STBI Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 1 STBI Limited Registered provider: STBI Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and managed by a private provider. It can accommodate up to 11 individuals in self-contained units where the accommodation is for the sole use of one person. The provider operates in the Yorkshire region of England.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service provided support for seven children aged 16 to 17 years old.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since the organisation was registered in May 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 13 January 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 15 to 17 January 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action.

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from, and enjoy, positive relationships with their peers and with staff. For many children, this helps them to develop a sense of community and belonging.

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Summary of findings

As the children’s skills improve, they become more independent and their confidence and self-esteem grow.

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Summary of findings

Diversity is embraced and celebrated and this adds to children’s sense of inclusion. One professional commented, ‘It’s like a little family.’ Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 2 Staff help children to understand risk and they teach them how to stay safe. Children are able to open up to staff about their concerns and have access to staff support 24 hours a day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have positive relationships with staff, and the staff know and understand children well. Staff take time to listen to children and they make sure that children’s views and opinions are the focus of their support plans. Staff spending time with children and listening to children helps children to feel a sense of value and respect and included in decisions about their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff work with children to make sure they have the skills they need to move on successfully to the next stage of life. Children learn a range of practical skills that include shopping, budgeting and how to use public transport. As children make progress, their confidence and self-esteem grow.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s health is a priority for staff. As soon as they arrive, children are supported to register with relevant health services. Children have access to specialist services where needed, for example to support their mental health. Staff encourage children to maintain active lifestyles. Children take part in a range of activities, such as attending a local gym, football and cycling, which promote their health and well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to achieve their educational goals. For children who attend college, staff facilitate extra education sessions related to their courses. This additional work helps children to further develop their learning and gain further qualifications. For those not in college, work is ongoing with specialist advisers to try and help them find suitable courses. One professional commented, ‘They are excellent here, staff go above and beyond, and they have done the extra mile as well.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children take part in group activities. For some, this is a new experience which provides them with a sense of community and belonging. Activities that they enjoy include visits to theme parks and events such as bonfire night celebrations. Children also benefit from accessing local community groups and holiday clubs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to celebrate their cultures, backgrounds and diversity. They are encouraged to participate in religious celebrations and staff support them to follow their religious beliefs. Staff also help children to access and develop links with their preferred places of worship. This allows children to form positive relationships and social interactions outside of the service as they move towards greater independence and adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have access to independent advocacy services in their local community. This service helps them to express their views and understand the choices they have in life. Children seeking asylum have appropriate services in place to support them through this process. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 3

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How well children are helped and protected

Children can talk to staff about any concerns that they have. There is always a member of staff on site and children know that they can go to this person at any time, with any concern, and that they will receive the support they need. This helps children to feel safe and secure in their home.

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How well children are helped and protected

Incidents of concern, or those that place children at risk of harm, are rare at this service. When they do happen, staff quickly take appropriate action to reduce risks to children. Individualised risk assessments for each child are in place and provide staff with clear strategies to help them to manage and reduce risks. These risk assessment documents are regularly reviewed and up to date. This enables staff to provide children with supportive and consistent responses during times of crisis.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff spend time educating children about staying safe in the community and at home. They help children to find the balance of being independent, while also helping them to learn from events and occasions when things do not go to plan or as anticipated. This approach helps children to build emotional resilience and take responsibility for their own safety and welfare.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff understand the risks and factors that could affect children’s safety. They complete a range of training courses that help them to identify and manage risks that children may face. Staff know how to report concerns about children’s safety to other agencies and professionals when required and are confident to do this. This helps to establish a multi-agency approach to protecting children from potential harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have an established system in place for recruiting new staff. They complete a range of checks before the staff start work. These checks help to ensure that staff are safe to work with the children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children said that they like their accommodation and that they feel safe. When asked about their accommodation, one child commented, ‘It’s the perfect size for one person, I feel safe, and the staff are very helpful.’ Regular fire and health and safety checks ensure that the building remains in a safe condition for children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual and the registered service manager work closely together. They are committed to providing quality accommodation and a service that reflects and supports children’s diverse needs. They are both highly active in the running of this service. This level of oversight and involvement helps them to build good professional relationships with children, staff and other agencies and professionals. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 4 Staff said that they feel well supported by the managers. They receive regular supervision that helps them to reflect on their work. The registered service manager, however, does not receive regular formal supervision, and annual appraisals are not taking place. This does not provide an opportunity for the registered service manager and the staff to set goals to further improve their performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

When significant incidents occur, the registered service manager and the nominated individual do not always notify Ofsted of these as required. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager and the nominated individual are keen to keep improving the service for the children. They seek regular feedback from children and professionals and, where possible, they act on any suggestions. As a result of recent feedback, a new communal space is being built to further improve children’s experiences of living here.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The use of an online monitoring system helps leaders and managers to keep good oversight of the running of the service. They use their six-monthly monitoring report to set themselves targets to continue to develop the service. Leaders and managers know where their strengths are, and they understand areas they need to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Some documents do not fully meet the requirements of the regulations, for example the register of children. Managers currently hold some information that contributes to the service’s workforce plan. However, this information is not yet gathered to form an effective strategy. This is a missed opportunity for leaders and managers to ensure that the service evolves to meet children’s diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have well-established working relationships with a wide range of professionals and specialist services. Services include children’s social care, independent advocacy services, specialist healthcare providers, educational professionals and personal advisers. These links with other agencies ensure that children have easy access to the services that they need. The registered service manager and nominated individual are strong advocates for the children and appropriately challenge other professionals where needed to make sure the children receive the right support. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 5

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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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development,

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience, and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 18 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 31 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep records of other information relating to the supported accommodation undertaking set out in Schedule 3.

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Requirement Due date

maintain the records in Schedule 3, which may be kept in electronic form. (Regulation 25 (1) (2)(a)) 31 March 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

a child protection enquiry— 31 March 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 6 is instigated, or

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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. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which fulfils the requirements in the Regulations concerning the recruitment and employment of staff. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards,’ page 47)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Denise Miran

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: strivetobeindependent@outlook.com

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Inspector

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: STBI Ltd 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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