Supported Accommodation Framework

Description

Hampshire County Council’s Children’s Services Directorate intends to establish a flexible and future‑ready Framework for Supported Accommodation, designed to attract high‑quality providers capable of delivering a diverse and evolving range of supported accommodation services for young people across the Hampshire region The Supported Accommodation services will be for the support of 16-21-year-old young people across Hampshire, including: • Looked After Children • Care Leavers • Separated Children • Children in Need (in accordance with Section 17 of the Children's Act) The Framework will enable the purchasing, delivery and management of services designed to meet the needs of young people within Hampshire. It will cover a wide range of Supported Accommodation services, including providing Ofsted regulated accommodation-based support for 16-21 year olds, with varying levels of support and intensity required across the service. The Framework term is for an initial term of 4 years, with the potential to extend for a further 4 years, in 2 year increments, to a maximum term of 8 years. All providers will require Ofsted Registration in order to be eligible for this Framework. This is part of the Ofsted Inspection Framework for services for children in need of help and protection, Looked After Children (LAC) and Care Leavers. All providers delivering supported accommodation must be registered with Ofsted in one or more of the four approved categories: • Self‑contained accommodation • Ring‑fenced shared accommodation exclusively for LAC and 16/17 care leavers • Non‑ring‑fenced shared accommodation, which may include 18+ care leavers • Supported accommodation provided in a private residence (e.g., supported lodgings) Providers must only operate within the categories for which they are registered. Registration requires meeting all Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and associated Quality Standards, including leadership, protection, accommodation and support. Providers wishing to enrol on the Framework will need to apply for the Supported Accommodation Framework Agreement. There is no work (i.e. no placements) awarded at Framework level, all future placements will be awarded at call-off level. Any subsequent call offs from this Framework will be advertised to all providers onboarded onto the Framework, and each individual call off will include more in-depth information regarding the services being called off from the Framework. In order to apply for any call-off opportunities from this Framework in the future, a Framework Agreement must first be awarded.