Guidance

Connecting people to a supported accommodation service

What providers need to know about the process of connecting people to a supported accommodation service.

From:
Ofsted
Published
4 April 2023

Applies to England

Introduction

Ofsted needs to know about everyone with a ‘role of responsibility’. This means a governance or management role in a supported accommodation service.

Each of these people will need to complete an SC2 form. The form allows us to match them to the right service. It also enables us to check on their suitability and fitness to run or manage a children’s social care service.

We will also carry out an interview with the person applying to be the registered service manager. If you are an individual provider or partner, we will also interview you. We may also interview other people connected to the application.

When you need to fill in an SC2 form

There are 2 situations in which people with a specific role of responsibility need to complete an SC2 form.

When the service first applies to register with us, people with a role of responsibility must be listed on the SC1 form. If you are listed on this form, you must submit an SC2 form. We will contact you if you have been listed.

If you are the proposed service manager, or a new partner or a new nominated individual joining a service that is already registered, you must complete this form as soon as you know you are joining, even if you have not started yet.

Who we need to know about

If you are registering your service for the first time, you must tell us about anyone in your service who holds a role of responsibility. This includes:

  • directors of an organisation, or any individual who performs functions that are the same as, or similar to, those of a director
  • an individual provider
  • all partners in a partnership
  • a nominated individual
  • a registered service manager

If the service you are joining is already registered with us, you only need to complete an SC2 form if you are applying to be the registered service manager, or you are a new partner or a new nominated individual.

Factors that may prevent you from connecting

There are several factors that may prevent you from connecting, including:

  • not meeting the requirements of the Care Standards Act 2000 (Registration) Regulations 2010 and the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023
  • being on the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)’s list of individuals barred from working with children

The process

The process is the same if you are connecting to a service that is in the process of registering, or to one that is already registered.

The process assesses your fitness to provide a supported accommodation service. You must be able to meet the fitness requirements for your role.

There are 3 stages to the process.

Stage 1: Application form

You must complete an SC2 form. This form will ask for personal and professional information. You will also need to upload certain documents, such as a DBS check, depending on your role. Read about the information you will need to provide in the SC2 form.

When you submit your SC2 form, we will assess it to make sure it contains all the information we need. If it does not, we will return it to you and explain why. You will need to provide the missing information within 12 weeks, otherwise we may be unable to progress your application.

If you are applying to be the registered service manager, we will ask for a fee after you have submitted your SC2 form and may ask for additional information.

Once we have received all the information we need, including the registration fees, we will consider your application as complete. Your application will then move into stage 2.

Stage 2: Checks and references

We will assess your application and the information you have submitted. We will also collect references and conduct required checks, including:

  • local authority checks in the area(s) you have lived in for the last 5 years
  • DBS check
  • if necessary, any other person or organisation who has relevant information about you, such as your GP or other medical professional

Local authority checks

As part of the checks, we ask the local authorities you have lived in during the last 5 years if:

  • you have been the subject of any child protection inquiries, including whether you have had a child removed from your care
  • there is any other information held about you that might affect your ability to be part of a registered provider or a registered service manager

We also consider relevant information about any previous applications you have made, even if you withdrew the application before a decision was made.

We will only move your application to stage 3 when we have received all necessary information from our checks. The time this takes depends on the time it takes for us to receive the information we need.

Stage 3: Interview and decision

We will always conduct an interview with you if you are applying to be the registered service manager. We will also send the registered service manager a pre-interview questionnaire to complete.

We will usually also interview any partners in a partnership or owners in an individual provider.

We may also interview the nominated individual, directors in an organisation or other individuals who complete an SC2 form.

We aim to hold interviews within 40 days of your application moving to stage 3. The interview will usually be at your office. However, it can also be at another of your premises, at Ofsted’s premises, or at a pre-booked third-party venue. If it is going to be more than 40 days before we can carry out the interviews, we will let you know.

Registered service manager interview

We will ask you about your understanding of important aspects of your service, for example:

  • your professional knowledge
  • how you propose to lead and manage the service
  • your safeguarding knowledge and practice
  • staff recruitment and management
  • how you promote good outcomes for children

You must also:

  • have the skills, knowledge and ability to represent the service in a way that promotes both good practice and continuous improvement
  • have the business and management skills to supervise the management of the service efficiently and effectively if this is within your role or job description
  • show that you, or another official within the organisation, have the necessary financial skills and expertise to run the service on a sound financial basis, including ensuring its long-term financial viability

Documents required at interview

You must provide:

  • your original birth certificate
  • your original DBS certificate

We do not accept copies of these documents.

You must also provide the following (either the original documents, or authenticated copies):

  • your government-issued photographic identification, such as a current passport or driving licence
  • 2 pieces of evidence (dated within the last 12 months) confirming your current address, for example a utility bill, bank or mortgage statement, or any recent communication from your local authority or a government agency
  • your qualification certificates (where relevant qualifications are held). If you do not hold a relevant qualification, then this is not required

If you have changed your name by marriage, deed poll, adoption, statutory declaration or any other means, you need to provide evidence of this change. This evidence could, for example, be a marriage certificate or decree/final order.

We will aim make a decision about refusing or granting your application within 7 days following the interview.

If you are connecting to a service that is registering for the first time, you can read our guidance on registering a supported accommodation service for more information about the registration process.

If we accept your application, we will continue to check this through regular inspections and other regulatory activity.

Withdrawing your application

Find out how to withdraw your application

How to apply

Find out what information you will need to complete the SC2 form.

Further supported accommodation guidance

Find more guides and information for supported accommodation, including guidance on:

  • connecting to a supported accommodation service
  • telling us about changes to your service
  • reporting serious incidents
  • closing your service

Help

If you need help with a query that is not covered in this guide or you do not understand what you need to do in your circumstances, please contact us.

If you need help with your application, please email SC.suppacc@ofsted.gov.uk

If you need a paper version of the SC1 or SC2 form please email sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk

Complaints

The great majority of our work is carried out smoothly and without incident. If concerns arise during registration, these should be raised with the inspector, their manager or the applications team as soon as possible. This provides an opportunity to resolve the matter before the registration is completed.

If it has not been possible to resolve concerns in this way, you can raise a formal complaint through our complaints procedure.

Regulations

Legislation

Regulations for all providers

Updates to this page

Published 4 April 2023

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