HeCares Supported Accommodation Service

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 1 HeCares Supported Accommodation Service Registered provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in the east of England. The service can accommodate up to 4 children in a shared or group living in premises that are used to accommodate only looked after children and care leavers. At the time of inspection, 2 children aged 16 or 17 years were being accommodated.

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provider

The service registered in August 2025. The service has not had a registered service manager since the beginning of April 2026.

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Inspection dates: 20 to 22 May 2026

The inspection was announced on 18 May 2026 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 20 to 22 May 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

The provision does not currently have a registered service manager. Leaders and managers lack an understanding of the remit. This has led to children being admitted to the service with needs that cannot be met by the provider.

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Summary of findings

Although some children are making progress in some areas, poor decisions about which children can move into the provision have significantly affected the overall quality of the service. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 2 Shortfalls in leadership and management impact the consistency of the quality of support. Leaders and managers have placed children in shared housing without appropriate consideration of transferable risks.

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Summary of findings

The home is in an area that allows children to access community resources independently as they develop their skills.

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Summary of findings

Children generally feel safe in the home. They are developing some good relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

The staff are dedicated but lack experience. Insufficient training contributes to inconsistencies in practice across the team. This limits the effectiveness of support provided and the progress that children make. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's experiences of moves into the home are not always in line with the provider's statement of purpose. Some children were able to make an informed choice about their moves, with an assessment demonstrating the suitability of the placement. Other children have had very chaotic arrivals, with no knowledge of the service or planned support in place for several weeks after their admission.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Known risks for some children were not appropriately mitigated. Staff were not given sufficient guidance and lacked the ability or experience to manage more challenging situations. This led to harm and very negative outcomes for some children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children receive individualised support that helps them to feel settled and secure. Staff enable some children to maintain meaningful and safe relationships with family members and friends. Staff recognise the importance of continuity in other aspects of children's lives, such as caring for a pet. Some risks are considered carefully. Staff sometimes work collaboratively with children to agree proportionate measures that allow positive relationships and routines to continue.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children understand their support plans and are actively involved in shaping them. This involvement helps them to feel respected and promotes their confidence in making decisions about their own lives. Children understand and appreciate the support they receive to develop independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children's health needs are recognised. They receive appropriate support to access services that promote their physical and emotional wellbeing. This helps children to engage regularly with relevant services and enable continuity. In addition, the relative stability that children experience has helped practitioners to identify and respond to specific health needs requiring specialist medical treatment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Plans for children moving on from the provision are not well understood. Neither staff nor children are clear about whether moves are based on a child's birthdate or their assessed readiness to live independently. This lack of clarity is causing anxiety for some children, who are increasingly worried as significant birthdays approach. Despite the impact on children's experiences, leaders and managers have not challenged local authorities or resolved this confusion.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children live in accommodation that is generally comfortable and homely. The home has CCTV installed both outside the building and inside the communal areas. The positioning of the internal cameras is inappropriate, with one directed towards the shower room and the corridor leading to it. Leaders and managers were unable to provide a credible rationale for why such intrusive monitoring would be necessary, raising concerns about children's privacy and dignity. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 4 Many staff are new or inexperienced and, as a result, work to build positive and trusting relationships with children is still developing. Children attend weekly house meetings where they can share their views and provide feedback. They report that they know how to make a complaint, but they are less certain about what will happen afterwards or whether their concerns will be taken seriously. This lack of

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How well children are helped and protected

confidence limits their ability to feel heard and protected.

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How well children are helped and protected

Some safeguarding concerns were reported appropriately to external agencies. The provider showed sensitivity and careful judgement when responding to certain issues. However, in other cases, concerns were not dealt with promptly, and key individuals or agencies were not informed.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children do not always receive the support they need to manage their behaviour and emotions safely. Inconsistent practice means that during difficult situations children cannot consistently rely on safe or predictable responses from staff in line with their support plans and risk assessments. This has contributed to poor outcomes, including one child leaving the provision in an unplanned and unsafe manner following a serious incident, and a delay in responding to a potential injury.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete unsupervised work with children without the organisation always demonstrating that they are safe and suitable to do so. There is insufficient evidence that safer recruitment checks have been completed for all staff. This includes directors who are directly involved in day-to-day work with children.

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How well children are helped and protected

The limited training and support available to inexperienced staff has, at times, escalated incidents rather than helped to de-escalate them. As a result, children have been exposed to avoidable risks. Notifications to Ofsted about these serious events lack clarity and are not easy to understand.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Systems for the monitoring and oversight of the service are not clear, particularly following the departure of the registered manager. The nominated individual has very limited capacity to provide effective oversight. There is no structured plan setting out who is responsible for day-to-day leadership, quality assurance and decision-making. The on-call system is not effective and there have been occasions when the manager on call has not responded to staff. This lack of clarity creates gaps in governance, reduces managerial presence and leads to inconsistent oversight of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The absence of a formal policy to address the fact that family work together in leadership and management roles means that there is no structured way to prevent, monitor or respond to linked complaints or safeguarding matters. The residential service manager has been unaware of some familial relationships, including those of senior managers. This is potentially a conflict of interest and increases the likelihood of inconsistent or unsafe practice going unchallenged. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 5 Staff working in the provision are inexperienced and often lone working without having completed mandatory training. Out-of-hours support is shared between managers from the supported accommodation service and a sister CQC-registered service. It is unclear whether all managers involved have the necessary experience to guide newly appointed staff in complex or high-risk situations. This arrangement

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

does not align with the provider's statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Group staff meetings are held monthly in conjunction with the adult care service and provide some opportunity to consider operational matters. However, one-to-one supervision is not taking place regularly, and some staff, including new starters, have not received supervision related to working in this provision. This limits opportunities for reflective practice, professional development and oversight of staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The quality of service review completed by previous service manager is well structured. It provides a clear assessment of developments since registration, including the learning identified and feedback from children and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Children receive a guide that contains helpful information. However, some of the services described, such as weekly targeted direct work, are not being delivered in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are, at times, able to challenge local authorities effectively to ensure that children receive the services they need. For example, the provider repeatedly reminded the local authority about a child living in the home without a placement plan or support plan. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 6

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

implement recruitment practices that ensure staff are suitable to work with children and to keep them safe from harm;

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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)(a)(c)(e)(g))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must implement a family working together policy; complete safe recruitment checks for all staff, including active directors and family members; and ensure that support and supervision arrangements are in place during the probation and induction period for new staff. 30 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

prepare and implement child protection policies. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)) 30 June 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 7 In particular, child protection and safeguarding policies should include procedures to protect children from potential harm when family members work together in leadership and management roles, and all staff should be aware of and understand these.

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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

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 for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;

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Requirement Due date

each child's accommodating authority consents to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

children are informed in advance of the intention to carry out monitoring or surveillance; and

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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. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 30 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 18 (1)(a) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that there are arrangements in place for staff to receive regular support and complete all mandatory training during their probation period. 30 June 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they update the statement of purpose so that it fully reflects the package of support offered to children and clearly identifies the category of supported accommodation provided. The organisational and staffing structure should be set out in a clear and transparent way, with particular attention to the management structure and lines of accountability. ('Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards', page 46)  The registered person should ensure that they review and update the young person's guide so that it accurately reflects the support and accommodation offered in practice. Details about support services should only be included where these are delivered consistently. This will help to ensure that the children have a clear understanding of what they can expect from the provision. ('Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards', page 42)

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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: HeCares Supported Accommodation Service 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: HeCares Supported Accommodation Services Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Unit 1, Carlton Court, Grainger Road, Southend-on- Sea SS2 5BZ

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Supported accommodation provider details

Nominated individual: Conciliate Mukandatsama

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Inspector

Eileen Bultitude, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: HeCares 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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