Methodology
How we assure our tools
Children's Home Hub tools are built for people opening, managing and overseeing Ofsted-registered children's homes in England. This page explains how we source, classify and review the regulatory basis of our tools.
Source mapping does not constitute approval, accreditation or endorsement by Ofsted, the Department for Education or any government body. Professional judgement remains necessary. Always refer to the current regulations and statutory guidance for your legal duties.
Official sources used
Our tools are source-mapped against the following official materials:
- Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 (Legislation)
- Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the Quality Standards (Statutory Guidance)
- Social Care Common Inspection Framework: Children's Homes (Ofsted Inspection Framework)
- Guide to registration for children's homes (Ofsted) (Ofsted Registration Guidance)
- Care Standards Act 2000 (Legislation)
- Children Act 1989 (Legislation)
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Legislation)
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (Legislation)
- UK GDPR / Data Protection Act 2018 (Legislation)
Classification system
Every item in our tools is tagged with one of the following classifications, so you can see at a glance whether something is a legal duty, a statutory expectation, an Ofsted evaluation point, an organisation-defined decision or practical good practice:
An explicit requirement arising from legislation.
An expectation arising from statutory guidance which registered persons must have regard to.
A criterion, evidence area or inspection consideration within the current SCCIF.
Something determined by the home's own policy, risk assessment, service model or arrangements.
Useful Children's Home Hub practical guidance that is not itself a statutory requirement.
Something the user chooses to monitor.
Current-framework policy
Our tools reflect the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, the Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations (including the Quality Standards) and the current Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) for children's homes. We do not implement proposed or consulted-upon changes until they are confirmed and in force.
How proposed regulatory changes are treated
We monitor consultations and proposed changes to the regulatory framework. Proposed changes are recorded in our internal regulatory change watch but are not implemented in our tools until the new framework is confirmed and in force.
Ofsted consultation on future children's social care inspection
Status: Consultation: not yet implemented
Action: Monitor and update tools when new framework is confirmed
Professional judgement remains necessary
Our tools are aids for management reflection and organisation. They do not replace professional judgement, statutory guidance, legal advice or regulatory inspection. A registered person remains responsible for ensuring compliance with the regulations and the welfare of children in their care.
Source mapping does not constitute Ofsted or government approval.
Tool assurance and versioning
Each tool includes a Tool Assurance panel showing:
- • Tool version
- • Last regulatory review date
- • Jurisdiction (England)
- • Main regulatory framework
- • Whether the regulatory source has been mapped
- • Practitioner review status
Practitioner review status is currently Pending for all tools. This status will only change to "Practitioner reviewed" after external sector professionals have reviewed the tools and their feedback has been evaluated and agreed. We do not automatically label tools as validated, approved or certified.