Outcomes Star and Ofsted's Supported Accommodation Regulations
How Outcomes Star can Support Compliance with Ofsted's Supported Accommodation Regulations and Inspection Framework
In March 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) published a ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards’ for providers of supported accommodation for looked after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17 in England.
All supported accommodation providers are required to register with Ofsted and demonstrate how they comply with the Regulations and Quality Standards. Providers are inspected by Ofsted under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF), which focuses not only on compliance with the Regulations but also on the experiences and progress of young people, leadership, safeguarding, and continuous service improvement.
The Regulations and SCCIF share a strong emphasis on listening to young people’s voices, providing personalised support and demonstrating the impact of support using evidence.
The Outcomes Star approach aligns closely with these expectations:
- it supports implementation of the DfE’s Principles and Quality Standards
- the Young Person’s Star, My Mind Star, Home Star and Planning Star map against specific regulatory requirements
- Outcomes Star data can provide valuable evidence for Quality of Support Reviews, self-evaluation and Ofsted inspections.
The Regulations and Quality Standards
The principles for delivering supported accommodation
- I feel safe and secure where I live and in my wider environment.
- My voice is respected, heard and advocated for, so I can influence the support I receive.
- I have confidence that the adults who support me understand me, are skilled and work effectively together to best meet my needs.
- I have my own space that I feel proud of and live in a comfortable, well-maintained, and stable accommodation.
- I receive high-quality, tailored support that sustains my health and wellbeing.
- I have strong, trusting, and meaningful relationships within my support system and can rely on the adults around me.
- I feel supported to learn and apply skills for independent adult living.
- I feel positive about my future and opportunities as a result of the support I receive.
The Quality Standards
The leadership and management standard: The registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development, including making them aware of their entitlement to education.
The protection standard: Young people are supported to feel safe, have their individual needs met, and maintain safe and appropriate relationships with family, friends and others who are important to them.
The accommodation standard: Young people experience accommodation that is comfortable, nurturing, safe and secure. This includes:
- access to local services, including education and healthcare;
- promoting positive self-esteem and sense of belonging
- minimising health and safety risks.
The support standard: Young people receive personalised support which enables them to:
- take a lead role in determining the support they receive,
- develop the resilience and skills for independent living,
- access education, training or employment,
- understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect.
Quality of support reviews
Regulation 32 requires providers to complete a Quality of Support review at least every six months.
The purpose of the review is not simply to demonstrate compliance but to evaluate:
- the quality of support being delivered
- the experiences of young people
- progress towards improved outcomes
- strengths within the service
- areas requiring further development
- actions that will improve practice over the following six months
How the Outcomes Star supports the Regulations
The DfE guidance identifies several themes running throughout the Principles and Quality Standards, including:
- listening to young people’s views, wishes and feelings
- building trusting relationships
- working collaboratively
- improving outcomes
- supporting independence.
The Outcomes Star directly supports each of these expectations.
Young people are central to the process
The collaborative nature of the Outcomes Star means that young people actively participate in identifying what matters to them, recognising their strengths, identifying areas for development and agreeing personalised goals. This supports the regulatory expectation that young people influence the support they receive.
Meaningful relationships
Completing the Star together encourages regular, structured conversations between young people and staff, helping to develop trust, shared understanding and positive working relationships.
Holistic support
The Star provides a framework for discussing every aspect of a young person’s life rather than focusing on individual presenting issues.
This supports more personalised support planning and ensures that different aspects of a young person’s wellbeing are considered together.
Person-centred, relational and holistic support facilitated in these ways improves outcomes at an individual level.
Measuring progress
Unlike simple outcome measures, the Journey of Change captures progress in:
- understanding
- motivation
- confidence
- skills
- self-efficacy
- resilience
This enables providers to evidence meaningful progress even where longer-term outcomes are still developing. Focusing on progress also improves outcomes and supports independence.
More broadly, Outcomes Star data provides rich information on which areas and transitions are shifting or need further work at a service level – providing another opportunity to improve outcomes.
Mapping the Outcomes Star to the Principles and Quality Standards
The Young Person’s Star and My Mind Star remain particularly well suited to supported accommodation for 16- and 17-year-olds.
Where appropriate:
- the Planning Star may be more suitable for unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people
- the Home Star may provide additional depth for older care leavers or services supporting wider age groups.
The mapping contained within this document remains applicable and demonstrates how each Outcomes Star addresses the expectations contained within the Principles and Quality Standards.
The tables below show how the themes within the principles and Quality standards are addressed by the outcome areas in these versions of the Star.
Using Outcomes Star Evidence During Inspection
Ofsted inspections focus not only on whether providers comply with regulations, but whether support improves young people’s lives.
The Outcomes Star provides robust evidence across many areas inspectors routinely consider.
These include:
- young people’s participation in planning their own support
- personalised support planning
- measurable progress over time
- evidence of positive relationships
- development of independent living skills
- health and wellbeing outcomes
- education, employment and training outcomes
- evidence that young people’s views influence service delivery.
Because Star assessments are completed collaboratively and involve action planning, they demonstrate how providers listen to young people and involve them in decisions affecting their lives.
Service-level reports generated through Star Online will support providers in identifying patterns, monitoring outcomes across groups of young people and evaluating the effectiveness of support.
Using Outcomes Star Data within Quality of Support Reviews
The Outcomes Star is both a keywork tool and a validated outcomes measure. It enables providers to evidence:
- individual progress
- service-wide outcomes
- young people’s experiences
- themes emerging across the service
- effectiveness of interventions
- areas requiring further improvement.
This makes Outcomes Star data particularly valuable when completing six-month Quality of Support Reviews.
Alongside qualitative feedback from young people, staff and partners, Star data can help demonstrate:
- where outcomes are improving
- where additional support may be required
- whether changes to practice are having the desired impact
- how evidence has informed service development.
Using Star data in this way supports a culture of learning, reflection and continuous improvement that aligns closely with both the Supported Accommodation Regulations and Ofsted’s inspection framework.
Summary
The Outcomes Star provides much more than an outcomes measurement tool.
Used well, it enables providers to place young people at the centre of support planning, evidence strengths-based practice and measure meaningful progress.
As inspection practice continues to place increasing emphasis on evidencing impact rather than simply demonstrating compliance, the Outcomes Star offers providers a practical and evidence-based framework for meeting both regulatory requirements and the expectations of the Social Care Common Inspection Framework.