However, while the children’s home standards require the provider to ensure continuity of care, this is not in the proposed standards for supported accommodation. On the standards themselves, the leadership and management standard is similar to the equivalent in the children’s homes regulations, requiring the provider to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of staff, with the right skills and experience.
17 year old not guilty full#
INDICATORSĬan young people go out of the establishmentĬare – likely to require children’s home registrationĭo young people have full control of their ownĭo young people have control over what theyĪre young people in charge of meeting all of their It said there was currently confusion over the distinction and proposed using indicators drawn up by Ofsted to determine which provision should register as a children’s home to determine the difference (some of which are given below). Difference between care and supportĪs any setting that delivers “care and accommodation, wholly or mainly for children” must register as a children’s home under the Care Standards Act 2000, a key purpose of the new standards is to establish a clear distinction between settings providing ‘care’ and those providing only ‘support’, with the latter registering as ‘supported accommodation’ rather than as a ‘children’s home’. The DfE said it expected the change to lead to a shift in the market for independent and semi-independent provision, with some providers existing and others joining. It said that while councils were currently required to check that independent provision (such as flats or bedsits) and semi-independent provision (such as hostels or foyers) were suitable for the young person before placing them there, “the absence of national standards and independent regulation of this sector has led to inconsistencies in the quality of provision”. The proposed standards were designed to ensure “a high-quality form of provision in the care system focused on supporting older children to develop their independence”, in the context of increasing numbers of older children coming into care. It said such provision was “not automatically the right choice for children aged 16 and 17” and that “where children of this age have needs that would best be met in a children’s home or foster care placement, that is where they should be placed”. In its consultation document, the DfE said that, while for most looked-after children, their need for “suitable, safe and secure accommodation” would be delivered through foster care or a children’s homes, for some older children, a placement in independent or semi-independent living arrangements would be the best option to help them develop their independence before leaving care. ‘Independent provision the right option for some’ The children’s rights charity Article 39 has launched a legal challenge against the plan, which is due to come into force in September. However, they have faced a barrage of criticism from children’s charities and sector bodies, who argue that this would discriminate against 16- and 17-year-olds – who make up the vast majority of those in unregulated accommodation – leave them subject to inadequate provision and enable councils to move looked-after children into cheaper provision when they turn 16. The DfE’s proposals, first outlined in February, are designed to provide regulation – including Ofsted inspection – of this provision, to prevent the placement of young people in unsuitable settings, such as caravan parks, and to ban their use for under-16s, while retaining their ‘independent’ character. The differences reflect the fact that unregulated accommodation – currently referred to as ‘independent’ or ‘semi-independent’ but which would be dubbed ‘supported accommodation’ in future – is designed to provide ‘support’ for young people to help their transition to independence, rather than ‘care’. While the first two are mirrored in the children’s home standards, the latter also cover quality and purpose of care, children’s views, wishes and feelings, education, enjoyment and achievement, health and wellbeing, positive relationships and care planning. The four standards are on leadership and management, protection, support and accommodation. The provision – which would be for those aged 16 and 17 – would be subject to four standards, compared with nine for children’s homes, under the proposals. Currently unregulated accommodation for young people in care would face a slimmer set of standards than children’s homes, under consultative Department for Education plans to regulate them, issued this week.
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