The Vivian Avenue Provision

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 1 The Vivian Avenue Provision Registered provider: Nottingham City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service provides accommodation for up to 20 children. This includes 4 shared or group-living premises that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers, and 8 self-contained premises intended for the sole purpose of individual children.

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provider

At the time of this inspection, 14 looked-after children aged 16 and 17 years were accommodated.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2026.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 29 June 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site on 1 and 2 July 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 do not have strong oversight of the service. This does not help to ensure that staff practice is monitored effectively or that children receive consistent support.

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Summary of findings

Children's accommodation is not homely or consistently well maintained. This affects children's sense of stability and self-worth.

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Summary of findings

Children's plans do not always reflect their needs. Their emotional support needs are not always met.

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Summary of findings

Children do not always receive a consistent, safe response when they go missing. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 2 While most children speak positively about their experiences and support overall, others express dissatisfaction. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children make good progress. Most children report feeling supported by staff and have positive relationships. However, this experience is not consistent for all children. Some children say that they do not know the names of the staff supporting them. Staff spend limited periods of time in the home. This makes it harder for children to seek support when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that children's accommodation is well maintained. Children say that repairs take too long to complete. Their living space needs redecoration. For example, there have been delays to replacing a broken toilet seat, repairing a faulty light and fixing a damaged wardrobe. For some properties, there was a lack of cleanliness in the kitchens and communal areas. As a result, children do not experience an environment that is homely or well maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to access education and training opportunities. Most children attend education or training. Some children speak in a positive way about their futures and have clear ambitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children to develop practical life skills. They teach them how to cook, budget and shop for good-quality, affordable food. These skills build children's confidence and independence. Staff also support children as they move into their own accommodation. This helps them to prepare for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff provide opportunities for children to build positive relationships with each other. This is through a range of activities and events. For example, they take part in shared meals, trips and wellbeing events. This helps children to have fun and develop social networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Social workers are positive about the support that children receive. They say that children develop life skills and that staff promote their safety.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leader and managers do not ensure that children's support plans are up to date. Children's plans do not reflect their current needs or progress. Staff have not updated a child's plan for almost a year. For another child, staff have not reviewed it for 6 months. As a result, children have limited involvement in planning their support. This leaves staff without up-to-date information to meet children's needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers do not ensure that all children get the support they need to stay safe and well. This includes needs related to exploitation, trauma and mental health. As a result, children's emotional needs are not always addressed. When staff do support the children, they do not always record this work. One social worker raised that staff need to provide clearer evidence of the work they do. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 4 Staff understand the procedure to follow when children go missing from home. They check on children's wellbeing by phone and contact family and friends. They inform the police and the local authority. Children have return home interviews. However, at times, there are delays in following procedures. Staff did not contact the police about one child until the next morning. Leaders and managers revisited the procedure with staff. However, there was a further delayed response for another

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How well children are helped and protected

child. This places children at increased risk of harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers ensure that safety plans include most risks that children face and the actions needed to support them. However, for one child, their plan did not consider risks for mental health and exploitation. This means that staff may not have the most-accurate information to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not maintain good oversight of the service. Records for children are not up to date. Records for staff training are not current. There are variations in the standard of accommodation and staff supervision. This leads to inconsistent practice and experiences for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment processes. They have appropriate workforce arrangements in place. This helps to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff say that they feel supported. However, for one member of staff, leaders did not ensure that they received the support outlined in the provider's policies and procedures. This included the frequency of supervision and the quality of appraisals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff benefit from relevant training and development opportunities. However, staff training records are not up to date. As a result, leaders may not identify gaps in staff knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers mostly apply admission processes that help to ensure that the children who move in are ready to do so. They monitor the ongoing suitability of children for supported accommodation. When there was an increase in risk for one child, leaders and managers worked with the multi-agency partnership to ensure they were safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Directors admitted a 15-year-old child in an emergency placement when the manager and the nominated individual were away. This was for a few hours while another arrangement was being put in place. The manager and the nominated individual recognise that this was not in line with regulations and took steps to challenge this decision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Children know how to raise concerns. When children do so, leaders and managers respond, investigate and act upon them. Children feel listened to and supported. This helps to promote their wellbeing. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 5 The nominated individual and registered manager are experienced in working with children. They know the children in the service well. They have plans to continue to develop the service to improve outcomes for children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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 well-being 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; (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of all aspects of the service. 16 August 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

work collaboratively with children to help them understand how to keep safe, by offering guidance and support on how to minimise any potential risk of harm. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(f)(iii)) 16 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment. 16 August 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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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. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(viii))

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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 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;

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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. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(b)(c)(k)) 16 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with, and consistently follow, the provider's procedures for children who go missing from home, including taking appropriate action to maintain contact with the child and liaising with the police when required. ('Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards', page 55)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with, and consistently follow, the provider's procedures on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear reporting. ('Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards', page 58) Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 8

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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: The Vivian Avenue Provision 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Loxley House, Station Street, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG2 3NG

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Stacey Dixon

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: sue.slavin@nottinghamcity.gov.uk

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Inspectors

Amanda Cooper, Social Care Inspector Amie Pearson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: The Vivian Avenue Provision 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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