Supported accommodation providers for looked after 16- and 17-year-olds to be required to register with Ofsted
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced new regulations for all supported accommodation providers for looked after 16- and 17-year-olds, including the introduction of mandatory quality standards in supported accommodation and a “robust Ofsted inspection regime”.
The Government said it will ban unregulated accommodation for young people in care, with all providers needing to be registered from October 2023.
It added that it would invest £123m over the next three years to help local authorities respond to these changes, and “offset the costs associated with the reforms”. It will also provide a further £17.2m to Ofsted.
A DfE consultation response, published last week (23 March), sets out key features of an Ofsted regulatory regime, including “enforcement powers and offence provisions, such as right of entry powers and the prosecution of providers who do not register”.
The response also outlines the standards that providers will have to follow, covering “physical surroundings of homes, as well as how children are kept safe and the mental and emotional support they should be given”.
The Government has revealed that Ofsted will begin piloting inspections with specially trained staff later this year to “develop their approach and guidance ahead of inspections beginning nationally” from April 2024.
Under the new regulations, providers will also be required to complete a review of the support they are offering young people every six months.
The DfE noted that this review would have to include the views and experiences of the children and young people living in the accommodation and would be used "to make sure the accommodation meets the needs of everyone who lives there”.
Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Claire Coutinho said: “Every child deserves a safe and stable home with a support network that looks out for them. Supported accommodation at its best does that, while also helping young people in care develop the confidence they need to lead a fulfilling life after care. But we know that for too many, standards have fallen short.
“I am determined that this kind of accommodation comes up to the same high standard across the country, which will help give children a better chance of success in the future.
“The new regulations are a vital step in achieving our ambition to transform children’s social care with radically improved standards and outcomes, as set out recently in our plan for children’s social care, Stable Homes, Built on Love.”
To support providers to meet the new requirements, the DfE has awarded the National Children’s Bureau a £750,000 contract up to April 2024 to provide practical support, information, and good practice resources targeted directly at providers and local authority commissioners.
Anna Feuchtwang, Chief Executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said: “With the Government introducing new regulations and standards designed to improve the quality of supported accommodation for 16 and 17-year-olds in care and leaving care, it is important that those providing this accommodation are effectively prepared to register under the new regime and to implement the new ways of working.
“The National Children’s Bureau is undertaking a range of activity on behalf of DfE to prepare the supported accommodation sector for this journey, and we will be working with young people in care and care leavers to ensure their voices and experiences are embedded at both programme and local levels.”
Lottie Winson
