Kent County Council has a statutory responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of
Kent Children in Care and ensure best value for money it spends on behalf of the Kent
population. It also has a statutory responsibility to ensure there is safe and sufficient
accommodation for Children in Care. The KCC Sufficiency Strategy for 2022-2027 sets out
our approach to meet this statutory responsibility over the next five years.
In addition, in December 2021, the Department for Education outlined its intention to
introduce national standards for independent and semi-independent provision for looked
after children and care leavers aged 16 and 17, which will be overseen by an Ofsted led
registration and inspection regime. The implication of this, is that current provision of
unregulated accommodation and support services within Kent, will need to be
decommissioned during a 12 months transition process, commencing in April 2023, to meet
the new national regulation standards.
The Council is working to redesign and align the existing accommodation and support
pathways for Care Leavers, Children in Care and Children in Need 16 and 17 year-olds. This
includes purchasing a good range of stable, safe, and well-maintained accommodation and
support services that are flexible to meet individual and changing demands.