Plugz: Improving care leaver engagement through a co-produced digital app

Nottingham City Council identified that, while a range of support and services were available to care experienced young people, access and engagement remained a challenge. A similar challenge across many local authorities, information was often difficult to find, spread across different platforms, or not presented in a way that reflected how young people prefer to access support. The need to be able to translate their local offer content across diverse groups of care experienced young people who may not speak English as a first language was also identified early on as a challenge which meant some young people were unable to understand the support they’re entitled to. 

The project aimed to:

• improve access to support, information and opportunities 
• increase engagement with care experienced young people 
• make young people aware of local services and events
• combat social isolation
• provide a single, easy-to-use digital platform 
• enable timely communication and updates 
• support practitioners in delivering consistent information 
• ensure the platform is accessible and inclusive, with features such as wcag 2.2 aa compliance and a built-in dyslexia-friendly toggle to support different user needs.

Nottingham City Council worked with focusgov to co-produce the Plugz app with care experienced young people. This ensured the app reflected real needs and preferences.

The app includes:

• information on housing, finance, wellbeing and local support 
• education, employment and training opportunities including a live feed of regional apprenticeship vacancies 
• events, discounts and offers 
• push notifications for real-time updates 
• clear routes to contact support services 
• regular content updates and use of notifications have supported ongoing engagement.
• accessibility & design features including 12 different languages & ‘open-dyslexic’ fonts
• surveys
• 121 messaging with pa’s or other trusted adults with verified accounts

Since launch, Plugz has delivered measurable improvements in engagement:

• over 40 per cent of nottingham’s care leaver cohort using the app 
• 774 current users
• 326 per cent increase in users year-on-year 
• 86 per cent of access via mobile devices 
• 44 push notifications sent to keep users informed 
• user engagement has increased across key areas:
• events and discounts sections have seen up to 85 per cent growth year-on-year 
• average session time is 6 minutes 32 seconds 

Feedback highlights the practical value:

“The app is great and I love that you’ve shown me the discounts and offers that I can access.” - Care experienced young person from Nottingham City. 

“The app is well embedded in our service and valued by our young people.” - Leaving Care Team Manager, Nottingham City Council. 

The project highlighted that accessibility and visibility of information are key to engagement. Co-production played a central role in ensuring the app was both relevant and user-friendly. Through dedicated co-production sessions, care experienced young people were given full ownership of the app’s identity, taking the lead on its naming, branding and design. This not only resulted in an app that genuinely reflects their needs and preferences, but also fostered confidence, creativity and a strong sense of teamwork among those involved.

Ongoing updates and communication, particularly through push notifications, have been important in maintaining engagement over time. This is supported by the continued partnership with Nottingham, including annual focus groups with care experienced young people to ensure co-production remains at the heart of the app as needs evolve.

The council is also supported through a ‘You Said We Did’ approach, ensuring feedback from young people is clearly captured, visible and acted upon. This helps to build trust, demonstrate accountability and evidence the real impact of listening to and acting on young people’s voices.

• involve care experienced young people throughout development and ongoing support 
• prioritise mobile-first, accessible design & co-production
• keep content clear, relevant and regularly updated 
• use notifications to support ongoing engagement 
• ensure digital tools complement existing support services 
• secure buy-in from corporate parents, professionals & executive stakeholders early, highlighting the benefits such as time savings, consistent messaging and the ability to bring together a wider range of partners to offer more opportunities and support to young people
• use this as an opportunity to highlight the hard work that has gone into providing a high value local offer that can now be accessed more easily. 

Nottingham City Council continues to develop Plugz by expanding content and increasing the use of real-time updates to further support engagement and access to opportunities.

Alongside this, focusgov is developing AI-powered tools to enhance both user experience and service delivery. Digital PA will enable care experienced young people to access timely, reliable information when they need it, while PolicyMate will support Personal Advisers by providing quick, consistent access to policy and guidance, helping to save time, reduce duplication and improve the consistency of support provided.