Reigate · Just outside London
Supported Living for Reigate Residents
Moving from Reigate into one of the three houses where we provide support means leaving Surrey. The closest, in Kingston upon Thames, is a 40 to 50 minute drive or about 70 minutes by train from Reigate station. Here is how Surrey decides, and what to weigh up.
First, what we are. JNP Sidona is registered with CQC as a homecare agency, for personal care only. Its register entry names five groups we may support: adults aged 65 and over, adults under 65, people with dementia, people with a physical disability and people with a sensory impairment. We don't run a care home or provide nursing. CQC hasn't inspected us yet, which is why there is no rating to quote.
You can read about each house on our main supported living page. Space comes and goes, and a house that suits one person may not suit another, so please ring before building a plan around any of them.
What Surrey needs to see before supported living
For a Reigate resident, Surrey County Council makes the decisions about care and support. Reigate & Banstead Borough Council's part is housing. Surrey's supported independent living guidance sets two conditions: a completed needs assessment, and a finding that the person is eligible for its support. After that, the council says, the conversation is with the allocated social worker.
The guidance covers three arrangements:
- A self-contained home, owned or rented, which might be one of a cluster of homes.
- A shared house, suited to someone with higher needs or who wants other people around.
- Shared Lives, in which an adult moves in with an approved Shared Lives carer's household for the long term.
Surrey stresses that the person holds a tenancy, which means the support provider can be swapped without anyone having to move out. It has also committed to building more supported homes across the county by 2030, worth remembering if a Surrey option appeals more than a London one.
No social worker yet? Fill in Surrey's online self-assessment, or phone the Information and Advice team on 0300 200 1005, 9am to 5pm on weekdays. The county directory, Connect to Support Surrey, lists the schemes on offer inside Surrey.
Young adults: the Transition Team and the right to choose
Surrey's Transition Team works with disabled young people who hold an EHCP as they move from children's to adult services. The council puts it plainly: on reaching 18, a young person has the right to decide where to live, disability or not. Once they want to look at a place of their own, the team brings in the family, the carers and the district housing service. For a Reigate teenager that last one is Reigate & Banstead.
Raising it at an EHCP review gives time to sort travel training, benefits and a college or day plan, so moving out isn't decided in a crisis.
Where mental health is the main need
Someone already known to Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will normally plan a move with that clinical team alongside a Surrey social worker. If the person has section 117 aftercare or NHS Continuing Healthcare, the NHS shares or leads the funding decision.
Reigate to Kingston, Whitton and Uxbridge
These are station-to-station times from TfL's planner for a mid-morning weekday trip from Reigate station:
- Kingston upon Thames: about 70 minutes, with Southern as far as Clapham Junction and South Western Railway on to Kingston. Driving takes about 40 to 50 minutes, traffic allowing.
- Whitton, by Twickenham: around 80 minutes, again via Clapham Junction.
- Uxbridge: just under two hours, changing at Redhill for Thameslink to Farringdon, then the Metropolitan line. Only sensible where the family already has roots in west London.
In the 2021 Census, one Reigate household in seven had no car. If that includes yours, visits will depend on the train, so travel the route on a Saturday or Sunday as well as a weekday before committing.
Funding after leaving Surrey. Under the Care Act's ordinary residence rules, a council that places someone in supported living elsewhere normally keeps paying for and reviewing the support. Get the social worker to put that in writing. East Surrey Council replaces Surrey County Council in Reigate on 1 April 2027, so also ask what happens to existing plans at the handover.
Tenancy, support and money: questions for any provider
Housing and care are usually two separate agreements in supported living. Whoever the provider is, us included, ask:
- Who owns the house, and is the person offered a tenancy or something else?
- Who shares the house now, and when can you meet them?
- What staffing is there overnight and at weekends?
- Who pays the rent, and has a housing costs claim been started?
- Which pot pays for the support: Surrey's personal budget, a direct payment, NHS Continuing Healthcare, or the family?
Prices aren't published on our site; we give a figure once we have met the person. The routes are explained in our paying for care guide.
Staying connected to Reigate
- Health. Registering with a GP close to the new house usually moves community NHS care too. Ask for a proper handover from current specialists.
- Trips back. Settle in advance how staff will help with visits to Reigate for birthdays, a club or church, and who covers the train fares.
- The parent left at home. Action for Carers Surrey (0303 040 1234) supports family carers through big changes. Your carer's assessment may move to a different council after the move, so check with the social worker which one.
Supported living in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge →
Where to start
Supported living from Reigate
Nearest supported living house
Council assessment
Surrey County Council, 0300 200 1005. Needs assessments.
Our social worker only offered places in Surrey. Is it worth mentioning Kingston?
Yes, if there is a reason it suits, such as a brother living in south-west London. Put it to the social worker as one option to compare with the Surrey schemes on Connect to Support.
Our daughter turns 18 next year and has an EHCP. Who should we speak to at Surrey?
The Transition Team. Bring up independent living at her next EHCP review and ask when they will involve Reigate & Banstead's housing service.
He doesn't drive. Could he manage the train from Reigate to Kingston?
It is one change, at Clapham Junction, and about 70 minutes each way between the stations. Some people learn the route with practice; others find it too much. A few trial runs will show which.
Can we look round the Kingston house first?
Ring us to ask about a visit, bringing the social worker if there is one. Making the trip from Reigate is a useful test in itself.
