Abstract

This session reports on research based on an innovative intervention designed to enable improvements in young people’s experiences when preparing to leave residential care. Centring on 15 children’s homes/semi-independent provisions in the north west of England, the programme was funded by the Department for Education. The research was designed as integral to the two-year programme and investigated the intervention at two points in time, with interim findings taken forward into the development of the second year of delivery. Findings will be discussed in detail. Conclusions note that preparing to leave care increases intensity in already complex lives; settled periods are disrupted frequently and this may result in a tumultuous time for all concerned. Extra support for young people is required to enable positive development. Young people may need long periods of supported transition in order to move away from institutionalised care towards achieving a confident sense of agency sufficient to withstand the inevitable decrease in support. The research contributed towards offering a better understanding of what is needed to improve young people’s experiences of leaving residential care and enhancing their life chances.