Care for Me Housing

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 1 Care for Me Housing Registered provider: Care for Me housing and Support LLP

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

A private provider operates this supported accommodation service. The provider can accommodate up to 28 children in 11 ring-fenced shared homes that are 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 7 children aged 16 and 17 years old.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2023.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 22 June 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 24 June 2026 to 25 June 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 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from generally homely environments and positive relationships with staff. These help children to feel safe and settled and to make progress. However, inconsistencies in maintenance, recording and practice, alongside some institutional features and variable staff understanding, reduce the quality of support and limit children’s opportunities to develop independence.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice has strengths. Complaints and incidents when children go missing from home are infrequent and are generally managed appropriately. However, weaknesses in oversight, including poor recording, gaps in recruitment checks and inconsistent incident reporting, reduce the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 2 Leadership and management oversight is not consistently effective. Although managers have taken steps to improve the service, monitoring and quality assurance systems are not yet sufficiently robust to identify and address shortfalls promptly. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from safe, proactive and child-centred practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are accommodated in homes that are generally homely, clean and suitably equipped to support the development of independent living skills. However, there are inconsistencies across the provision. In some homes, shortfalls in maintenance, cleanliness and presentation detract from the quality of the environment. In addition, excessive signage in one home and the use of CCTV in communal areas create an overly institutional atmosphere, which limits children’s experience of a warm and domestic environment. A significant concern was identified in one home relating to a faulty fire door, which presented an immediate fire safety risk. Leaders and managers took prompt action to address this during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff generally demonstrate a sound understanding of the children and their individual support needs. While some staff spoke warmly and knowledgeably about the children, others were less able to explain how they put support plans into practice. This is further undermined by inconsistencies in key records, with support plans not always being reviewed regularly, updated promptly or reflective of children’s current needs. Despite these shortfalls, children are settled, engaged and making progress. Positive relationships with staff help children to feel valued and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are offered a range of activities. However, engagement is variable and further development is needed to provide more structured opportunities that consistently promote social development, participation and independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children consistently report positive experiences of living in the accommodation. They say that they feel safe, supported and happy in their homes. Children value having staff they can talk to and trust. These views are reflected in feedback from social workers and staff, who speak positively about the support children receive and the progress they make.

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How well children are helped and protected

Complaints over the last 12 months have been minimal, with 2 concerns recorded. Both complaints were managed appropriately, with timely responses and outcomes that were resolved positively. This demonstrates that children and others can raise concerns and that these are generally responded to effectively.

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How well children are helped and protected

Incidents of children going missing from home are infrequent across the organisation. When these incidents occur, staff act promptly to locate children and support their safe return. Recording demonstrates that staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and respond appropriately to these incidents. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 3 All children have individual risk management plans in place to inform behaviour support and safety planning. These plans reflect children’s views and demonstrate a child-centred approach. However, management oversight is not consistently effective. Some plans are not updated promptly and contain inaccuracies, including basic recording errors such as incorrect names. These shortfalls reduce the effectiveness of risk management plans and may affect staff’s ability to understand and follow agreed safeguarding measures.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children currently living in the service do not present with significant behavioural challenges, which contributes to generally stable environments. However, there was an occasion when a child with highly complex needs was accommodated, and leaders and managers did not consistently respond to, record or report serious incidents appropriately. Although this child has since moved on, these shortfalls raise concerns about the assessment of the placement and the organisation’s ability to meet the needs of children with more complex vulnerabilities.

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How well children are helped and protected

Recruitment processes are generally effective. However, gaps in the records for 2 recently recruited staff members mean that full compliance with Schedule 1 requirements is not achieved. These shortfalls reduce assurance that safer recruitment procedures are implemented consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have not consistently operated in line with the organisation’s statement of purpose. This is evidenced by a property being used as a single- occupancy home since August 2024, despite the provider’s registration conditions not reflecting this arrangement. This demonstrates a lack of understanding of regulatory requirements. Although action has since been taken to address this shortfall, it highlights weaknesses in governance, oversight and regulatory compliance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Monitoring and oversight are not consistently effective across the service. Recurring shortfalls include poor-quality recording, delays in reviewing and updating risk plans, and insufficient management scrutiny. These weaknesses are evident in the identification, escalation and notification of safeguarding concerns to Ofsted, as well as in ensuring that living environments are consistently well maintained and welcoming for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that all notifiable incidents are reported to Ofsted. This, alongside delays in management review and sign-off, and weaknesses in key records, including children’s files and supervision records, demonstrates that oversight arrangements are not sufficiently rigorous or effective. As a result, opportunities to identify patterns and trends, address risks proactively, and prevent future concerns are missed. This has led to breaches of safeguarding expectations and regulatory requirements. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 4 Local risk assessments are not fit for purpose and demonstrate significant gaps in both content and regulatory understanding. Recent assessments have been completed using outdated and incorrect children’s homes regulations, rather than the regulations applicable to supported accommodation, and they include

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

inappropriate references to external regulatory bodies. This further evidence a limited understanding of the regulatory framework within which the service is required to operate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers recognise that some current practices are overly risk-averse and lack clear planning for progression. For example, measures such as the use of waking night staff and restrictions on children having their own front door keys are not consistently supported by clear step-down plans that promote increasing independence. As a result, children are not always supported to develop and demonstrate the skills they need for adulthood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Overall, leaders and managers recognise the areas requiring improvement and have begun to take action to address identified shortfalls. However, current systems and practices are not yet sufficiently robust to ensure consistently effective oversight and regulatory compliance. Greater focus is needed on improving the quality and consistency of recording, strengthening management scrutiny, and ensuring that practice consistently promotes children’s safety, progress and independence. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 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 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 any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(f)) 17 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the following matters in respect of the supported accommodation undertaking—

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Requirement Due date

the services it provides for children it accommodates and supports;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the accommodation it provides, including how the accommodation meets the accommodation standard (see regulation 6), how the accommodation might be adapted to meet the individual needs of children it accommodates and the security arrangements in place.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it, and 17 September Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 6 notify the CIECSS of any revisions and send the CIECSS a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 9 (1)(c)(f) (3)(a)(b))

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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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 1. (Regulation 17 (1) (3)(d)) 17 September

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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

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(c)(g)) 17 September

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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

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)(c)) 17 September Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any service using CCTV or other monitoring equipment in a setting must only do so in communal areas and this must only be to support the safeguarding, protection and wellbeing of young people. Any use of CCTV must be no more intrusive than is needed and should respect the privacy of young people. The registered person must ensure the service is compliant with data protection law, protects young people’s privacy and personal data and inform young people of the use of any surveillance or monitoring equipment and the purpose of its use. The service must gain consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the accommodating authority in writing at the time of placement. The use of CCTV is regulated by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance Camera Code of Conduct (Home Office 2013). (Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality

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Recommendations

Standards page 30)  The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the supported accommodation setting at least once in each calendar year. This review should include a full risk assessment, taking into account risks and opportunities presented by the setting’s location, and including any relevant risk mitigation strategies and actions taken to reduce potential risks as well as the views and experiences of young people. (Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards page 28)  The registered person should ensure that the supported accommodation settings are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of young people, they will always be homely and welcoming environments. (Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards, page 29)

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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: Care for Me Housing 8

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Care for Me housing and Support LLP

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 488 Bearwood Road, Smethwick B66 4HB

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Nqobile Mpunzi

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: info@careformehousing.co.uk

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Inspectors

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Amanda Cooper, Social Care Inspector Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care for Me Housing 9 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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