We are a growing Shared Lives Scheme building an innovative service across Dudley and Wolverhampton
22/01/2026
This week our staff and Carers across Stourbridge and Shared Lives took part in Oliver McGowan Tier 2 Training, supported by facilitators with lived experience of learning disability and autism. Their contributions provided clear, practical insight that strengthened the day’s learning.
Thank you to everyone who attended and took part and the facilitators for their incredible contributions. This training is an important step in building confidence and improving understanding across social care!
21/01/2026
Do you have what it takes to be a Shared Lives Carer?
Shared Lives is growing, and more people are deciding to get involved and open up their home to people who need support.
You can read more about Shared Lives in the latest State of the Sector report, or contact the scheme to find out more!
Are you a foster carer, or do you support a young person under a Special Guardianship Order... are you aware of all the options available for young people post 18?
Shared Lives is similar to fostering in that it offers personalised care and support within the carer’s home, and it is a regulated service (by CQC rather than Ofsted).
The key difference is that the person you support in Shared Lives is an adult. They have full choice and control over their own life. This may include managing their own money, deciding how they spend their time, and choosing where to live.
As young people approach their 18th birthday, it’s important to start considering what support they will need once they leave care and are no longer the responsibility of Children’s Services.
Where it’s appropriate, Shared Lives should be considered as a model of care, support and accommodation. Shared Lives offers a longer-term, adult-focused model of support that promotes independence, choice, and consistent relationships.
If you would like to find out more, comment below, or drop us a direct message and one of our team will get back to you ⬇
09/01/2026
❄️ Stay Safe and Warm, Everyone! ❄️
The snow is beautiful, but it can make things challenging. Please take extra care if you’re heading out, and check in on friends, family, or neighbours who might need a little help.
If you can, keep cosy indoors, stock up on the essentials, and don’t forget a nice hot drink! ☕
Photo courtesy of Lin, Hazel🐾, Hector🐾 and Hilda 🐾
01/01/2026
✨Wishing all our Shared Lives Carers, People we support, friends, families and followers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! ✨
29/12/2025
🎄✨ Getting into the Christmas Spirit! ✨🎄
It was wonderful to see our Shared Lives Carers supporting people to get into the festivities last week.
From a delicious hot meal to a trip to the panto (oh no they didn’t… oh yes they did! 😉), it was a day full of smiles and holiday cheer.
27/12/2025
🌟 Thank you for being part of our journey!
24/12/2025
🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of Camphill Village Trust Shared Lives! ❄️
20/12/2025
What is Shared Lives? WATCH OUR VIDEO to find out more...
19/12/2025
🎄 It’s been a busy week of pre-Christmas preparations! 🎄
As we wrap up the year, we wanted to share a short highlights video celebrating everything we’ve achieved together in 2025.
None of what we do would be possible without:
✨ Our amazing Shared Lives Carers
✨ Dedicated Area Coordinators
✨ Supportive Independent Panel Members
✨ And of course, the incredible people we support every day
Your commitment and care make all the difference. 💙
As we close this week, we want to wish all of our followers a wonderful Christmas and a joyful festive season. Thank you for being part of our journey — here’s to an even brighter 2026! 🌟
12/12/2025
✨ Christmas Light Switch-On – A Magical Evening! ✨
What a wonderful night for one Shared Lives household, as the community came together for the annual street Christmas light switch-on! 🎄✨
The lights look amazing, and certainly brings a little sparkle to a Friday evening! Happy weekend everyone!🌟
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Camphill Village Trust Shared Lives:
As a starting point, Shared Lives can be described as a little bit like ‘foster care for adults who have additional and/or complex needs’…. but it’s so much more than that, as we enable the person to make their own choices in life, take control and maximise their independence. The person is carefully matched to stay with specially trained Shared Lives Carers who provide individual support to develop practical skills, encourage new social networks, build self-esteem and lead the same ordinary life at the heart of the community just like you and me. When someone comes to stay with the Shared Lives Carer(s) on either a Live-In, Short-Break or Day-Care basis, we call this an ‘Arrangement’. There is a maximum of up to three people living/staying within a household at any one time.
In Shared Lives, the goal is for everyone to feel a sense of belonging, have opportunity to be valued as part of family life and be actively involved with the local community. We support anybody from the age of 18 years old, though we will start preparatory work with young adults who are making the transition to Adult Services. Whilst Shared Lives is traditionally a service for people with learning disabilities, the team have experience of setting up Arrangements for people with mental ill health, early-on-set dementia, hospital discharges, older people, physical disabilities, people on the Autistic Spectrum and those with other complex support needs.
Currently, there are approximately 12,000 adults being supported by around 9,000 Carers in Shared Lives Arrangements across England and the sector has grown by 30% over the last few years. When living in a Shared Lives Arrangement, people are known to lead longer, healthier and happier lives, which provides a real alternative to more traditional settings such as hospital or residential care. 96% of all Shared Lives Schemes inspected by the Care Quality Commission are rated as Good or Outstanding and the model has the lowest amount of Safeguarding incidents in comparison to all other forms of Adult Social Care. On average, placing someone in a Shared Lives Arrangement, can save Local Authorities/NHS up to £26K annually, in comparison to other forms of long-term care.
To become a Shared Lives Carer, you don’t need any qualifications or experience of working in the care industry (though it can help), you just need the right values, dedication…and of course a spare room!!! You should be over 21 years of age, be able to read and write English and be committed to undertaking training and supervision for the continued development of your role. Shared Lives Carers are not paid by the hour, there is no ‘clocking on and clocking off’ when you are supporting someone from within your own home, but it’s a hugely rewarding role!!! Shared Lives Carers have self-employed status and qualify for tax relief from HMRC. You are paid according to the level of support you provide, which can sometimes include personal care, often between £370-£560 per week. You can even continue with your current employment and be a Shared Lives Carer at the same time.
You will need to complete an Enhanced DBS Check, self-declaration of health, as well as provide employer/personal references and relevant insurance cover. The Scheme worker will then write an assessment report that will include your life history, employment career and identify your values and motivations for wanting to become a Carer. We will provide you with a comprehensive Induction programme, where groups discussions will focus on roles and responsibilities, ethical dilemmas, safeguarding and communication skills, and medication administration etc. An Independent Panel made up of local people with an interest in Shared Lives will interview you and then approve your status as a Carer. From start to finish, the whole process takes between 3-6 months.
When we match someone to stay with a Shared Lives Carer, we sometimes have to consider, but not always necessarily so, cultural/religious differences, age, gender, complexity of support needs, daily routines, skillset and experience of the Shared Lives Carer, home location, pets, interests and extended family/social networks. You may have to wait a little while whilst we find the right match, as we are not in the business of putting square pegs in round holes. We are sure you appreciate that when we bring people together, we need to check everybody is happy first, as this underpins the longevity and success of each Arrangement. Being part of a wider charity means there is also opportunity to access all the activities at our Stourbridge Community as well as connect to an already established network of support.
If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a Carer with CVT Shared Lives, then visit our website at: www.cvt.org.uk/sharedlives and give us a call on 01384 441 505 or follow us on twitter: @CVTSharedLives
