Benignity Support Services Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 1 Benignity Support Services Limited Registered provider: Benignity Support Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

The service is owned and operated by a private provider. It offers accommodation for up to 14 individuals in 4 shared-living homes, 2 of which are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, the service was providing accommodation for 9 children aged 16 and 17.

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provider

The organisation and the service manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025. The nominated individual is one of the 3 directors.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 9 February 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 11 to 13 February 2026.

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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

Most children are in either education or employment. This gives them a sense of purpose. For those not in education or employment, support is provided and plans put in place.

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Summary of findings

Accommodation is generally safe and well maintained. There are some inconsistencies in the quality of the accommodation.

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Summary of findings

Children have positive relationships with staff and feel that they provide good levels of support. Some children are making progress, but this is inconsistent. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 2 Leaders and managers do not produce detailed support plans and risk assessments for children. For some children, information is out of date and does not reflect their current needs.

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Summary of findings

Safer recruitment processes need to be strengthened alongside the implementation of the workforce plan. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children receive support from staff in line with the organisation’s statement of purpose. All 9 children using the service are suitable for supported accommodation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children make progress because of the support they receive from the committed staff team. Most staff build meaningful relationships with children and have a good understanding of their difficulties and vulnerabilities. This helps staff identify when children need specific or bespoke support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

One child has received additional staff support due to specific risks. Consistent staff are in post for this child. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the child and how they manage their behaviours and risks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in accommodation that varies in quality. The ring-fenced shared homes require some improvements. Leaders and managers acknowledge that further work is needed to ensure that all the homes are consistently well maintained and provide a comfortable, nurturing environment for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some support plans and risk assessments contain inaccurate or out-of-date information for children. This means that staff do not have the correct information about individual children. Therefore, some children receive inconsistent support, which limits the staff’s understanding of how to support them and keep them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff work with the children to tailor direct-work sessions to help them develop the skills that they need to live independently. However, children’s records are sometimes out of date and do not consistently capture their progress and future goals. This oversight has the potential to hinder information-sharing and misrepresent children’s progress towards independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are generally in good health or are receiving support to improve their wellbeing. Staff ensure appropriate support for children with health difficulties, including mental health needs. Children approaching adulthood are helped to start attending appointments independently.

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How well children are helped and protected

One child spoke positively about their experiences of living in the homes. They said they feel safe and are generally happy. Another child feels unsupported by staff, which has left them feeling low in mood. The inspector observed warm and friendly interactions between the staff and children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have taken steps to consider relevant risks for children and ensure that new arrivals are suitable for supported accommodation. Staff manage relationships between children living in shared homes well. A support coordinator works with leaders and managers to consider referrals and plan the support required from the beginning. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 4 Welfare checks take place each evening to ensure that children have returned home safely at their agreed times. When children fail to return, staff consistently report them missing and engage in liaison with the police and other professionals. Leaders and managers collaborate with the placing authority to identify triggers and develop strategies to prevent incidences of children going missing.

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How well children are helped and protected

‘In terms of safety and safeguarding, I have not had any concerns. The provider appears to manage behaviour, risk, and safeguarding matters effectively, maintaining clear boundaries and demonstrating appropriate oversight.’

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How well children are helped and protected

Health and safety procedures in the homes are generally satisfactory. However, the provider was unable to show that the person carrying out fire risk assessments is appropriately competent.

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How well children are helped and protected

Several serious incidents have been managed appropriately, including an allegation against a member of staff. However, the registered service manager failed to notify Ofsted. This limits Ofsted’s ability to ensure that the provider has taken the necessary actions to keep children safe.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children’s guides are in place; however, they lack specific information relevant to each home. This does not help children become familiar with the area and the local facilities. In addition, no explanation of the use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) was included in the children’s guide. One child said they feel CCTV in a shared home is intrusive.

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How well children are helped and protected

There is currently no workforce plan in place. Leaders and managers understand that this is required to cover the recruitment and employment of staff. Leaders and managers are not following safer recruitment procedures. For example, a staff member was working with a Disclosure and Barring Service check that only covers adults, and approaches to verifying references are inconsistent. Weak or ineffective recruitment practices put children at risk of receiving inappropriate support from staff. In addition, information about some agency staff is unclear, including who their employer was.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service is led by a suitably experienced and permanent registered service manager who maintains an active and consistent presence in the homes. Directors also play a key part in ensuring the running of the homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff benefit from consistent weekly team meetings that allow reflection and discussion regarding individual children. Staff report being happy and settled in their work, and they say they receive good support from leaders and managers. They say that supervision is frequent. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 5 Training is consistently undertaken by staff. This training is relevant to children’s and young people’s needs and reinforced with regular refreshers. Training covers exploitation, safeguarding, drug and alcohol awareness and equality and diversity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The placing authorities consistently receive high-quality weekly reports on time. Social workers report that the weekly reports are beneficial and help them understand how their child is progressing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Location assessments are in place. However, specific risks are not adequately assessed, and assessments do not provide evidence of where information has been sourced or who has been consulted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager has carried out a quality of service review within the expected time frame. However, leaders and managers do not sufficiently monitor or audit the quality of the service. The report does not sufficiently showcase the collaborative work carried out with children or include enough of their feedback, particularly regarding support and preparation for transition to independence. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services 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

ensure that children are encouraged and enabled to take a lead role in determining the support they receive and to participate in and influence how the supported accommodation operates;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

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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)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s support plans and risk assessments provide an accurate picture of children’s known and emerging needs, risks and behaviours, and that these plans include strategies that staff can implement to meet and support children. 1 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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 location of the premises used as supported accommodation is suitable for the category or categories of supported accommodation provided, 1 April 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 7 by—

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Requirement Due date

reviewing the appropriateness and suitability of the location of each of the premises used as supported accommodation (“a location assessment”), and in doing so, consult and take into account the views of each relevant person;

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Requirement Due date

carrying out a location assessment of each of the premises used as supported accommodation at least once in each calendar year

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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 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. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii) (2)(b)(i)(v)(viii)(ix)(x))

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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— 13 February 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 8 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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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile, in relation to the supported accommodation undertaking, a plan (“the workforce plan”) which covers the following matters in respect of the recruitment and employment of all staff—

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Requirement Due date

the experience and qualifications of managers and other staff, and any further training required for those managers and staff;

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Requirement Due date

the processes and timescales for staff to complete induction, probation and core training, including in safeguarding and health and safety;

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Requirement Due date

the process for managing and addressing poor performance;

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Requirement Due date

the process and timescales for supervision and monitoring of staff.

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Requirement Due date

keep the workforce plan under review and, where appropriate, revise it, and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the workforce plan available on request to the CIECSS. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (2)(a)(b)) 1 April 2026

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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 13 February 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 9 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

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

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform, and

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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) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b)(c)(d))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the young person’s guide includes information on the location of the setting (including access to local amenities, such as shops, transport access and routes, proximity to local colleges) and the facilities of the accommodation and refers to how the setting meets the accommodation standard. Any processes or rules set out by the service to keep young people safe, such as the use of CCTV inside or outside the premises, should be outlined. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 42)  The registered person should carry out a review that focuses on the quality of support provided by the service and the experiences of young people living in each of the provider’s settings, looking at the impact the support is having on outcomes and improvements for the young people. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 62)

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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: Benignity Support Services Limited 10

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Benignity Support Services Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Taibat Akinleye

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: info@benignitysupport.co.uk

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Inspectors

Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Clare Hannah, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Benignity Support Services Limited 11 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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