Supported Accommodation provides a living environment for young people, aged 16 and 17, who are developing independence and preparing for adult life, but who do not require the level of care provided in a children’s home or foster care.  Supported Accommodation is predominately aimed at those young people who are leaving the care system.

Until recently Supported Accommodation was unregulated, which meant providers could operate independently without there being any regulatory oversight of standards or quality.   Ofsted registration became mandatory from October 2023.  This means that any Supported Accommodation provider accommodating a care leaver aged 16 or 17 must be registered with Ofsted, or they will be committing a criminal offence.

The new regulations, which became law in April 2023, include the introduction of new mandatory quality standards in Supported Accommodation and an inspection regime.  However, the registration system has become broken and Ofsted has been unable to cope with the large volume of applications from providers to deliver Supported Accommodation.  Six-hundred applications from 2024 alone remain on a waiting list for an Ofsted inspector to visit.  These huge delays are preventing many Supported Accommodation providers from being able to open at a time when there is a national shortage of placements.

Whitehead-Ross purchased a Grade 2 listed building in Dorchester, Dorset, in 2023, which underwent 12 months of refurbishment at a cost of £250,000.  Whitehead-Ross submitted its registration application to Ofsted in April.  When Ofsted said they do not publish timescales or targets for application processing, Whitehead-Ross challenged Ofsted and was eventually told it will be unlikely they will receive a site visit from an inspector until February 2026 at the earliest.

Ian Ross, Chief Executive Officer, explained:

“In order to submit our Ofsted registration, we had to pay a £3,600 fee upfront to Ofsted and already have a Registered Manager employed, which is an expensive salary.  The Department for Education and Ofsted has significantly underestimated the number of Supported Accommodation registration applications they would receive.  I sympathise for the hard-working Ofsted staff on the frontline who clearly have unmanageable workloads.”

“There is no service in existence, apart from Ofsted, where it would be acceptable to pay for a service upfront and not receive any guarantee on timescales when you will receive that service.  In the meantime, we are paying a monthly mortgage on our building and covering an expensive salary for a Registered Manager, yet are unable to open due to Ofsted’s inability to address their backlog.” 

 “Whilst we fully support the new Regulations and agree there needs to be quality assurance in place, it is unacceptable for the Government to introduce Regulations when its regulator cannot adequately fulfil its remit.  We believe, as a short-term solution, the Secretary of State for Education should allow all providers of Supported Accommodation who are stuck in the backlog to be able to open, whilst their applications are being processed.  It is completely unreasonable for the Government to expect providers to invest in Supported Accommodation, when the Government cannot meet their own obligations.”

For more information – please contact, Ian Ross, CEO,  workforceskills@wrecltd.co.uk or  01273 281981