When Shared Supported Accommodation Isn’t the Right Fit

What to consider when a young person may benefit from solo supported accommodation

A young person can be ready for supported accommodation and still find living with other young people difficult.

They may be managing cooking, shopping and other everyday tasks. They may be engaging with support and beginning to think about adult life.

But sharing a home brings its own challenges.

Peer relationships can become difficult. Other young people’s behaviour can affect routines and decisions. For someone vulnerable to peer influence, the people around them can also become part of the safeguarding picture.

When a placement starts to become unsettled, the first concern is often whether supported accommodation is still the right option. But sometimes the difficulty may be less about the overall model and more about the environment the young person is living in.

That can make it useful to ask:

Is supported accommodation still right for this young person, and, if so, is a shared setting the right environment?

When sharing is part of the picture

Shared supported accommodation can work really well.

Living alongside other young people can bring companionship, opportunities to socialise and the everyday experience of sharing a home.

But that environment will not work in the same way for everyone.

Some young people may find communal spaces overwhelming. Others may struggle with conflict or become heavily influenced by the people around them. For some, having little control over what is happening in their immediate environment can make settling difficult.

That does not automatically mean they need more intensive care. It may mean the type of supported accommodation needs another look.

This is where solo supported accommodation can sometimes be worth considering.

Having your own space does not mean having less support

Ofsted refers to this type of provision as single-occupancy supported accommodation. It describes a self-contained unit for the young person’s sole use, where they are not routinely reliant on communal areas shared with others.

We tend to use the simpler term solo supported accommodation.

But the important word is still supported.

Having your own flat does not mean being expected to cope with everything alone.

A young person might be confident cooking but still need help managing money. They may travel independently but still need someone to talk through difficult decisions with.

This is something we keep in mind at Burdett House.

Independence is not one single skill that somebody either has or does not have. A young person can be very capable in one part of their life and need much more support in another.

Our early placements reflected exactly that. Practical ability did not always translate into safe independence across every area of a young person’s life.

It is something we have also explored in a previous article how everyday independence skills can become part of wider safeguarding work, where ordinary activities such as cooking, budgeting and shopping can create opportunities for trust, conversation and safer decision-making.

What would actually change?

For some young people, having their own apartment can reduce some of the pressures that come with shared living. It gives them more space to manage their own routines and removes some of the day-to-day dynamics that can come with living alongside other young people.

For someone who struggles in a shared setting, that can matter.

But it can also create different challenges.

A young person may spend more time alone. If they withdraw or stop engaging with planned support, concerns may be less visible. Risks within the wider community do not disappear simply because there are no other young people sharing the home.

So rather than simply asking:

Would they be better living alone?

We think a more useful question is:

What would having their own space help with, and what support would still need to be around them?

Solo accommodation will not make every placement work

There is an important limit.

A young person’s own apartment can change their environment. It cannot turn supported accommodation into residential care.

Supported accommodation still has to be appropriate for them. Ofsted is clear that where a young person needs a high level of ongoing care or supervision, personal care, restrictions on their liberty, or support for needs that cannot safely be met within the model, a different type of provision may be needed.

Moving somebody into a solo apartment does not change those underlying considerations.

Our experience at Burdett House has reinforced this. A young person may become more confident with daily tasks and build positive relationships with staff while still needing significant support around wider safeguarding or emotional wellbeing concerns.

It has also reinforced the importance of understanding the whole referral before admission. That includes previous placement stability, missing episodes, exploitation concerns, substance use, emotional wellbeing, practical independence and the level of support likely to be needed.

Matching does not stop once somebody moves in.

Needs change.

Risks can increase or reduce.

The level of support that looked appropriate at the beginning of a placement may need to be reconsidered as the young person settles and circumstances develop.

This is closely connected to something we have written about previously: progress in supported accommodation is rarely completely linear. A difficult period does not necessarily erase earlier progress, but it can change what support is required and whether the placement remains the right fit.

Check out the article: Why Linear Expectations Are Failing Young People in Supported Accommodation

Our early experience at Burdett House has reinforced why ongoing review matters. Young people’s needs and risks can change after admission, so support arrangements, staffing and placement suitability need to be reviewed as circumstances develop.

Where a young person’s needs begin to move beyond what can safely be supported within the model, early discussion with the wider professional network is important. This learning now informs how we assess new referrals and review placements over time.

Some useful questions before considering a solo placement

There is not one type of young person who is automatically right for solo accommodation.

Instead, we find it more useful to consider:

• Is supported accommodation itself appropriate?

• What is making the young person’s current living environment difficult?

• Are peer relationships helping them or adding to risk?

• How do they manage time on their own?

• Do they seek help when they need it, and what happens if they disengage from support?

• What can they already manage independently, and where is regular support still needed?

• Could a solo environment reduce one risk while increasing another, such as isolation or community vulnerability?

• What does the young person want from their next home?

These questions do not provide an automatic answer.

But they can help everyone involved get closer to the more important question:

Do the young person’s needs, the environment and the available support fit together?

Professionals who are unsure whether shared or solo accommodation would be the better fit can also explore our supported accommodation options for young people aged 16–18, including both Riverside Court and Burdett House.

What solo support looks like at Burdett House

Burdett House provides three self-contained solo apartments in Derby, giving young people their own living space while still having access to staff support.

Support at Burdett House is shaped around the young person’s needs, abilities, risks and goals. In practice, that can mean support with cooking, shopping and budgeting, building routines, accessing the community safely, and working towards education or employment.

Just as importantly, the apartments are intended to feel like the young person’s own home. Previous young people have cooked, cleaned, relaxed, listened to music, played games and spent time with staff in their own space. Those ordinary day-to-day moments often sit alongside the more structured work around independence, safeguarding, relationships and plans for the future.

Because each young person’s needs are different, the level and type of support around the placement also needs to be considered carefully from the outset and reviewed if circumstances change.

At Burdett House, the aim is not simply to offer a young person their own apartment. It is to understand whether having their own space, alongside the right support, could give them an environment where they are better able to settle, build confidence and develop their independence over time.

Could Burdett House be worth considering?

You can check current availability at Burdett House on our Current Placement Availability page

If you are supporting a young person who appears ready for supported accommodation but you are unsure whether a shared setting would be the right fit, you do not need to have reached a final decision before speaking to us.

An initial conversation can help us understand their current circumstances, risks, independence skills, support needs and what they want from their next home.

Discuss a potential placement

Speak to our Referrals & Placements team about suitability and current availability at Burdett House in Derby.

Call Our Referral Lead Fatima on (01332) 505967 or Upload Your Referral Info 

If another type of placement may be more appropriate, our Referral & Placements Hub brings together the different placement pathways available through Oasis Care, so professionals can continue their search without having to start again.