Becoming a supported lodgings provider

What does it involve?

Supported lodgings offer young people (16 to 21) the chance to learn the skills they need to thrive and live independently.  They may be homeless, a care leaver or unable, for whatever reason, to live with their birth family.

As a supported lodgings provider you'll pass on your own life skills to build their confidence by:

• offering emotional and practical support
• helping them learn to cook, do housework basics, shop with a budget and keep themselves safe
• helping them with work or further education applications
• encourage them to choose alternatives to past unhelpful behaviours
• receive training and be part of a team – you're not on your own. The team includes their social worker and other professionals.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155

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What we're looking for

We are looking for people who:

• want to help young people become independent by providing a safe place to live and the chance to develop the skills they'll need
• are emotionally strong, non-judgemental and not easily shocked. The young people we support come from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds.
• have a spare bedroom, you don’t need to own your home (though you will require written permission from your landlord). Please note that you can't provide student accommodation and be a supported lodgings provider
• can provide a comfortable and safe home environment and support all dietary requirements.

It's helpful if you to have experience of raising your own children, working with or caring for young people.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155

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The young people you will help

The young people in need of supported lodgings:

• will be aged 16 and over, homeless or care leavers.
• may or may not be in education, employment or apprenticeships. Some are keen to progress, open to learning and moving on to independent living.
• may present with some challenges.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155.

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Support you will receive

You’ll receive support through:

• bi-monthly general provider training, also covering various topics relevant to working with adolescents eg. drugs and alcohol
• meeting other providers and building up a support network
• our fostering training courses
• the Research in Practice website and resources
• monthly supervision to discuss how the placement is going, address any issues and provide general advice
• an out of hours fostering advice line available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155

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Funding

You’ll receive a generous weekly allowance of more than £220 (which is taxable) for each young person we place with you.

A young person will receive their own allowance or benefits. They may need to contribute financially towards the placement.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155

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Assessment process

The process involves pre-assessment stages, the assessment itself and approval process. It takes approximately three to four months.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155

Initial enquiry

The process begins when you fill in our form to register your interest.

Then we send an information pack to help you to decide if you wish to go further.

Follow-up telephone call

A worker will contact you to discuss being a provider and provide more information about the service. If the social worker thinks you are suitable we book a screening call.

Q&A call

The Q&A call takes around 45 minutes. The worker will go through a number of areas including:

• motivation
• family history and relationships
• medical history
• experience

We’ll ask for your consent to put your details on the system and carry out initial safeguarding checks. We’ll see if you or your family have had any previous involvement with the Local Authority.

Then, within five working days, we will contact you with a decision.

Initial visit

This is when the social worker has the chance to meet you and assess your home environment. We will go through various forms including:

• references
• Disclosure Barring Service form
• safeguarding
• medical

The social worker will confirm aspects of the screening call and may explore some issues further.

Within five working days the social worker will contact you with a decision on whether the service is able to proceed with your application.

If we can’t accept you on to the next part of the process, you will get clear reasons.

Your assessment

At this stage we will allocate an assessing caseworker. The assessment includes around 8 visits and explores the following areas:

• your life from birth to now
• life experiences
• experience of parenting or working with young people
• lifestyle
• health and safety
• current and previous relationships
• finances
• references

We will work openly and honestly with you. If issues or concerns arise that may prevent you from proceeding we will discuss this with you.

Approval

Once we complete the assessment we will share it with you and the practice manager will sign it off.

We will assign a supervising worker to give you regular supervision.

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Matching

We consider your household, strengths and experience when matching a young person with you

When we find a match we’ll discuss the young person with you. If you are happy to proceed we'll set up an initial meeting to see if you both think the placement could work.

When the young person moves in you'll make a placement agreement, so you both know what you expect from each other. This will include coming in times, house rules, respectful behaviour, and so on.

Got a question about supported lodgings? Call us on 01424 726155