving a teenager a live-in mentor! (If you want to hear more from someone sharing about their experience of supported lodgings, watch our interview with the brilliant Becky here).

Supported lodgings is the only family-based care option within the suite of ‘supported accommodation’ options for teenagers in care, and at Home for Good we think it can be a brilliant offer for many more children in the care system. But not enough people know about it, and not enough hosts are currently available to welcome a teenager into their home.

A top-down solution

At Home for Good, we love to find solutions to the problems facing the care system. And we take both a bottom-up and top-down approach to finding these solutions. On the ground, we work to inspire and equip people to open their homes to children who need stability and somewhere to belong. From the top down, we seek systemic change that will impact the wider care system and remove the barriers to finding homes. A significant, strategic part of the solution to the lack of supported lodgings options is a new initiative we have developed and launched a year ago: The Supported Lodgings National Network (SLNN).

The Supported Lodgings National Network

The SLNN exists to enable supported lodgings providers across England to meet together, share best practice and learn from each other, and speak into Government policy with a united voice. The SLNN launched in April 2021, and we hoped that 10 – 20 providers might join our first meeting and would find it helpful. In fact, 60 representatives joined that first session, and we’ve been growing ever since. We now have over 100 members, representing over 70 local authorities and other supported lodgings providers. Feedback from our members has been really encouraging, with one member telling us:

‘It’s been fantastic to be part of the network. To be part of a group of likeminded professionals who all share our passion for the transformative power that Supported Lodgings can have in the life of a young person (and their host family) has been a breath of fresh air.’

Our regular meetings have covered topics including helping hosts to be the best support they can be to the teenager who’s living with them, and how we creatively inspire new hosts to step forward. We have also had exciting opportunities to feed into Government policy.

Speaking to Government

The SLNN has been delighted to host representatives from the Department for Education for an in-depth discussion on how supported lodgings should be overseen and regulated to ensure the best possible support and stability is offered to teenagers in the care system. The SLNN is the only national unified voice on supported lodgings, and we are committed to harnessing this voice to achieve change at the Government level. It has been encouraging and inspiring to hear the feedback from SLNN members, who have so much insight and wisdom to share with Government but haven’t previously had the means to share it. As one member recently told us:

‘The ability of the network to champion supported lodgings at a level we’ve never have the ability to as individual organisations can’t be underestimated and really demonstrates how, when we work together, we can achieve more.’

We are looking forward to continuing to engage with Government to ensure that this vital provision for teenagers is increased across the country, and offered as an option for more and more young people who could benefit from this family-based care.

What next for the SLNN?

As we look back on a year of the SLNN, there is so much to celebrate. We have built a membership of over 100 committed, brilliant people who all want to see better options for teenagers in the care system, and are passionate about the potential of supported lodgings. We have spoken directly into Government policy development to ensure that supported lodgings is not overlooked. We have made connections between providers who would struggle to meet otherwise, and who have encouraged each other and shared what they have learnt. As we look ahead, there is more we want to achieve to make sure that every teenager in the care system has somewhere to belong, and somewhere that feels like home. In the coming year we are going to:

• Explore solutions to the training needs for hosts, learning from best practice and testing out ideas for a central training hub.

• Pursue the goal of doubling the number of teenagers in supported lodgings.
• Pursue the goal of doubling the number of hosts willing and able to open their home to a teenager (if you’re interested in finding out more, click here).
• Continue to grow our membership, including more local authorities who don’t yet run supported lodgings, but want to learn how to start.
• Work closely with the Government to help them bring to life their commitment to increase the use of supported lodgings across the country.

The SLNN is one part of our work to find a home for every child who needs one. We remain committed to working towards systemic development, and towards building a care system that puts children (including teenagers) at the centre. Together, we believe change is possible.