Supported accommodation: why investment in social care is needed more than ever

Recently, Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care, Yvette Stanley, published a blog appraising the current state of supported accommodation, which concluded that Ofsted is encountering a “worrying” number of children in supported accommodation who should not be there. 

In this article, associate Rebecca Mackett stresses the significance of suitable accommodation for young people and the challenges of finding appropriate placements under the current system. 

It is worth defining at the outset who supported accommodation is for. In this context, supported accommodation is intended for young people aged 16 and 17 who are cared for by the local authority and who are “ready for more independence and responsibility and do not require additional care”. While supported accommodation is appropriate for some of these young people, for many it is not: they need a higher level of care than supported accommodation is equipped to provide. The regulations in this area make it clear that “where young people have needs that would be best met in a children’s home or foster placement, that is where they should be placed”. 

In my work as a children lawyer, I see how important it is to have suitable accommodation for young people who are cared for by the local authority. Putting children in supported accommodation when they are not ready for it means that it is unlikely they will be getting the care they need from suitably skilled and qualified people. These are such formative years for children and many need high levels of care, even if they are 16 or 17 years old. Many would argue that the lack of suitable placements for these children sets them up to fail.

Ofsted has warned that if they “believe a supported accommodation provider is either operating as an unregistered children’s home, or not providing the level of care that the child clearly needs” they will act. While it is reassuring to know that Ofsted has oversight, it does not solve the wider problem: the lack of suitable placements for children who need higher levels of care than supported accommodation can provide. This shortage of suitable placements is just one example of why investment in social care is needed more than ever.

Here in the family and children team at Russell-Cooke we regularly act for young people being offered inappropriate placements and fight hard to get those clients the placements they need. Please do contact us if you need assistance with these issues or any other children law related matters.

Rebecca Mackett is an associate in the family and children team.