Our History and Strategy
My Home Life was originally founded in 2006 by Help the Aged (now Age UK) in partnership with the National Care Forum and City, University of London and a core group of influential care organisations at the time.
It started at a time when widespread fear, stereotyping and uninformed media coverage portrayed care homes in a negative way.
My Home Life wanted to focus more positively on care homes, sharing best practice and inspirational stories of success.
Since 2006 we have successfully created a strong social movement for quality improvement in care homes that has spread nationally and internationally.
We are perceived as different and special because we listen and hear people’s voices.
Our central focus is on the importance of positive relationships between people, their families and staff, and between care services and the wider community.
We recognise that the quality of life of everyone involved in the care experience is crucial to improvements in practice. We emphasise the importance of working together to co-create our desired future.
Why the name "My Home Life"?
The Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) first published standards guidance for care homes in 1984, called Home Life, which accompanied the Registered Homes Act of 1984 that came into force the following year.
12 years later, in response to a growing sense that social care had changed significantly, and following the publication of the Wagner Review in 1988, CPA produced updated guidance for care home practice called “A Better Home Life” (1996). This code of practice for residential and nursing home care provided clear guidance on aspects of care and management, underpinned throughout by the recognition of the right of older people to be treated as individuals, and with dignity and respect.
Ten years later in 2006, My Home Life was launched – a new evidence base for quality of life in care homes that built upon what had been developed before.
We are now approaching 40 years from that first set of guidance, and wish to continue to support the dynamic care sector to continue to raise the standards to support our most vulnerable citizens.
The My Home Life Movement
My Home Life is an international movement.
My Home Life England is hosted in England by City St George’s, University of London.
Our partner organisations are in:
- Wales (Swansea University and Age Cymru)
- Scotland (Robert Gordon University)
- Northern Ireland (University of Ulster)
- Australia (South Australian Innovation Hub)
- Germany (Josef and Luise Kraft Foundation).
There is also a regional group in Essex (My Home Life Essex Community Association).
Each partner organisation has their own story to share about what they have contributed to My Home Life and the impact in their own country/region. Overall, the spirit is very much one of collaboration and co-creation amongst the partners to deliver the My Home Life vision.
Please see the various partner organisation websites for more information:
- My Home Life Scotland
- My Home Life Northern Ireland
- My Home Life Essex Community Association
In 2020, “My Home Life Charity” (Reg. Charity Number 1187498) was established.
My Home Life Charity will:
- Build on and support collaboration across the partner organisations
- Support research and development across more than one My Home Life partner
Act as an archive for resources - Encourage the continued development of the My Home Life vision in new places.
My Home Life England's Strategic Priorities (2022/23 – 2025/6)
Our strategic priorities to realise our vision strongly align with City St George’s, University of London’s commitment to delivering social good, through high-quality research, and strong links between research and practice.
They include:
- To improve the quality and growth of training, support and development programmes.
- To develop and engage in collaborative relationships across the sector with the aim of highlighting and stimulating positive practice, research and innovation to increase influence and positive change at local, regional and national systems-level.
- To enhance and promote underpinning research connected to our activities and to increase our research outputs and funding.
- To develop and promote community engagement initiatives across generations, care homes, other care settings and within localities.
We continue to draw on the expertise of people connected to care homes and care settings, the wider My Home Life movement, Our Development Board, The My Home Life Charity and our continued relationships with publicly funded care and health organisations.
We stay connected to a wide number of statutory and membership organisations and to Professor Julienne Meyer through her different research activities and role with the new My Home Life Charity.