ofsted key principles for supported accommodation; helping young people feel safe

Supported accommodation plays a critical role in helping young people build stability, confidence, and independence. With Ofsted now overseeing this sector, providers are expected to work to a clear set of principles that define what good care looks like and how young people should be supported. These principles set the tone for safe environments, consistent support, and strong relationships.

ofsted key principle one; young people should feel safe

The first principle is simple but fundamental: young people should feel safe. Whether it’s the physical environment, the behaviour of staff, or the culture of the home, safety underpins everything. If young people don’t feel secure, none of the other aims of supported accommodation can be achieved. This principle focuses on creating spaces where young people can trust the adults around them, feel protected from harm, and have the stability they need to move forward.

what we have in place at asphaleia care

In our supported accommodation properties we have put things in place to create home environments that young people can feel safe in:

• Each young person has their own bedroom with a lock on their door.

• We run a 24/7 duty line that is contactable any time, with the number clearly displayed in every property.

• We have named staff in the staffed houses and aim for consistency where possible so young people can get to know the team.

• There are agreed allocated keywork opportunities for young people to meet staff. These keywork meetings include information about the local area and how to keep safe.

• We hold regular house meetings with all residents so they can interact and discuss any issues/concerns about the property.

• There is a noticeboard in every property with information on (safeguarding and health and safety).

• Young people are told how to make a complaint.

• All residents are given a welcome guide and when they move in, their orientation of the property includes health and safety, what to do in emergency if fire alarm goes off, personal safety, and contacting emergency services/reporting crime.

• We arrange for PCSO’s to visit and have an ongoing relationship with them to help young people connect with local services and feel safe.

• Our Safeguarding Lead delivers workshops on a variety of safeguarding topics and young people can get 1-1 support from them as well.

• Staff do regular maintenance checks and we have robust processes for reporting faults.

  
  

  

• Young people are informed about who they can go to with any challenges or issues they are facing and staff signpost them to support services.

• We have a website for our young people called The Youth Media, and there is a page on this website that lists a large amount of support services young people can access.

• We provide a trauma-informed environment with staff that have completed training on trauma-informed care.

• As an organisation we have a robust and comprehensive set of policies that lay out processes and practices for staff that ensure safety, such as a visitors policy, safer caring and professional working policy, and safer recruitment. Our safeguarding and health and safety policies are regularly updated and staff are required to read them upon appointment and after every update.

• There is a code of conduct for young people living in our properties.

• Staff carefully match young people who are placed alongside each other in staffed accommodation and semi-independent properties, where we aim to connect young people from familiar cultures or backgrounds.

• When we open a new property, we conduct a locality risk assessment and this is updated at regular intervals and shared with staff.

• Across our organisation we have an incident management process with multi-agency working.

• We recognise that there is a distinction between physical and psychological safety and aim to respond sensitively and appropriately to concerns that young people have, regularly seeking feedback on their experience in our properties.

• We don't use photos of our properties on our website or in promotional materials to protect the privacy of our residents.

As with all of the key principles from Ofsted, we are constantly working to develop our services and we regularly gather and respond to feedback from our service users.

If you'd like to know more about our supported accommodation services, please contact us.