Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 1 Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited Registered provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

The supported accommodation service is owned and managed by a private provider.

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provider

The service can accommodate 13 children and young people in self-contained premises for the sole use of one person. The service also operates a shared group- living home for the use of six children and young people. The shared group home is not limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service provided supported accommodation for 11 children.

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provider

The provider registered with Ofsted on 28 September 2023, and the nominated individual has been in post since this date. The organisation has been restructured, and this service operates only in the north east of England. The service manager has been registered since 6 November 2024.

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Inspection dates:

The inspection was announced on 10 November 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 12 to 14 November 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 3 years. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 2

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Summary of findings

Staff form warm, trusting relationships with children. This gives children a sense of stability, which helps them make progress towards independent living.

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Summary of findings

Staff celebrate children’s achievements and individual goals. This raises children’s self-esteem and confidence.

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Summary of findings

The registered manager uses a robust decision-making system to accept or reject referrals. This ensures that only children who are ready for independence move into the accommodation.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers provide excellent support for staff and prioritise their individual well-being, with access to peer mentors to help their development.

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Summary of findings

Staff are offered extensive training specific to individual children’s needs. Staff demonstrate sufficient skills and experience to work with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

When children move into their accommodation, staff get to know them and form trusting relationships. Staff understand that children’s previous experiences of care may be poor and that they may have experienced feelings of rejection. Children are supported by a small, consistent staff team. One child said, ‘Staff are good, very supportive and gently encouraging.’ As a result, children feel accepted and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are ambitious for children and prioritise education, training, and employment. Children attend college and complete a variety of courses, including A levels, health and beauty and construction. Staff help children learn by delivering education sessions on work and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children enjoy a range of leisure activities and opportunities to have fun. Staff encourage children to get together by suggesting parties and outings. Children are given responsibility to organise the activities, which they enjoy doing. Children learn to compromise and to make friends with other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s identity needs are respected and promoted. Staff celebrate children’s birthdays and special occasions, taking their individual cultural needs into account. For example, staff hosted a cultural New Year party as a surprise for one child. Staff cooked traditional dishes and decorated the home with balloons and flags from their country of origin. Staff help children find places of worship and respect their traditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Individuals who are important to children are consulted and included in their life. Staff keep family members updated around any worries or achievements. One Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 3 parent said, ‘The staff are brilliant and talked me through [name of child’s] move into the service.’ Family and friends are encouraged to visit the homes at children’s requests. Staff support enduring relationships for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children who have moved on from the service have reported a positive experience of leaving. Staff remain in contact with many children, and some return to the service, for example for Christmas dinner or for a party. Staff encourage children to record their memories of the time at the service with videos or photo collages, which they can take with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff listen to children’s views and encourage them to have a say in what their support looks like. However, some children do not know that staff write records about them or that they can read their own information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to develop the skills they will need for independent living. Support plans and assessments of risk are written alongside children. Most children are given a chance to take risks in the sheltered setting of their home in preparation for adult life. However, one child with a health condition has not been given this opportunity. The child is developing skills to manage their condition, but the plan does not allow them to develop their independence, and this has not been challenged by the provider.

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How well children are helped and protected

All children feel safe in their homes and can speak to staff if they have worries. Children say that staff care about them. Children access 24-hour support from a helpline when staff are not present. One child’s parent said, ‘I feel my child is safe with staff and I trust them.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers identify children’s vulnerabilities and include them in an assessment of risk. There are clear instructions for how staff should respond to help the child become safer. Incidents are recorded and reviewed by leaders and managers, with advice and suggestions for staff to follow. Following incidents, staff support children to understand what has happened and provide emotional support.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff help children create safety plans by talking to them about risks and safe responses. Learning sessions with children reinforce their plans, and staff give them practical advice about help and support from significant individuals and other agencies. As a result, children learn how to manage their emotions, and incidents of self-harm have reduced.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff follow missing-from-home procedures and work with the police, social care, and other agencies to locate the child. Records contain details about the clothes children are wearing, and staff pass on relevant information to the police. Staff contact all the child’s known associates and keep the local authority informed of any developing concerns. One child’s parent said, ‘Staff always contact me as they know I can help and let me know what’s happening.’ Children are routinely offered an Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 4 interview from an independent person to talk about the reasons why they went missing from the home. As a result, missing-from-home episodes have reduced.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff remain calm when children are unable to manage their own negative behaviours. Staff accept children’s feelings and respond consistently to de-escalate children’s anger. Staff do not restrain children, and police call-outs to manage behaviours are rare. Children maintain positive relationships with staff and do not enter the criminal justice system unnecessarily.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The staff team is led by a dedicated and child-centred service manager. They are aspirational for the children and have their best interests at heart.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service manager has excellent oversight and a desire for continued improvement of the service. They have developed ways to assess and monitor the quality of work with children. The service manager has regular supervision and receives feedback from individuals external to the organisation. Leaders and managers benefit from independent and critical views of the service to support positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers ensure that all children are appropriately placed and are ready for independence. There are robust processes in place to look at referrals for children and to gather information from different sources, including talking to children’s previous carers. Leaders and managers make informed decisions about whether staff can meet children’s needs in supported accommodation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff discuss their well-being and working practice and children’s individual needs in regular, good-quality supervision sessions. Leaders and managers understand the stresses of social care practice, and staff’s well-being is a priority. One staff member said, ‘[Name of service manager] has supported me both in and out of work, making reasonable adjustments and checking on my welfare regularly.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff have reflective discussions with a peer mentor every two months. Both members of staff work closely with the same children. Team meetings give a further opportunity to be professionally curious about individual children and their needs. Leaders and managers challenge staff respectfully and encourage them to develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers support new staff through their induction, ensuring they have the training and skills to work with children in the service. Leaders and managers approach specialist training providers to deliver training on a child’s specific needs before children come to the service. For example, staff have recently received training sessions about radicalisation, Home Office immigration services, separated children and trauma. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 5 Multi-agency working is a strength of this provider. Feedback from other agencies is overwhelmingly positive about regular communication and working together. One child’s social worker said, ‘Staff focus on relationship building, communication and trauma-informed care has been key to [name of child’s] progress.’ Staff also work with mental health and harm reduction services, the police, and Youth Justice

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

services. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 6

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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 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 in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

in the event that the registered person or a member of staff considers that an accommodating authority or a relevant person is failing to provide the support set out in a child’s relevant plans, make representations, or, as the case may be, enable staff to make representations, to the accommodating authority or relevant person with a view to ensuring that the child’s needs are met. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(h)) 7 December 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are open with children that they write case records. Children should be encouraged to read their case records and add to them and should be reminded of their rights to see information written about them. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including quality standards,’ page 58)

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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: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Kirsty Mawson

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Inspectors

Sue Garner, Social Care Inspector Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Athena Supported Accommodation (North-East) Limited 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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