Supported Living for Banstead Residents

Supported living means an adult has a home of their own and gets help with the parts of daily life they find hard. Our homes are for adults who need that kind of support, including personal care. On our CQC registration, the people we support include adults of any age, people with dementia, and people with a physical or sensory disability. The registration covers personal care and not nursing. CQC hasn't inspected us yet, which is why no rating appears here.

Details of all three houses are on our supported living page. Whether a room is free, and whether a house suits a particular person, changes over time, so ask us rather than assume.

The three forms Surrey offers

Surrey County Council calls this supported independent living. Its supported living page describes three forms:

• Your own home, rented or owned, which may be one of a small group of homes.
• A shared home, for someone who needs more care or wants to live with other people.
• Shared Lives: the person moves in with an approved Shared Lives carer and their household, usually for the long term.

Surrey offers these to adults with a range of disabilities and mental health needs. Its online directory, Connect to Support Surrey, lists the schemes in the county, so you can compare options near Banstead with a move further away.

Getting Surrey involved from Banstead

The person needs a needs assessment from Surrey Adult Social Care and must be eligible for support. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council deals with housing, not care. If nobody is involved yet, the online self-assessment is the front door, or phone Surrey on 0300 200 1005 during weekday office hours. Where a social worker is already allocated, they are the person to raise it with; Surrey's own advice is to talk to the social worker about supported living.

For a young person approaching adulthood, Surrey's Transition Team supports the move towards independent living, working with the family and with the borough council's housing service. At 18, a young person has the right to choose where they live, even with a disability. For adults with mental health needs, the plan is usually made with their team at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and their social worker.

Banstead to Kingston without a car

Kingston is the realistic choice of our three homes for a Banstead family. By car it is about 9 miles. By public transport, TfL's journey planner gives about 70 to 75 minutes from Banstead station to Kingston station on a weekday morning, by any of these routes:

• Train to Sutton, then the SL7 Superloop bus to Kingston.
• The 166 bus to Epsom, then the 406 bus to Kingston.
• Train to Sutton, Thameslink to Wimbledon, then South Western Railway to Kingston.

The Whitton home is around 16 miles away, well over an hour and a half by train via Clapham Junction. Uxbridge, at the far western edge of London, only makes sense for families with links there. Try the Kingston journey at the times you would really visit, including a Sunday, before anyone decides.

Keeping Banstead in the person's life

Moving 9 miles can still feel like a long way from home. These are worth planning before a move, not after:

• Visits home. How will staff support trips back to Banstead for family events, and who pays the fares?
• A new GP. The person will usually register with a GP near the new home, and their NHS services may move to Kingston teams.
• Friends and activities. Which clubs, day opportunities or friendships in Banstead should carry on, and how will they get there?
• The family carer. Parents who have cared for years can lose a routine overnight. Action for Carers Surrey (0303 040 1234) supports family carers through changes like this.

Housing and support: what to ask before agreeing

In supported living, the housing and the support are usually arranged separately, and the person has the rights that come with their housing agreement. Before agreeing to any house, ours included, ask:

• Who owns the house, and what agreement would the person sign to live there?
• Who provides the support, and what is the provider's CQC rating?
• Can we visit, see the room and meet the people already living there?
• How are support hours agreed, and how are they reviewed?
• What happens if the person is unhappy after a few months?

Ask us the same questions about our Kingston home before you decide.

How the costs are usually covered

Housing costs and support costs are paid separately. Rent is often met, in whole or part, through housing benefit or Universal Credit. Surrey pays for support when needs are eligible, and the person's own contribution is set by a means test. Support can also be taken as a direct payment, and Continuing Healthcare from the NHS is worth asking about if the needs are largely medical. Our fees are set out in a written quote once we have met the person. For the funding routes in more detail, read our paying for care guide.

Supported living in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge →