Enhanced staffing ratios
1:1 and 2:1 support for children and young people
Commissioned support delivered at enhanced staffing ratios, where one or two practitioners work with a young person for the commissioned hours. Designed around assessed need and risk, mobilised and managed by Gwennol, and reviewed rather than fixed for the life of the package.
What is 1:1 support?
1:1 support means one practitioner working directly with one young person for the commissioned hours. It is used where consistent individual attention is needed for engagement, routine, emotional regulation or ordinary risk management.
What is 2:1 support?
2:1 support means two practitioners working with the same young person for the same period. It is used where an identified risk means one practitioner could not respond safely alone — to the young person, to staff, or to others. It is not simply a more intensive version of 1:1.
When might 2:1 support be considered?
2:1 is usually considered where there is a specific, identified risk that a lone practitioner could not manage safely: a foreseeable incident requiring two people, a documented history making lone working inappropriate, risk to others, or community and travel situations a single practitioner could not manage. Wanting more support generally is usually a case for more hours rather than a second practitioner in the same hours.
How the ratio is set
What drives the decision
The ratio should fall out of the assessment rather than be set first and justified afterwards.
Questions the design works through
- What is the support actually for — stability, engagement, routine, education access, keeping a placement viable, or bridging to something else?
- What are the specific risks, their triggers and their frequency?
- What would happen if one practitioner were present alone?
- Where does the support happen — placement, community, education, travel?
- What does the young person want?
- What is the intended outcome, and how will it be measured?
Ratio options
Fixed, variable and temporary enhancement
| Arrangement | What it means | Typically used where |
|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | One practitioner throughout the commissioned hours | Consistent individual attention is required |
| 2:1 | Two practitioners for the same period | An identified risk means lone working would not be safe |
| Variable | Ratio changes across the day or week | Risk concentrates at known points — transitions, contact days, evenings |
| Temporary enhancement | Higher ratio for a defined period, then reduced | Stabilising a situation, or the early weeks of a new arrangement |
| Shared | One practitioner supporting more than one young person | Sibling groups, where safe and appropriate |
Temporary enhancement is often more useful than a permanently higher ratio. It concentrates resource where it is needed and builds in a reduction from the start.
Practitioner matching
Two practitioners without the right skills are not safer than one with them
What the design specifies
- Skill mix — the experience and competence the work requires, and whether both practitioners in a 2:1 need the same level or complementary strengths
- Continuity — how many practitioners the young person will meet
- Supervision — who supervises, how often, and how concerns escalate
- Contingency — what happens on absence
- Briefing — practitioners know the plan, risks and reporting standard before the first shift
Reporting and review
The ratio is reviewed, not fixed
A ratio set at referral reflects what was known then. Left unreviewed it becomes expensive and can hold a young person at a level of restriction they no longer need.
Reporting
Format and frequency agreed at design stage. Records kept from the first session; incidents recorded, escalated and followed up.
Review points
Set at design stage rather than arranged when something goes wrong.
Step-down criteria
What would justify a reduction — specific, observable changes rather than a general sense of improvement.
Escalation criteria
What would justify an increase, so escalation is a planned decision rather than a crisis.
Mobilisation
How a package is put in place
We will confirm feasibility and mobilisation requirements following referral review. Mobilisation depends on the ratio, the practitioner skills required and availability in that specific area.
Related
Related guidance
Need a 1:1 or 2:1 package?
Send the referral with the situation, the risks and the outcomes you need. We will advise on the ratio if you would rather we did, and tell you plainly whether we can deliver it.