Blog: A dynamic perspective - rethinking transitions from children’s homes

New research by NCB and Kingston University, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, suggests that in making decisions about moving children and young people from children’s homes, the extent to which their needs and wellbeing may change during transitions can be underestimated. Crucially, children and young people who appear to be ‘settled’ may still be highly vulnerable to disruption when relationships, routines and environments change. 

Interviews with children and young people, families and practitioners highlighted a tension between viewing children’s needs as fixed, and understanding them as being shaped by changing relationships and circumstances. Recognising this tension is important for making decisions about where children and young people live, how transitions are managed, and how residential care services are designed.

When settled doesn’t mean stable

In decisions about moving children and young people from a children’s home, there can sometimes be an assumption that a child or young person who seems settled in the present moment will continue to cope well after a move. These decisions are not made in a vacuum. As outlined in a report from the National Audit Office, the residential care system is operating under significant strain, including shortages of placements, workforce instability and rising costs, all of which can narrow the options available to practitioners and children. Interviewees in our research suggested that decisions to move children and young people from children’s homes could happen particularly where local authorities are under pressure from placement shortages, rising costs, or limited availability of suitable provision. 

However, our research highlights that children and young people’s needs are shaped by relationships, routines and environments, and these can change significantly during transitions. Changes in living arrangements may therefore affect how children cope emotionally and behaviourally, particularly where they involve loss of trusted relationships, schools, activities or local support networks. Planning transitions without attention to these issues may increase the risk of instability. 

This reaction is not only related to the child or young person’s own relationship with change and their capacity to manage this. It is also shaped by the environmental and relational conditions which contributed to the child or young person presenting as ‘settled’ in the first place. Analysis of administrative data by our colleagues at Kingston University also found that stability was shaped not only by individual children’s needs, but by the conditions within homes themselves. For example:

• Higher rates of unplanned moves were found in homes with high staff turnover, greater reliance on agency staff, and no registered manager in post.
• In-house local authority homes had lower rates of unplanned moves than outsourced provision.

When reflecting on these findings, participants in the qualitative research highlighted the importance of the relationships that individual children and young people have with staff and other children and young people in the home, as well as factors facilitating this including:

• The support available from the wider network of professionals supporting the child or young person at their home, including from both the provider and local external agencies. This can help children and young people to access specific interventions and helps provide continuity and trusted relationships  
• Workforce development, practice and support, including learning and supervision with specific focus on building staff resilience.
• The availability of communal spaces and activities creating opportunities for informal interactions and bonding between those living in the home and with the staff.
• Access to community activities, cultural resources and social connections within the child or young person’s local area
• The ways in which children and young people are introduced to their new home, for example, where there is time for a managed transition, taking time to introduce the child or young person to the home, its other residents and staff and local area.

A dynamic perspective

Looking at children’s experiences dynamically means recognising that children and young people’s needs and identities are shaped by context and relationships, rather than being fixed characteristics of the child. This reflects wider thinking across children’s services that vulnerability is not a simply a fixed trait within a child, but something shaped by circumstances, relationships and environment (see NCB/RiP for Ofsted 2025).

A dynamic lens encourages decision-makers to think carefully about how a move may affect a child’s wellbeing and stability over time. While financial and placement pressures are real, decisions should take account of the possibility that poorly planned moves may themselves contribute to further instability, distress, as outlined in this review from the University of Cambridge and additional long term costs, as in this report from NCB and the Local Government Association (LGA).

Where a move is either considered unavoidable or seen to be in the child or young person’s best interests, anticipating emotional and behavioural reactions enables practitioners to give detailed consideration to help ease the transition process for children and young people who move on from residential care. The question ‘would this be good enough for my child?’, central to the No Wrong Door approach as outlined on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website, can provide a useful guide when planning transitions.

Practice points for supporting transitions

In some circumstances, a move may be necessary or beneficial for a child or young person. Our research highlights the importance of how these transitions are planned and supported, and points to several key considerations for practitioners and decision-makers:

• Involve children and young people in planning and decision-making. 
• Give children and young people as much control as possible, such as what they eat, the activities that they take part in, and their room decorations.
• Where possible, introduce children gradually to new homes, staff, routines and local areas, and to any other people who will also be living in the home or spending time there.
• Consider how any changes to the child or young person’s personal and professional support network, and access to activities and cultural resources can be managed, particularly if the child or young person has to move out of the area that they have been living in.
• Ensure providers receive clear information about children’s needs, strengths and support networks during the matching process, including the additional support that the multi-agency network will provide.

Transitions are hugely significant for children in care. They can reshape children’s relationships, identity, behaviour and sense of safety. Decisions about moving children therefore need to focus not only on where they will live next, but on how they will experience and cope with change.

The research discussed in this Blog is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) under its Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) Programme (Grant Reference Number NIHR205697). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.