Here you can access all the resources, films and outputs from our two national conferences in April 2023.
National Conferences
We ran two national conferences in Manchester (24th April) and London (26th April) as part of the Department for Education funded Sector Awareness and Provider Preparedness programme for Supported Accommodation providers.
Attended by over 200 provider and local authority representatives, the conference included presentations from the Department for Education, Ofsted, and the National Children’s Bureau, workshops for providers and local authorities, as well as a message from Minister for Children and Families Claire Coutinho.
Inclusive theatre company Chickenshed performed an adaptation of their powerful theatre production “Crime of the Century” and facilitated a workshop and performance with young people living in supported accommodation, where they were able to share their views and feelings about the support they want to receive and their aspirations for the future.
Conference Films
We are pleased to share the keynote speeches, Chickenshed’s performance and footage from the young people’s workshop from our national conferences.
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Young People’s Film
The National Children’s Bureau is committed to ensuring the voice of young people is central to the development of this programme. We were delighted that Chickenshed, an inclusive theatre company, were able to work with young people living in supported accommodation at our conferences to explore what high quality support looks and feels like to them and develop a live performance for the attendees. This short film encapsulates some of the views and ideas these young people shared about their experiences of living in supported accommodation.
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Ofsted - Regulation of Supported Accommodation for Children in Care and Care Leavers aged 16 and 17
Matthew Brazier, Project Director for Supported Accommodation at Ofsted was one of our keynote speakers at our national conferences, sharing key information about the registration process and important points about the regulations and guidance.
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Department for Education - Reforming Children’s Social Care and Supported Accommodation
Attendees also heard from Callum Worsnop, Head of Secure Accommodation and Secure Children’s Homes at the Department for Education (DfE), who gave an overview of the DfE’s work on the new regulations and their aspirations for the supported accommodation sector.
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National Children's Bureau - Introduction to the Sector Awareness and Provider Preparedness programme
Caroline Coady, Assistant Director for Social Care at the National Children’s Bureau, shared details of what local authorities and providers of supported accommodation can expect from our Sector Awareness and Provider Preparedness support programme.
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Chickenshed “Crime of the Century” Performance
Chickenshed theatre company also performed an adapted version of Crime of the Century, a hard-hitting theatre piece which explores the issues surrounding youth violence using words and movement alongside a contemporary score of hip-hop and dance music.
Crime of the Century was created in response to a number of fatal stabbings in 2009 and has been seen in over 750 different organisations, by more than 200,000 people since it was first performed.
Resources
We are pleased to share our package of resources from the conferences:
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Sector Awareness and Provider Preparedness Programme – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Based on the questions sent to us by providers of supported accommodation and local authorities for the Q&A Panel Discussion at our Conferences, this FAQ covers the most crucial points relating to Registration, Fees and Costs, Quality Standards and Regulation, and Inspections and Site Visits.
This FAQ has been produced in collaboration with the Department for Education and Ofsted and aims to clarify key details about the registration process, where to go for additional information and the expectations on supported accommodation providers as set out in the Department for Education’s Guide to Regulations.
Click here to view our FAQ resource
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Outputs from the Provider and Local Authority Workshops
We have created two outputs to share the learning and insights from our workshops with providers of supported accommodation and local authorities at our national conferences.
The provider output explores confidence levels and support needs for the new regime, as well as the positives and potential challenges about the registration process and quality standards. Providers identified key themes to help shape the next stage of our programme, including co-production with young people, policies and documentation, multiagency working, and understanding roles and responsibilities.
The local authority output shares local authority insights on the positive changes offered by the new regime, priorities in relation to placement stability, sufficiency, and how local authorities might continue to support providers under the new regime. Quality assurance was identified as a key area for further exploration with local authorities in the next stage of our programme.