Unregulated homes for teens ‘normal’
Twelve youngsters are currently housed in unregulated or unregistered settings in Shropshire.
Shropshire Council’s People Overview Committee will be told that the 16 or 17 year olds have been placed in settings which have not been registered with Ofsted or the Care Quality Commission.
The authority said the move is relatively normal for youngsters about to transition into adult life, but the Government has been increasingly looking at the practice.
Sonya Miller, interim assistant director, children’s social care and safeguarding, said the council’s use of unregistered settings is low compared with the national average and work was being carried out to tackle it.
She said: “There are a few situations where the decision is made to place a young person in ‘other arrangements’ that are not registered children’s home and operate as a semi-independent provision.
“Unregistered provisions are not regulated by Ofsted and are mostly used for young people age 16/17 years in preparation for their independence.
