TD Supported Living Services

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 1 TD Supported Living Services

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This service is owned and operated by a private provider. It offers accommodation and support for up to 24 children living in self-contained units and shared accommodation for looked-after children and care leavers across 16 premises.

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provider

At the time of this visit, the service was accommodating eight children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager, who is also the nominated individual and the director, registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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provider

Inspection date: The inspection was announced on 16 December 2024 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 18 to 20 December 2024.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted announced a full inspection on 16 December 2024, in line with the social care common inspection framework. During this inspection, the inspectors identified serious concerns regarding the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the service. On 19 December 2024, Ofsted made the decision to convert this inspection into a monitoring visit due to significant concerns for children’s safety and well-being.

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This monitoring visit

The needs and vulnerabilities of some children living in this service are outside of the scope of The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. For example, three children are subject to deprivation of liberty orders (DoL orders), which prescribe high levels of supervision and significant restrictions to manage and reduce known risks to their safety. The DoL order for one child states that they require a minimum of two staff at all times, that windows and doors will be locked and that Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 2 staff will physically restrain them when deemed necessary. As a result, the provider is in breach of its conditions of registration.

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This monitoring visit

Managers and staff are not consistently aware of known risks to children. They do not take appropriate action when required to keep children safe. For example, some staff were unable to demonstrate that they understand child sexual exploitation. As a result, a child who is at high risk of exploitation was not reported missing to the placing authority. On other occasions, staff failed to comply with the directions of the children’s DoL orders, and as a result, they were harmed.

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This monitoring visit

Although children are inappropriately placed in this service because they require care rather than support, their plans are comprehensive and reflect their needs and vulnerabilities. However, the manager and staff do not have the skills to deliver the service in line with these plans. For example, the manager and several staff do not understand autism or the agreed strategies to help children to regulate their sensory systems or emotions. One child requires restraint to help them regulate and keep safe when self-harming. When asked how they would support this child, a member of staff said, ‘You need to run.’ This unsuitable approach to children places them at an increased and unnecessary risk of harm. This shortfall is further compounded by the manager’s lack of oversight or supervision of the staff.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not carry out sufficient assessments of children’s needs and vulnerabilities before they are admitted to the service. In some instances, he assesses these after the children have moved into their new accommodation. The manager does not ensure that he receives children’s statutory education, health and care plans, looked-after child reviews or pathway plans. This hinders his ability to ensure that internal plans align with the agreed goals for the child as set out by their social workers. Furthermore, the manager does not consider the staff’s skills, knowledge or experience when placing children in the accommodation. As a result, staff are mostly unable to meet children’s needs.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not follow or understand safeguarding procedures. For example, staff spoken to were unaware of who to share any concerns with outside of the organisation. One member of staff said that they would contact their union. Another member of staff said that they would contact the Care Quality Commission. This lack of understanding means that some safeguarding concerns have not been appropriately reported. As a result, safeguarding incidents are not always shared with relevant agencies to enable them to take appropriate action. This places children at increased risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s accommodation is unsafe and poorly maintained. The premises visited had broken and damaged furnishings that had not been fixed or replaced. For example, in one premises, damage to a child’s bedroom meant that electrical wires were exposed. In another premises, a child did not have a bedroom door or a bed frame and was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. The manager does not have a monitoring system in place to assess the conditions of the premises or a programme for repair works to be carried out. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 3 Managers and staff do not address health and safety and fire safety concerns in a reasonable time frame. The front door, which is the only exit in a block of four flats, does not open without significant force being applied. One child told the inspectors that this had been an ‘ongoing issue’ for several weeks and that the manager and

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This monitoring visit

staff had been informed but have taken no action. In another premises, there is black mould in a shower room and in a child’s fridge. In addition, one child’s bedroom windows have been painted shut. These issues pose a significant safety risk to children and staff.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not carry out suitable recruitment checks to ensure that staff are safe to work with children. Gaps in staff’s employment histories are not routinely checked and references are not consistently sought. Furthermore, staff’s interview questions are posed around their understanding of domiciliary care for elderly adults. This does not allow the manager to assess the staff’s skills and knowledge to work with and support vulnerable children living in supported accommodation.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted about serious incidents involving children. For example, one child jumped from a first-floor window, resulting in a serious injury requiring medical attention, which was not notified to Ofsted. Consequently, Ofsted is unable to understand and assess the safety of children and the provider’s response to serious incidents. In addition, record-keeping of serious incidents is insufficient. The manager was unable to produce records of serious incidents. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work effectively as a team, where appropriate, to meet the needs of children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

implement recruitment practices that ensure staff are suitable to work with children and to keep them safe from harm(1);

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child is fully aware of their entitlements throughout the duration of their placement in supported accommodation, including—

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Requirement Due date

what they can expect from the provision of supported accommodation, 16 February 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 5 ensure that staff have the skills necessary to support children to identify, access and receive their entitlements in a way that helps them to learn to identify, access and receive their entitlements independently in the future. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i))

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Requirement Due date

*The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the effectiveness of child protection policies is kept under review and ensure that, where appropriate, those policies are revised;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar and act in accordance with child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation or any other harm, and act to reduce such risk;

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Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with children to help them understand how to keep safe, by offering guidance and support on how to minimise any potential risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

work collaboratively with other professionals and agencies, and share information where relevant to keep children safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the relevant roles and responsibilities assigned to them by the registered person in relation to protecting children. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)(f)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)) 16 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

*The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment. 5 January 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

provide stability and consistency of accommodation for children;

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Requirement Due date

are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child individually and all children collectively;

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Requirement Due date

are suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well-maintained;

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Requirement Due date

offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children’s need for privacy;

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Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces;

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Requirement Due date

are designed, furnished and maintained to remove avoidable hazards which could pose a health and safety risk to children;

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Requirement Due date

comply with all relevant statutory provisions dealing with health and safety or fire safety matters;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child is provided with basic items such as bedding, towels, personal hygiene products and kitchen equipment, where the child does not have access to such items. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(e))

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Requirement Due date

*The registered provider and the registered service manager must, having regard to—

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Requirement Due date

the category or categories of supported accommodation provided by the supported accommodation undertaking concerned, carry on or manage that undertaking with sufficient care, competence and skill. (Regulation 13 (1)(e)) 16 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 16 February 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 7 the individual has the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that the individual is to perform,

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 1. (Regulation 17 (1) (3)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) in relation to each child accommodated by the supported accommodation undertaking which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 2,

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 16 February 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation— 16 February 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 8 includes details of—

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Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to follow up information received by Ofsted and/or to ensure that the supported accommodation provider was complying with regulation.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 7 Thistledown Close, Oxford OX4 7HA

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Tonderai Dhliwayo

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Inspectors

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider - monitoring visit: TD Supported Living Services 10 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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