Supported accommodation providers offer packages of support to children who are looked after and care leavers. Supported accommodation bridges the gap between care and living independently by giving young people a nurturing space to develop independence skills in an environment where support is readily available.
Supported accommodation is a great way of supporting older children on their transition to independence and adult life, whilst still providing a nurturing and compassionate environment.
Earlier this year, The Supported Accommodation Regulations came into effect in 2023 to provide a regulatory framework for how supported accommodation providers should deliver their services.
Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards
The Supported Accommodation Regulations include the ‘Quality Standards’ which set out the outcomes that are expected from supported accommodation providers to achieve, as well as the underpinning requirements that accommodation providers must meet in order to achieve the outcomes for young people aged 16-17. The 2023 Regulations also include detail on the Ofsted-led registration and inspection regime. All care providers should have registered by the 28th October 2023 to be registered with Ofsted, providers who did not register will be unregulated.
How Meadows Psychology Service can support you to meet the Quality Standards
The Support Standard (Regulation 7) is put in place to ensure that children receive individual and tailored support to meet their needs. Our qualified psychological therapists work with supported accommodation providers to develop individualised and tailored packages of support for young people based on a clear understanding and psychological formulation of the young person.
Another aspect in the The Support Standard is to ‘ensure that children are supported to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect’.
Here at Meadows Psychology Service, we provide trauma informed training and support to supported accommodation providers, to embed an understanding of developmental trauma and to provide the therapeutic skills to support staff so they can help children understand and manage the impact of their early childhood experiences.
As outlined in Regulations 17-19 for fitness and employment of staff, those registered bear the responsibility for maintaining good employment practices.
The registered person is responsible for setting out the training and qualifications necessary for staff to fulfil their specific roles in delivering the service. As set out in the regulations key areas of staff training should include:
‘Child development and psychologically informed practices (for example: trauma informed approaches, psychologically informed environments, adverse childhood experiences, attachment theory, adolescent behaviours, emotional dysregulation, de-escalation etc’
Meadows Psychology Service provides packages of training to supported accommodation providers to meet the requirements of regulations 17 to 19. Training packages include the following areas:
- Child development and psychologically informed practices
- Trauma Informed Approaches
- Psychologically informed environments
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Attachment theory
- Emotional dysregulation
- Adolescent behaviours
- Support with social and emotional needs (including mental health)
Contact Meadows Psychology Service Today
If your supported accommodation service needs therapeutic support and training, Meadows Psychology Service can help. Meadows Psychology Service is dedicated to ensuring that young people have the best possible start in life, especially in the transition to adulthood.
