Supported Lodgings: the experiences, relationships and needs of young people and hosts.

Supported lodgings are a form of semi-independent accommodation in which a family or individual hosts a care-experienced young person or unaccompanied asylum-seeking child as a lodger. The potential for hosts to support the skills and emotional development of young people has led to the increased use and advocacy for supported lodgings in England. However, there is currently no research evidence into their appropriateness, or the experiences of those living in supported lodgings houses, as lodgers or hosts.

This proposed research will offer the first research exploration into the lived experiences of living in supported lodgings, from the perspectives of both young people and hosts. It will explore how supported lodgings differ from other forms of residential accommodation, the extent to which supported lodgings placements are reflective of the principles of supported accommodation set by Ofsted, and the barriers and facilitators for hosts providing effective support for young people.

It will draw on the Secure Base Model to also explore the nature and quality of relationships between young people and hosts. This research will utilise a range of methodologies. A scoping review will map current research into the experiences of young people in all forms of supported accommodation, to provide a basis for comparison with supported lodgings. Then, an online

survey of approximately 200 hosts centred around their well-being and needs will provide pioneering insights into the lived experiences of hosting supported lodgings. This will be followed by interviews with approximately 20 young people and 20 hosts, to provide rich qualitative insight into their experiences of and needs within supported lodgings, and how they conceptualise their relationships, using the Secure Base model as a framework for analysis.

Photo-elicited interview design is proposed, to give participants agency over their stories, and to help them track changes in their relationships over time within a cross-sectional study design, which is necessary given the unpredictable

temporariness of many supported lodgings placements. A coproduction approach will be taken throughout this research: consultation and collaboration with young people and hosts will be built in throughout, for example through regular advisory meetings. The Supported Lodgings National Network, run by Home for Good (a membership of commissioners, service providers and families) have agreed to support this project with access to their members for recruitment to surveys and interviews, and for collaboration, and have expressed interest in implementing the findings within their upcoming resources.

Collaboration with local authorities will also ensure appropriate safeguarding and confidentiality procedures, in addition to University ethical approval.