Start-ups · Supported accommodation (16–17)
Supported Accommodation Registration
Ofsted registration for accommodation and support to looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17, under the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Operating one unregistered is a criminal offence.
The first question is whether it should be a children’s home instead
Supported accommodation is for young people who can live semi-independently with support. Government guidance is explicit that it is not right for all 16 and 17 year olds and should not be the default option — and specifically not where a child has high or complex needs, needs intensive care or supervision, needs their liberty restricted, or needs help with personal care.
That last one is the line providers most often misjudge. If the young people you are describing need personal care, you may be looking at a children’s home registration rather than this one, and the two are very different propositions to build, staff and fund.
Registration is required before you operate. It is an offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act 2000 to run a supported accommodation service without it.
Might this actually be a children’s home?
Worth settling before you sign a lease or answer a tender. The registration, the staffing and the economics all differ.
Check in four questionsWhat we do
The application, the category, and the standards you will be inspected against.
Which category you are registering
The four premises types — single occupancy, shared and ring-fenced for looked-after children and care leavers, shared but not ring-fenced, and private residences such as supported lodgings. The category shapes the application and the inspection.
The people
Registered provider, registered service manager and, for organisations, a nominated individual. SC1 and SC2 forms, and the fitness evidence behind them — integrity, character, relevant experience and fitness to carry out the role.
Statement of purpose and quality standards
Written against the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the quality standards, describing the service you will actually run.
Location and premises
The location risk assessment, and whether the property suits the category and the young people you intend to accommodate. Premises review.
Safeguarding and workforce
Safeguarding structure, staffing model, training and the supervision arrangements Ofsted will expect to see evidenced from day one.
Interview preparation
The registered manager and responsible individual interviews, run first by us. Interview preparation.
Before you commit
Demand for regulated supported accommodation has been strong since registration became mandatory, and local authorities are commissioning it actively. The market is real.
The failure point is placement matching. A service that accepts young people it is not designed for — because the referral is there and the room is empty — ends up inspected against needs it never planned to meet. Decide who this service is for, write it into the statement of purpose, and hold that line.
Fees are quoted before any work starts. Nothing on this page is an offer.
Tell us who the young people are.
Their ages, needs and how they come to you. That is what decides whether this is supported accommodation or a children’s home, and it is the first thing to get right. Thirty minutes, no charge.
Text or WhatsApp
07426 919823If it is easier to write it down than say it out loud, send a message.
Get the scope right and the rest follows.