New organisation will match children with complex needs with dedicated practitioners, who will work with them intensively for 18 months in order to reduce harm and improve stability
An “alternative to containment” is being developed for children at risk of being subject to deprivation of liberty orders, the number of which has risen steeply in recent years.
Under the model, children will receive 18 months of intensive support to enable them to flourish in their communities, rather than be subject to highly restrictive placements that are seen as delivering poor outcomes at high cost to the state.
Reset, the not-for-profit organisation behind the plan, said it believed its approach would reduce harm, improve stability, promote self-confidence and enhance relationships for the young people concerned.
High numbers of deprivation of liberty orders
In 2024, 1,280 children were subject to High Court applications to deprive them of their liberty, compared with 103 applications recorded by Cafcass in 2017-18.
The resulting court orders result in young people being subject to severe restrictions designed to meet immediate safety risks, whether due to self-harm, suicidality, exploitation or high-risk behaviours, rather than tackle underlying needs often rooted in trauma.
Placements are often in unregulated settings, due to a lack of suitable provision, with the Children’s Commissioner for England recently finding that these cost local authorities £14,000 a week on average.
Breaking cycles of harm model
The development of the new approach has been led by child protection adviser and former social worker Sophie Humphreys.
Humphreys previously co-founded Pause, which supports women who have had multiple children removed from their care, and SHiFT, which works with children at risk of being caught up in criminality.
Like Pause and SHiFT, Reset is based on Humphreys’ ‘Breaking Cycles’ model. This seeks to tackle entrenched problems by providing the person with a “hook”, designed to motivate them to make changes, and a trusted practitioner, who will work with them intensively and persistently to help make these a reality.
The Reset model has been developed through research and feasibility work carried out over the past 18 months, based on the hypothesis that the Breaking Cycles model could work with this cohort of children.
What the Reset programme involves
Reset, which will generally work with children aged 12-18, will allocate each one a practitioner to work with them in three stages:
- An initial phase where the practitioner builds a relationship with the child and those closest to them.
- A three-month residential, which Reset said would provide a “supportive and nourishing environment, supporting children to learn to regulate”, with the help of the allocated practitioner and a multidisciplinary team. The practitioner will also develop a plan for the child’s next steps.
- A final period, lasting 12 months, in which the practitioner will support the child to settle back into the community and put the plan into action. The practitioner will also support the child’s wider network, while the child will also benefit from support from the wider team and respite breaks.
Intended outcomes for young people
Reset said it believed its approach would provide much greater stability for children, by enabling them to live safely with their birth parents, with foster or adoptive parents, or in more suitable – and lower-cost – residential settings.
It also predicted that the model would reduce the numbers of missing episodes and boost educational outcomes for the young people.
Reset plans to pilot the approach with Barking & Dagenham Council in east London, from September 2026, working with 18 children.
It is looking to raise £1.8m from philanthropic support to deliver the pilot and estimates it will save £4.7m.
Reset is also working with Home and Future, the South East regional care co-operative, to develop a regional model for delivering the approach.
Change ‘desperately needed’
Humphreys, who is the executive chair of Reset, said: “This is the moment to bring about the desperately needed change to how we support children and families who get lost between the often binary service provision of children’s social care and mental health services.
“We need to embrace nuance, create aspiration and hope, and wherever possible, support getting children back into their family and community life.”
Reset’s development is being supported by Purposeful Ventures, which works with social entrepreneurs to build organisations designed to improve outcomes for young people.
It is currently recruiting for Reset’s chief executive and clinical programme director.
Source: Community Care, Mithran Samuel
