Aim

The Minimum Standards are in place to ensure the safe and appropriate accommodation of young people. 
As outlined in the SaILs Service Specification ‘The Minimum Standards are designed to supplement Local Authority monitoring visits and quality assurance; they are to ensure that the required policies, paperwork and relevant documents are in place.’

Background

The Minimum Standards were co-produced with providers and have been subject to iterative review and refinement since their launch in 2010. Most recently this has included amendments to facilitate remote assessments due to the restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The North West authorities have committed to only use SaILs providers who have passed the Minimum Standards. Only providers on the NW SaILs contract receive Minimum Standards assessments. 

Minimum Standards assessments are carried out by a Monitoring Officer from Placements North West. 

Providers who are covered by the Minimum Standards are not regulated by Ofsted or the CQC and are offering support rather than care. Clarification on the distinction between support and care from the SaILs DPS tender documents is included in the downloads section. 

Monitoring 

All providers who are on the 2020 SaILs Contract will receive a Minimum Standards assessment. Providers are selected for assessment systematically. Providers who are new to the regional contract and have not yet received an assessment and those who have not had an assessment for a long time are prioritised. 

Assessments can be made on providers who do not yet have young people in placement but may require additional follow up after a placement is made. 

Scope

Each Minimum Standards assessment covers the following areas:
•    Safer Recruitment 
•    Safeguarding
•    Health, safety and fire risk
•    Buildings regulations /requirements
•    Delivered support
•    Quality assurance and monitoring including complaints process
•    Staffing and visitor Records

Providers who only offer Floating Support receive a shortened version of the assessment to acknowledge that they do not need to meet the standards around accommodation. 

The assessments are not intended to replace local authority monitoring but to get a basic level of quality and consistency across the region. The visits do not cover the quality element of the provision, young people’s records or outcomes, this would be the role of the placing authority. 

At tender certification for safety checks is requested and this is followed up by a random sample being checked at the Minimum Standards assessment. Placing authorities would need to check that this documentation is up to date at the time of placement. 
 

What happens when providers fail the Minimum Standards?

When a provider fails the Minimum Standards an ISP is issued.

How often are the Minimum Standards assessments carried out?

The Minimum Standards assessments are not regular monitoring visits. Each provider will receive one Minimum Standards assessment during the lifetime of the contract and additional periodic assessments may be carried out to supplement this. Further visits may be carried out in response to national policy changes or local authority requirements.

How often are Health and Safety checks made?

The Accommodation Checklist that contains the Health and Safety information is only assessed in full at the point of tender. Subsequent Minimum Standards assessments review this information but would only include a sample of the information. It is important that placing authorities make appropriate Health and Safety checks at the point of placement.

Do local authorities still need to carry out their own monitoring?

Yes. The Minimum Standards assessments are not intended to replace monitoring by placing authorities. The Minimum Standards assess the organisation rather than individual properties or placements for young people.

Do the Minimum Standards assessments include visiting the properties where young people are living?

Some Minimum Standards assessments will only be carried out remotely and where visits are carried out they may not be to the property where young people live. Visits are generally to the head office or wherever records are stored.

What is covered in the Minimum Standards assessments but not included in the tender?

Standard 1: Safer Recruitment

Policy is covered in the tender but there are some additional points to cover including:

1.5 Company training matrix
1.6 Performance management tools used to get the best from staff
1.7 Approach to management and consistency where staff across a wide geographical area
1.8 Forum for staff to discuss good practice and review policies and procedures

Standard 2: Safeguarding

Policy is covered in the tender but there are some additional points to cover including:

2.7 Policy on staff use of alcohol, drugs and smoking
2.11 Confirmation of minimum level of training on Safeguarding and maintenance of training and records
2.12 Confirmation that Safeguarding training is delivered by a suitably qualified person

Standard 3: Health and Safety

This is covered in the Accommodation Checklist but there are some additional points to cover including:

3.5 Do YP have contact details for emergencies, non-critical situations and repairs
3.13 The layout of the accommodation is safe for young people

Standard 4: Building Regulations/Requirements

Covered in the Accommodation Checklist in the tender but additional points including:

4.2 Evidence of appropriate planning permission if required
4.6 Confirmation accommodation is kept to a suitable standard of repair and cleanliness

Standard 5: Delivered support to young people

Information on support delivered is generally included in the tender but may not cover the whole criteria and additional information is usually requested. Additional points are raised including:

5.4 Promoting healthy relationships
5.5 Provider has access to a range of specialist of agencies or partners to support individual YP needs
5.6 Mechanisms in place to facilitate sustainable accommodation for YP post 18
5.7 Processes in place to listen and act upon the YP feedback or views

Standard 6: Quality assurance and monitoring

Some items are covered in the tender but there are some additional points including:

6.4 Welcome pack for young people
6.9 YP have the minimum level of furnishings and white goods

Standard 7: Staffing and visitor records

Covered in the tender but additional points including:

7.3 Where one is used is the visitors book being implemented appropriately