University of East London Takes Action to Ensure Quality Housing for Young People
Dr Darren Sharpe, Associate Professor for the Institute of Connected Communities (ICC) at the University of East London (UEL), and Alan Chandler, Co-Director of theSustainability Research Institute (SRI), have collaborated with young people, the police, St Christophers Hospice, and the Dudley Council to ensure housing quality standards in supported accommodation for young people.
Councillor David Stanley, cabinet member for children and young people, explained that the fantastic initiative put young people at the centre. He said,
It’s right that we put measures in place to give our young people the reassurance that they will have a quality home with the support they need.
The ICC and SRI have collaborated to develop a “kitemark”, an accreditation that quality-checks supported accommodation to ensure it is up to standard for young people in the borough of Dudley. The framework aims to raise standards and provide reassurance for young people that their homes will be satisfactory. To achieve this accreditation, providers must demonstrate how they will meet a set of criteria, which includes providing quality accommodation and support.
Dr Sharpe discussed the importance of working with local authorities to ensure housing standards. He said, “As a social scientist and practitioner with experience in supported housing for vulnerable and at-risk young people, I know we can’t assume that community housing will always be effective. Ideally, supported housing should provide a foundation for a better future and offer security. However, it often falls short and can worsen the challenges young people face. This project is a trailblazer, demonstrating what can be achieved at a systems level to help young people succeed.”
This project is a co-participatory research project, with the kite mark having been developed with the help of young people who are currently living in supported accommodation, such as CHADD (Churches Housing Association of Dudley & District). It aligns with standards recently outlined by Ofsted, as the regulator for supported accommodation.
There are approximately 40 providers of supported accommodation of this kind of housing across the borough of Dudley. Supported accommodation aims to help young people from 18 to 25 years old prepare to live on their own. It is the first time that a framework for supported accommodation has been developed in the region.
The ICC team has been working closely with young people for four years to co-develop this accreditation. In 2021, they used the Young Commissioners Framework to train and support young people living in supported housing to work alongside housing providers and public officers to co-create the kite mark criteria. They have also produced a briefing report examining current and emerging housing and social care policies and legislation, including the impact of the Grenfell disaster on new housing regulations.
Alongside the kite mark, the team has also created a Community Policing CPD with help from UEL’s Policing Innovation, Enterprise and Learning Centre that trains community police to work with housing providers to better support vulnerable and at-risk young people. In preparation for the kite mark launch, training was delivered last year to officers in Dudley’s Local Policing Unit, with around 50 positive feedback emails received.