Step by Step Supported Lodgings

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 1 Step by Step Supported Lodgings

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Registered provider: Step by Step Partnership 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. The service can accommodate up to 150 children and young people in 100 private residences, such as supported lodgings.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service was providing supported accommodation for 28 looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The service manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023 when the service was registered.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 10 March 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 12 to 14 March 2025, and completed one external host visit on Tuesday 11 th March 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. The next inspection will be within approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Children are supported by hosts who understand their needs well. Matching children with their hosts is a particular strength of leaders and managers. As a result, children achieve their individual goals and make good progress. This prepares them for independence and adulthood. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 2 Leaders and managers are ambitious and committed to improving children’s lives. They promote a child-centred ethos, where consultation, inclusion and participation by children and hosts leads to high-quality support.

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Summary of findings

Effective protection of children ensures that they become safer and develop resilience. Children develop their independence skills and have made their accommodation their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are happy and settled in their homes and have everything that they need to live comfortably. This is testament to very good matching by the placement coordinators. Children said that they were happy living with their hosts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Hosts were able to give good examples of the progress children have made since living with them, such as improved attendance and achievement at college, experiencing holidays and enrichment activities and improved mental health. One host said, ‘I have been privileged to witness our young people make progress whilst with our service.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s needs, risks and behaviours are assessed and considered before they move into their accommodation. This assessment also takes account of the needs of children already living in the homes. Information is captured across plans that are designed to help hosts support children. However, some support plans are not sufficiently detailed and do not always detail the progress that children. Because hosts know the children well, and children are generally making good choices about keeping themselves safe, this has not had an impact on children or their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The accommodation is of a good standard. Children’s bedrooms reflect their interests and show that they have made the space their home. Children feel able to join their hosts and families and spend time together, for example, enjoying meals, holidays and celebrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are well prepared for moving on to live on their own. Good support is given when it is time for children to move, with staff making every effort to ensure they settle into their new home. Children are encouraged to keep in touch after they have left, with many continuing to visit hosts. This helps to ensure that children are not isolated as they move to independent living.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers understand and take seriously their safeguarding responsibilities. Any safeguarding concerns are shared promptly with safeguarding agencies, and strategies are put in place to mitigate and reduce risks to children. Despite a good level of monitoring and oversight by leaders and managers, two serious incidents had not been notified to Ofsted. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 3 Recruitment files showed that the provider’s recruitment policy does not align with safer recruitment practice. For example, a full employment history is not obtained, references from the previous employer are not always obtained and gaps in employment history are not explored robustly. This is an area for improvement.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy about any aspect of their support. Children feel listened to, and any concerns are quickly addressed. Managers, staff and hosts are strong advocates for the children, ensuring that their views and wishes are acted on by other professionals involved in their lives.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children rarely go missing. Leaders, managers and hosts work in partnership with the police and social workers to develop the most effective joint procedure for reporting children missing. This includes monthly reviews of any incidents and looking into how decisions were made and reported. There is close working with all professionals to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are dedicated to improving children’s outcomes. They aspire to develop their organisation so that all children have the best opportunities. They look to be innovative in creating these opportunities, such as awards that celebrate and promote the strengths of the hosts and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since the organisation was registered in September 2023, there has been a steady improvement in the numbers of children engaging in education or employment. Statistically, children who remain with their hosts for longer do well. Unplanned endings are not a feature of concern. Most placements remain stable, and most endings are planned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Training is available for all hosts and attendance is good. However, one area for development is to provide staff with opportunities to develop their awareness and understanding of children’s current and changing needs, including drugs and alcohol misuse, self-harm and exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Professionals and hosts are extremely complimentary about the organisation. Providing children with stability, security and support featured highly in feedback. Communication is noted as excellent and hosts are described as kind and welcoming. These factors add to children’s feelings of safety and contribute to the progress they make. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (4), the registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual for the purposes of the provision of supported accommodation, or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work for the supported accommodation undertaking in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work for the supported accommodation undertaking,

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person is satisfied that the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work for the purposes of providing supported accommodation or, as the case may be, for the supported accommodation undertaking, despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 1 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of that Schedule are incomplete, 13 June 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 5 full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 1,

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional, and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 1, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at premises used as supported accommodation and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 17 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (4)(a)(b)(c)(d) (5))

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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

there is any [other] incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(f)) 13 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive training that is relevant to the current needs of the children. This should focus on ensuring that the workforce is equipped to deliver the services set out in the statement of purpose to meet the needs of children. The workforce plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications to be completed by staff while working at the setting and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the registered service manager. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 47)  The registered person should ensure that children’s plans include a strategy for a particular type of support, treatment or intervention (for example, therapy relating to neglect or abuse). Staff will need to understand the purpose of any such support and the ways in which children’s past experiences of abuse or

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Recommendations

neglect may manifest in their day-to-day lives. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 38) Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 6

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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: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Step by Step Partnership Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 36 Crimea Road, Aldershot, Hampshire GU11 1UD

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Sarah Muckart

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: managementSL@stepbystep.org.uk

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Inspectors

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Supported Lodgings 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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