Supported Accommodation

Description

Kent County Council has a statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of Kent Children in Care and ensure best value for money it spends on behalf of the Kent population. It also has a statutory responsibility to ensure there is safe and sufficient accommodation for Children in Care. The KCC Sufficiency Strategy for 2022-2027 sets out our approach to meet this statutory responsibility over the next five years. In addition, in December 2021, the Department for Education outlined its intention to introduce national standards for independent and semi-independent provision for looked after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17, which will be overseen by an Ofsted led registration and inspection regime. The implication of this, is that current provision of unregulated accommodation and support services within Kent, will need to be decommissioned during a 12 months transition process, commencing in April 2023, to meet the new national regulation standards. The Council is working to redesign and align the existing accommodation and support pathways for Care Leavers, Children in Care and Children in Need 16 and 17 year-olds. This includes purchasing a good range of stable, safe, and well-maintained accommodation and support services that are flexible to meet individual and changing demands. Lot 1a: Supported Accommodation High/Medium Needs Children in Care – North and West High/Medium Needs Supported Accommodation - the capacity to support 16/17-year-old young people by providing an intensive support service model. This will require adequate accommodation units spread evenly across the 12 districts, providing a range of medium/high level support between seven to twenty-one hours per week for 16/17-year-old young people as set out by the new Ofsted Regulations. Lot 1b: Supported Accommodation High/Medium Needs Children in Care – South and East High/Medium Needs Supported Accommodation - the capacity to support 16/17-year-old young people by providing an intensive support service model. This will require adequate accommodation units spread evenly across the 12 districts, providing a range of medium/high level support between seven to twenty-one hours per week for 16/17-year-old young people as set out by the new Ofsted Regulations. Lot 2: Supported Accommodation Low Needs for Children in Care and Children in Need Low Needs Supported Accommodation - to provide up to seven hours of support per week is to be provided via an outreach support or on-site staffed provision. The young people need to receive the appropriate support based on their needs, to help them develop skills for adult living. This may include arranging support sessions on education and training, including opportunities such as apprenticeships; tools and/or resources to support their mental and physical health; employment, including job and interview skills; domestic skills such as cooking nutritious meals and budgeting. The Council also expects providers to aid integration into the community by signposting young people to multi-agency opportunities. Support will be in line with the new Ofsted Regulations. Lot 3: Transitional Accommodation for 18-year-old Care Leavers 18+ Transitional Property Only Model Accommodation - there are currently over 450 young adults aged 18+ who are accommodated under this arrangement. It is anticipated that this figure will increase over the course of the contract. The Provider must consistently ensure that demand is always met. For unstaffed accommodation, it is expected that routine and unannounced visits (out of hours) will be undertaken to ensure the safety of our young adults and to prevent anti-social behaviour. On occasions, outreach support may need to be required on a case-by-case basis, as this service is transitional for young adults to then move on into their own independent accommodation.