Kingston University, in partnership with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and Ofsted, and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), are conducting research into the effectiveness of care in children’s homes that will include insights from those with lived and professional experience.
The quality of care and planning that goes into placing children and young people in homes is vital, particularly as they may have complex social, emotional or mental health needs.
However, there has been little research about the factors affecting outcomes for children and young people living in homes, or why some placements may work better than others.
Our research aims to establish a better understanding of the experiences of children in children’s homes and to feed into an evidence base for a needs-led approach to commissioning and provision.
The research we are conducting examines anonymised data from over 25,000 children who had a placement in a children’s home between 2014 and 2023, with Kingston University working with the children’s social care data insights team at Ofsted.
Gathering insights from those with lived and professional experience has also been a key part of the research. NCB led a series of focus groups and interviews with young people with direct experience of children’s homes as well as with parents, care staff and decision-makers in the sector. Experts by experience have also been involved in the design and dissemination of the research throughout the project.
Initial findings from the study are expected in summer 2026, with a final report scheduled for later in the year, aiming to deepen and broaden knowledge about what works well for children in children’s homes.
Read about the learning from initial findings
- Blog: A dynamic perspective: rethinking transitions from children's homes
- Blog: Appropriate transitions to supported accommodation: what new evidence is telling us
Podcast: Effectiveness of care in children's homes
Too often, system pressures, placement shortages and costs can influence decisions about placing young people in children's homes that can have lifelong consequences.
In this podcast, Alfred, from NCB's experts by experience group, speaks with Professor Rick Hood (Kingston University) and Keith Clements (National Children's Bureau) about his lived experience of living in children's homes and together they explore new research into stability and outcomes for young people.
Listen now on Soundcloud or Spotify below.
The research discussed in these blogs and podcast 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.
