Placement & Homes Strategy for Children and Young People 2026 to 2030

This strategy is grounded in statutory duties and national frameworks that guide how local authorities must plan, commission, and deliver placements for looked-after children and care leavers. It also aligns with wider government and local strategic priorities to ensure coherence, compliance, and ambition.

This strategy supports our compliance with key legislative duties, including:

• Children Act 1989 and 2004 – The core legislative framework for the care and protection of children, including duties under Sections 20, 22A–22C and 31.
• Children and Young Persons Act 2008 – Requirements around sufficiency and support for looked-after children and care leavers.
• Children Act 1989 – Sufficiency Duty (Section 22G) – The requirement to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient accommodation to meet the needs of looked-after children within the local authority area.
• Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 – Legal standards for placement type, planning, and oversight.
• The Children and Families Act 2014 – Including provisions around SEND and care leaver support.
• The Children and Social Work Act 2017 – Strengthening local offers for care leavers and promoting corporate parenting responsibilities.
• The Equality Act 2010 – Embedding non-discrimination, equity, and reasonable adjustments in service planning and delivery.

This strategy also aligns with:

• Ofsted’s Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) – Specifically focusing on how well the authority meets sufficiency, placement stability, and permanence.
• Ofsted’s Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) – For residential settings and fostering services.
• DfE Children’s Homes Capital and Reform Programmes – Including recent policy announcements around registration of supported accommodation and therapeutic residential reform.
• National Market Review and CMA Reports – Highlighting the importance of rebalancing provision and reducing profiteering.

This strategy complements and supports delivery of other local and regional priorities, including:

• Buckinghamshire’s Children and Young People’s Plan
• Corporate Parenting Strategy
• SEND and Inclusion Strategy
• Early Help and Family Hubs Strategy
• CAMHS Transformation Plan
• Buckinghamshire Housing Strategy and Youth Housing Pathway
• Regional Commissioning and Market Development Plans

We will maintain a live log of policy changes and regulatory developments to ensure our sufficiency approach remains compliant, current, and forward-looking.