Step by Step Foyer Accommodation

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 1 Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 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 47 children and young people in four group- living homes that are not limited to looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, the service was providing supported accommodation for 13 looked-after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17.

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provider

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

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Inspection dates: 27 to 30 April 2026

The inspection was announced on 27 April 2026 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 29 and 30 April 2026.

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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 feel safe, heard and supported in their journey towards independence. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 2 Staff build good working relationships with children. They make sure that social workers are kept informed of important issues on behalf of each child and work collaboratively with the local authority to address them.

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Summary of findings

The leaders and managers ensure that their service reflects the statement of purpose and continues to improve the offer for children. Children consistently remain at the centre of this service.

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Summary of findings

Children speak positively about where they live, the people they live with and the staff who support them. However, the surveillance in some of the properties intrudes on their privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children say they like where they live. They live in comfortable environments and are encouraged to personalise their rooms. They are supported by a stable and reliable team, and as a result, the children settle well. These positive circumstances enable children to express themselves and fosters a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children develop positive relationships with staff and have positive day-to-day experiences. The children say staff are kind, supportive and helpful. One child said, ‘I receive more support than what I thought I would.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children well so they make progress and develop independence, reflecting their individual support plans. The model used to track individual children’s progress across the service helps children and staff to work together to assess children’s skills and areas of need. This helps children to see and reflect on their progression towards independence and adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are ambitious for children and support them to progress in education. Most children are in education. The remaining few children are waiting for a place at college and are proactively engaged in different activities in the community. One child is joining a football academy until they start at college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff empower the children. They work with them using independent living plans to support them individually to develop skills and to prepare for adult life. Children obtain bank accounts, identification documents, apply for universal credit near their 18th birthday and complete housing applications in preparation for their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff engage well with all children. They use various approaches to involve children who speak English as an additional language. The use of interpreters and translation applications helps staff communicate effectively with all children. This approach, and the support that staff provide to children to enrol in courses such as English for speakers of other languages, helps children with their asylum applications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The staff are culturally sensitive and demonstrate an understanding of the specific needs of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, including handling language Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 3 barriers and cultural differences. The children experience feeling valued and learn how to express their needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children say they feel safe in their homes. The steady team of staff provides consistent support, and this helps relationships with the children to strengthen over time. All children have an allocated named worker who spends dedicated time with them. However, children know they can approach any member of staff, including the managers, for support or to raise concerns at any time. This enhances children’s sense of security and wellbeing.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children can identify a trusted adult they can talk to about any worries or concerns. Staff understand and respond to children’s individual risks. These risks are detailed in assessments that are regularly reviewed by staff and managers. The manager holds reflective discussions with staff in group meetings and handovers. They speak regularly about how to manage specific risks and how to keep individual children safe.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children go missing from home, staff work closely with other agencies to ensure that children are contacted, located, and returned home safely. Staff have discussions with children regarding the dangers of being in the community late at night. Accessible and well-documented protocols guide staff in the action to take if a child does go missing.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers ensure that safer recruitment processes are followed. Only individuals who have been appropriately vetted work in the homes and provide support for the children. Staff have access to a wide variety of relevant training tailored to meet the needs of the children they support. This enhances staff’s knowledge of supporting and keeping children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since registration, the provider has undergone a management restructure. The nominated individual for their supported lodgings service is the new proposed nominated individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager ensures that they regularly attend all properties, despite the geographical range between them. The leaders’ and managers’ regular presence means they are well informed about the progress, needs, and experiences of the children, rather than relying solely on reports or updates from staff. This helps them to maintain oversight of what is happening for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers, as their concerns are taken seriously and addressed promptly. Feedback from staff about their leaders is overwhelmingly positive. They say that working for the organisation is a positive experience. This creates an environment that inspires others to give their best to the children they support. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 4 The leaders and managers have developed close working relationships with children’s social workers and the other professionals who are involved with the children. The social workers speak positively about this service. One social worker said, ‘The placement is very responsive to professional input and has consistently listened to concerns, acknowledged feedback, and communicated significant information clearly and in a timely manner. I have felt confident that any worries

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

raised are taken seriously and acted upon appropriately.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Structured supervision and reflective sessions led by external facilitators are regularly provided for staff. Well-being checks create a space for staff to discuss personal challenges, and to identify individual support strategies. The staff sessions also include reflection on the support needed to meet individual children’s needs, and this ensures a consistent focus on individual children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers use monitoring systems to highlight strengths and identify areas for development across the service. This also helps to ensure oversight of children’s progress and staff practice. However, the managers have missed an opportunity to review the complaints policy and to make sure the information within it is up to date. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 5

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

only use devices for monitoring or surveillance in communal areas and then only if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to each child’s need for privacy;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(iv)) 31 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that no person who is the subject of a complaint takes any part in its consideration or investigation, except at the informal resolution stage if the registered person considers it appropriate. The registered person should ensure that a child is not subject to reprisals for making a complaint or representations. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards,’ page 61)

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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 Foyer Accommodation 6

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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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Nominated individual:

Registered service manager: Charles Frame

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Nominated individual:

Email address: charlie.frame@stepbystep.org.uk

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Inspector

Ann Adesoye, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Step by Step Foyer Accommodation 7 regulates and inspects 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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