We recently sat in on a meeting with a local council and Ofsted.

The topic of the meeting was the new Supported Accommodation regulations and what it means for providers.

The reason behind the changes is that when a child reaches the age of sixteen, they are no longer classed as children and are expected to leave the “children's home” care setting.  They are then moved on to a supported housing arrangement.  At eighteen they become an adult and are expected to be able to fend for themselves.  So, for two years between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, care leavers are put into homes designed to accommodate them.  Currently there isn’t a governing body giving oversight to the suitability of this housing, and the support given to them. 

This is where Ofsted have been asked to step in to give that oversight.  To make sure that all good practice standards are met. 

Ofsted are making it law that everyone offering supported accommodation to care leavers need to be registered with them.  With business plans, policies and procedures in place, that will be reviewed and accepted before they can be accredited.  Ofsted will also be inspecting the properties to make sure they are safe and that the care leavers are getting the support they need.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of legislation and regulations being implemented for providers of supported accommodation, and having various conversations with providers, there also seems to be some confusion.

If you are a provider wanting to get into this area, we have supplied below a selection of links to varying organisations that are there to help you understand and complete the relevant documents required and how and when to submit them, and guidance to help you through the whole process.

However, despite rumours, the time frame for this roll out is set and here are the key dates for your diary.

Key Dates

Providers can apply to be registered for one or more categories of accommodation.

The Four Categories of accommodation

1. – Single Occupancy
2. – Shared accommodation / group living (ring fenced for children in care and care leavers)
3. – Shared accommodation / group living (not ring fenced)
4. – Accommodation provided by an individual or individual in a private residence (including supported Lodgings)

Useful Links

Ofsted Consultation for inspections

Your opportunity to say what and how inspections are to be made.

Ofsted launches consultation for inspecting supported accommodation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Supported Accommodation – Registering with Ofsted

Here you can find guidance and forms to register a supported accommodation service.

Supported accommodation: registering with Ofsted - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023

Here you can find all the legislation surrounding these services.

The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)

National Childrens Bureau

The NCB have launched a tool that aims to support providers to be prepared to submit their application to register with Ofsted and meet the requirements of the four Quality standards.

Supported Accommodation - Provider Readiness Tool (ncb.org.uk)

We hope you found this article useful and if you haven’t yet registered, time is running out because from the 28^th of October, running one of the four services listed will be classed as breaking the law.