Sanctuary Ltd Support Services

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 1 Sanctuary Ltd Support Services

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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 48 children and young people in 16 shared- or single-occupancy homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, this service was providing supported accommodation for nine children. Five shared-occupancy premises were visited as part of the inspection.

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provider

The service manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 4 August 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 6 to 8 August 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers admit children outside of the registration conditions of supported accommodation. They admit children with complex needs that the service cannot meet.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers place children with complex needs in shared housing without adequately considering the needs of other children living there. This puts some children in the accommodation at risk of harm.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not consistently support children to stay safe and make progress. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 2 Staff do not always notify Ofsted of significant events. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of the provider’s actions to safeguard the children.

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Summary of findings

Most children enjoy living in their home and feel supported by staff. Staff develop positive relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are ambitious for children. However, not many children make progress with education, training or employment. Less than half of the children attend education. The provider plans for children to return to education in the next term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff do not consistently support children with structured direct work to support them to stay safe and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children do not make progress towards developing independent living skills. Staff are not always able to support children to make suitable choices when they are managing their money. This means that some children struggle with budgeting for basic necessities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff do not always adequately manage children’s moves into their accommodation. One child has lived in three of the provider’s homes, and this has affected his level of stability due to not being able to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have good relationships with staff and managers. Children say that they know how to make a complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to maintain family relationships. Staff develop good links with those people who are important to children. For example, staff recently supported a child who has recently become a father to see his own child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in a comfortable environment that is furnished to a good standard. However, staff do not always ensure that the environment is homely. For example, one home has a locked filing cabinet in the living room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff do not consistently support children to understand house rules. This means that children are not learning the skills needed to develop positive patterns of behaviour.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff have a universal approach to locking away knives and cleaning products. This does not always reflect the actual scale of the potential or identified risks for children, nor does it help them to develop independent living skills.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff sometimes take the opportunity to have discussions with children about their substance use and other behaviours of concern, but these are ad hoc sessions and brief rather than planned sessions to support children’s progress. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 3 Children feel safe where they live, but staff do not adequately protect all children to help them to stay safe. Some children continue to be at high risk of criminal exploitation, and their level of risk has not changed since admission.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not update children’s risk assessments and documents and do not identify all their vulnerabilities or plans to manage them. It is also unclear how staff consider all children’s needs when children with complex needs are placed together.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff support children to register and engage with primary care services. However, staff did not escalate concerns regarding one child’s health needs, and this led to them being hospitalised and feeling suicidal.

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How well children are helped and protected

Managers inform Ofsted of some but not all significant events. This hinders the regulator’s oversight of the provider’s actions to safeguard the children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff liaise with police and other services about children who are at high risk of harm. Children’s social workers report good communication from staff who share information to help keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers accept children who are not ready to live in supported accommodation when they are referred. This means that some placements are outside the scope of the supported accommodation regulations. For example, two members of staff have provided a high level of support for one child over several months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not always keep records of staff supervision. The records are not practice related, nor do they confirm that managers supervise staff on a regular basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not ensure that staff follow agreed policies when children are missing from home. As a result, some staff do not respond consistently when children are missing from home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager does not update the workforce plan. It does not reflect the current staffing structure or the level of experience of the staff team. Furthermore, not all staff are experienced or appropriately skilled to support children with complex needs such as exploitation or mental ill health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager knows and understands the children well, and children speak positively about them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since registration, the registered service manager has recruited three local managers, and staff report feeling supported by them. One member of staff said, ‘With the support we get from our local manager, service manager and deputy service manager, we are able to overcome everything, as they are always available and always there to guide us and offer support.’ Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support 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 requires the registered person to—

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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. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(f)(g))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers should ensure that children who are accepted to move in are ready for supported accommodation at the time of referral. 22 September

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, staff need to undertake more planned direct work with children and support them to understand rules and develop independence. 22 September Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 5 The registered person must prepare and implement a policy setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children accommodated by the supported accommodation undertaking from going missing, and

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working for the supported accommodation undertaking, in relation to a child who is, or has previously been, missing. (Regulation 21 (1)(a)(b)) 22 September

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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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(f)) 22 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the supported accommodation for children is homely, and children should not have restricted access to items such as cleaning products. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes the current staffing structure and the managerial arrangements for oversight of the premises. The plan should also include how staff support children Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 6 when there is on-site or floating support and how staff promote continuity of support. (‘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: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 128 City Road, 128 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Supported accommodation provider details

Nominated individual: Ndabezinhle Ndlovu

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Ndabezinhle Ndlovu

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: info@sanctuaryltdcare.org

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Inspectors

Amie Pearson, Social Care Inspector Patrick McIntosh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Sanctuary Ltd Support Services 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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