Guidance

Social care common inspection framework (SCCIF): supported accommodation

Guidance on how Ofsted inspects supported accommodation for looked after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

The SCCIF is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ framework. Where necessary, the SCCIF reflects and addresses the unique and distinct aspects of each type of setting. However, the evaluation criteria we use to make judgements and the accompanying guidance are, wherever possible, consistent across settings.

The SCCIF means that:

  • we usually apply the same judgement structure across the range of settings listed above
  • the experiences and progress of children and other service users, wherever they live or receive help, are central to inspections
  • there are key areas of evidence that we usually report on at each inspection

Our approach is further underpinned by the following 3 principles that apply to all social care inspections.

  • to focus on the things that matter most to children’s lives
  • to be consistent in our expectations of providers
  • to prioritise our work where improvement is needed most

Updates to this page

Published 29 February 2024
Last updated 4 October 2024 + show all updates
  1. We have clarified the process to raise concerns or complaints during and after an inspection. In ‘The onsite-inspection’ section, we have clarified how the provider can request any adaptations to the inspection process due to a protected characteristic, or any reasonable adjustments due to a disability. We have made minor changes to the evaluation criteria and on-site inspection sections to reference non-speaking children.

  2. This framework has been updated to clarify that, when applying the framework, inspectors will take appropriate action to comply with Ofsted’s Equality Act duties, clarification on the opportunities for providers to discuss and/or provide information on potential equalities duties, including reasonable adjustments for individuals, clarification regarding Ofsted’s updated arrangements for publishing the report, quality assurance and handling concerns and complaints in line with Ofsted’s new complaints process in the timeframe sections and references to Ofsted’s pausing process.

  3. First published.

Sign up for emails or print this page