Children in Care Market Position Statement

We want to work with providers in the Borough to develop a 'Stockton first' approach with supported accommodation provision, as at times young people are remaining in residential care for longer than they need to or being placed out of area to meet their needs. As of April 2024, there were 12 group based supported accommodation places which had young people from other local authority areas living in them.

There has been an increase in the number of young people aged 16 years and over in our care over recent years. The profile of need for our young people aged 16 years and over has also changed, in part due to the national transfer scheme increasing the proportion of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children brought into the care of the authority. In addition, we have seen an increase in the number of young people who are ready to move on to supported accommodation but whose needs require high levels of support. We will be carrying out market engagement over the coming months to explore innovative solutions for young people with more complex needs that will develop and sustain their capacity to live independently.

When our young people are ready to move to independence, it can be challenging for them to find affordable accommodation. This can lead to our young people remaining in supported accommodation or living in unsuitable accommodation for longer than they need to. The proportion of our care leavers aged 19 years and over in suitable accommodation dropped to 84% in 2022-23 and is now lower than statistical neighbours and England averages. We are working in partnership with our Strategic Housing team to engage with private and social landlords to expand the range of affordable move-on options for our care leavers.

We are working to increase the number of supported lodgings providers across all areas of the Borough as our evidence of impact shows that young people in these settings achieve positive outcomes. We currently have young people in other forms of supported accommodation whose needs could be better met in a supported lodgings environment. We have developed bespoke materials to increase awareness of our supported lodgings offer and are actively recruiting new providers.

We are working to increase our staying put arrangements, so that when it is right for the foster carer and young person, the young person can stay with their foster carer when they turn 18 years of age.