Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 1 Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service Registered provider: Premier Care Management 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 up to 33 individuals in 15 shared or group-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

The service can accommodate 9 children in single occupancy flats that are limited and 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 12 children aged 16 or 17 years.

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provider

The service manager was registered with Ofsted when the organisation was registered in April 2025.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 16 March 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 18 March 2026 to 20 March 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

Leaders and managers have not fully considered the complex needs of some children at the point of referral. They have not demonstrated a robust or strategic approach to assessing the compatibility of these children with those already living in Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 2 the home or with the staff who support them. As a result, the matching process lacks the depth and oversight needed to ensure safe and appropriate placements for all children.

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Summary of findings

Children have support plans and risk assessments in place; however, these documents do not provide staff with the detailed guidance needed to respond consistently or proactively to children's needs. Although staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the children they support, the limited quality and specificity of the written plans restrict their ability to deliver well ‑ informed, child ‑ centred care. Furthermore, the absence of the child's views and voice within these records reduces opportunities for children to influence their support, undermining the overall effectiveness and personalisation of planning.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers recognise that the service previously experienced significant, systemic shortfalls that impacted children's safety, stability and progress. These included weak safeguarding, poor oversight, inconsistent recording, unstable placements and inadequately maintained environments. External quality assurance activity now evidences improvement—particularly in leadership, oversight, staff development and relationships with children—showing that leaders and managers are addressing these deficits. Continued progress will depend on embedding these changes, strengthening recording and ensuring placement suitability so that children's progress and experiences can be sustained. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff report feeling well supported by a cohesive and communicative management team. They describe positive working relationships, growing confidence and a culture that enables them to provide safe, nurturing and independence ‑ focused care. However, minor operational delays—particularly in maintenance and communication—occasionally cause frustration. Feedback from children and professionals is largely positive, reflecting a child ‑ centred ethos, supportive relationships and a responsive approach. Children describe feeling safe and well supported and professionals recognise the commitment of staff working under challenging circumstances. Some inconsistency remains, including variable communication with local authorities, uneven application of trauma ‑ informed practice and expectations of children that are not always realistic.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Most children are settled in their homes and are supported by staff who know them well. Leaders and managers regularly review both the quality and frequence of this support. However, not all children engage with their support packages, despite attempts by staff. This has meant that there is delay for some children in accessing education and some children do not attend education and are not involved in meaningful learning opportunities or employment. This prevents children from reaching their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff seek children's views, opinions, wishes and feelings through conversations, direct work sessions and planned group meetings. They advocate for children and work hard to respond to children's requests. Managers are working on ways to better capture this information to ensure that children are fully involved in decisions about their support needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Accommodation is generally functional, clean and comfortable, with modern communal areas. However, several maintenance issues—including worn external paintwork, overgrown gardens, incomplete fencing, damaged bathroom laminate, a cannabis smell in one bedroom and a broken toilet rail—reduce the overall standards. Despite these concerns, the properties remain broadly positive environments, with children expressing satisfaction with their rooms and the location.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers take prompt and proportionate action in response to poor staff practice. Concerns are addressed through a structured and timely process of fact ‑ finding and decision ‑ making. Most cases demonstrate clear recording, swift initiation of enquiries and appropriate outcomes, including written warnings and dismissals where misconduct is substantiated. More complex safeguarding matters are escalated appropriately through multi ‑ agency pathways, ensuring that incidents receive the level of scrutiny required. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 4 Since registration in April 2025, the provider has submitted a high volume of notifications. These reflect recurring and serious safeguarding concerns, such as missing episodes, exploitation risks, aggression, substance misuse and unauthorised access to premises. The provider has responded through multi ‑ agency involvement,

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How well children are helped and protected

staffing adjustments, relocations and updated risk management documents. However, not all risk assessments sufficiently describe the nature of risk or provide staff with the strategies needed to reduce it. While incidents are notified appropriately, attention is required to ensure that Ofsted receives timely updates as situations evolve.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have taken decisive action to end placements where repeated serious incidents indicated that children were not safely or appropriately matched to the provision. While some attempts at matching are recorded, these lack sufficient detail and have not always prevented incompatible placements. This has, on occasion, resulted in children's behaviours negatively affecting others living in the accommodation. Strengthening the matching process remains an area for development, ensuring that leaders and managers can clearly demonstrate how they will meet the needs of all children placed, including those who require higher levels of support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have systems in place to monitor, review and evaluate the service and children's outcomes. They recognise that, as the organisation has grown, these systems have not always been effective and now require review and strengthening. Since registration in April 2025, leaders and managers have taken deliberate and transparent action to improve the service, drawing on external quality assurance to acknowledge historic weaknesses in oversight, governance and managerial accountability. As a result, leadership now demonstrates improved professional judgement, stronger safeguarding oversight and clearer alignment with regulatory expectations, although further development is needed in documentation quality, evaluative auditing and consistent oversight across all homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers promote a learning culture by providing staff with regular training. However, current monitoring systems do not reliably identify when staff have failed to refresh their mandatory training. This means that leaders and managers cannot be assured that all staff possess the up ‑ to ‑ date knowledge and skills required to support children safely. In addition, they have not ensured that staff receive targeted or specialist training to meet the more-complex needs of some children, limiting the effectiveness of the support offered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive regular supervision. Staff describe these sessions as reflective, supportive and focused on children's needs. Despite this positive feedback, records of supervision are not consistently maintained, and the frequency of sessions does not always align with organisational policy. This weakens leaders' ability to evidence professional accountability and monitor staff development effectively. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 5 Leaders and managers are aware of the continued shortfalls and are taking action to improve. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 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 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 in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking's statement of purpose;

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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. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(f)) 26 June 2026

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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; 26 June 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff;

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Requirement Due date

ensure a plan for support is in place to support the child to develop the resilience and skills required to transition out of supported accommodation when the child is ready to live more independently;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that children are supported to access education, training or employment. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(g)(k)(m))

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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

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

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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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 suitable for the purposes of supported accommodation and are accessible, safe, secure and well maintained;

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Requirement Due date

offer a comfortable, positive and nurturing environment, while respecting children's need for privacy;

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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. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(i)(b)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)) 26 June 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 8

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Recommendation

 Leaders and managers should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views on the setting's support in order to inform and influence continued improvement in the quality of support they receive. Due consideration should be given to the diverse needs and abilities of young people in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Young people should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards page 43)

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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: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Premier Care Management Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 1 Grantham Lane, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1EU

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Daniel Newman

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: hayley@premiercaremanagement.co.uk

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Inspectors

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Chris Jay, Social Care Inspector Leah Stannard, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Post-16 Care Leavers Supported Accommodation Service 10 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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