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

Our vision is that every child and young person in care in Buckinghamshire grows up in a setting that enables them to feel safe, loved, and supported – where they can build positive relationships, develop their identity, and fulfil their potential.

Placement sufficiency is not simply about quantity; it is about creating a system where high-quality, therapeutic, and relationship-based care is the standard – and where children are placed as close as possible to their communities, families, schools, and support networks.

To achieve this, we are guided by a core set of strategic principles:

• Child-Centred and Needs-Led: Every decision and action is grounded in the needs, voice, and best interests of the child. We recognise that one size does not fit all, and that sufficiency must respond to individual complexity.
• Family and Community First: Wherever possible, children should be supported to remain with or return to family members or be placed in foster care within or near Buckinghamshire to maintain key relationships.
• Stable and Sustainable Placements: Reducing placement moves and disruption is essential to children’s emotional wellbeing. We are focused on achieving permanence and reducing reliance on temporary or short-term care.
• Inclusive and Culturally Competent: Our services must reflect the diversity of the children we care for. Placement options should affirm children’s identity, meet religious and cultural needs, and provide safety and belonging.
• Value and Support Our Carers and Workforce: Foster carers, residential staff, and professionals across the system are critical to achieving sufficiency. We will invest in their development, support, and recognition.
• Integrated and Evidence-Informed: We will work across services – including health, education, housing and youth justice – to deliver joined-up care. Decisions will be informed by local intelligence, audit, and feedback from children and carers.
• Financially Responsible and Future-Focused: Our sufficiency approach must deliver not just better outcomes, but better value – shifting from high-cost reactive placements to sustainable local provision that builds long-term resilience.

This vision and these principles underpin every aspect of this strategy – from the design of our fostering and residential programmes to our commissioning intentions and workforce plans. They reflect not just what we do, but how we do it – with compassion, ambition, and accountability.