Imosphere

02/06/2026

What’s really stopping Adult Social Care Direct Payments uptake?

We recently brought together councils from across the country to discuss what’s happening with Direct Payments in practice - and the conversations were incredibly honest.

Confidence was repeatedly raised. Not just practitioner confidence, but confidence across the wider system - confidence in processes, local support options, flexibility, and having better conversations earlier.

Councils also spoke openly about:

• The ongoing pull back towards “time and task” models
• How difficult outcomes-focused practice can be to embed consistently
• Variation between teams
• Local market and supply pressures
• Direct Payments still being introduced too late in the journey

The strongest takeaway was that the future of Direct Payments is about far more than process. It’s about creating conditions for more creative, personalised, and outcomes-focused support.

We’ve summarised the key themes and emerging insights in the carousel below.

Sign-up to be notified when our full Insights Report is ready: www.imosphere.com/dp

21/05/2026

Laura, Philippa & Mark are at the System C today - always a valuable opportunity for networking, innovation, and learning aimed at connecting care.

21/05/2026

Local authorities are increasingly looking at how SEND funding decisions can become more consistent, visible and defensible in practice.

For many councils, the challenge is no longer whether a funding framework exists. It is whether decisions can be applied consistently across growing demand and increasingly complex cohorts.

We are seeing growing interest in approaches that help councils:

- Improve consistency without disrupting existing practice
- Strengthen rationale and audit visibility
- Build better cohort insight
- Create more connected funding workflows ahead of reform

Here we explore two approaches councils are taking: digitising existing local frameworks or adopting a structured needs-led model already used across England’s local authorities.

Learn more: https://www.imosphere.com/send/funding-decisions

20/05/2026

Mark & Jonathan are at The Access Group Social Care Conference today! If you’re attending, stop by and say hello - we’d love to catch up with existing customers, meet new faces, and hear more about the challenges and opportunities across the sector.

20/05/2026

We’re excited to be attending The Access Group Social Care Conference!

If you’re attending, come and visit us at our stand to chat about how we’re helping providers improve outcomes, streamline processes, and support frontline teams with smarter digital solutions.

We’d love to catch up with existing customers, meet new faces, and hear more about the challenges and opportunities across the sector.

See you there!

14/05/2026

Last week we brought together councils from across the country for our latest Adult Social Care Community Practice Network session to explore what’s happening with Direct Payments in practice.

The conversations were open, practical and honest, and several themes came up repeatedly:

• Confidence remains one of the biggest barriers
• Outcomes-focused practice is still difficult to embed consistently
• Direct Payments are often introduced too late in the conversation
• Variation between teams remains significant
• Local market supply and community support options matter more than ever

What several councils said, in different ways, was that the issue now goes beyond process and paperwork.

It’s increasingly about creating the conditions for better conversations, more creative support planning, and stronger practitioner confidence across the wider system.

We’ve pulled together the key themes and emerging insights from the session here: https://www.imosphere.com/post/emerging-themes-from-our-direct-payments-community-practice-network

What councils are telling us about Direct Payments in practice.

14/05/2026

Imosphere COO and school governor Natalie Kenneison attended the Schools and Academies Show in London last week.

The discussions around SEND reform, inclusion and AI felt much more focused on practical operational challenges and what schools and local authorities are dealing with day to day.

Five themes kept emerging in conversations throughout the day:

• Inclusion being treated as a whole-school and whole-system responsibility

• Growing pressure on SENCOs and SEND teams due to workload and administrative demands

• Challenges caused by disconnected systems and fragmented processes

• More mature conversations about how AI can support professionals in practice

• The increasing importance of visibility and oversight ahead of reform

The sector knows change is needed, but the real challenge is how improvements can realistically happen while teams are already under pressure.

We’ve shared some of our key reflections and operational insights from the conference in our latest article.

https://www.imosphere.com/post/what-the-schools-and-academies-show-revealed-about-send-reform-inclusion-and-operational-pressure

What we heard at the SEND Conference 2026 - and what it means for local authorities now.

13/05/2026

Great to get the team together in Nottingham yesterday for our in-person All Hands. A really valuable day of collaboration, conversations, and spending time together - something that matters even more in our remote-first world. It's always good to step away from the screens and reconnect as a team. Looking forward to the next one!

07/05/2026

Today we held a successful Community Practice Network session, bringing our adult social care customers together for some really great discussions and insights around Direct Payments and Outcomes in Practice. Thanks to everyone who joined us for your engagement - we're already looking forward to delving into another topic with our local authority community in July!

29/04/2026

In honour of , our team took a Wellbeing Hour in April, spending time in whatever way helps them relax and recharge. Some highlights included a peaceful coffee break in the garden, planting seeds, a little self-care pampering, and a scenic dog walk 😍🌿