Ofsted
Ofsted and children's homes
Registration, inspection, notifications, independent monitoring and quality of care review, brought together with CHH guidance and tools.
Independence notice. The Children's Home Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Ofsted. Inspectors make professional judgements under the current inspection framework. Always consult official Ofsted publications and statutory guidance as the authoritative source.
Registration
Registering a children's home with Ofsted
The registration process, from application through to your first inspection.
How to Register a Children's Home with Ofsted: SC1, SC2, Interviews, the Registration Visit and the 2026 Priority System
A step-by-step guide to registering a children's home with Ofsted, current as at August 2026, covering the three registration stages, the July 2026 priority system, SC1 and SC2 forms, required documents, fees, suitability checks, the registration interview and visit, and the Ofsted decision.
Writing Your Children's Home Statement of Purpose
A Statement of Purpose should answer three fundamental questions: Who is this home for? What are we trying to achieve? How will we actually do it? Regulation 16...
The Children's Guide: What It Must Include and How to Make It Accessible
The Children's Guide helps children understand the home they may be living in and what they can do if something is wrong.
Choosing Your Children's Home Provider Structure and Understanding the Key Roles
Before applying to register a children's home, you need to establish who is actually going to carry on the home.
Looking for additional help? Explore Ofsted registration support and the questions to ask before appointing a consultant.
Inspection
Inspection and the SCCIF
How children's homes are inspected under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework.
Preparing for Ofsted Inspection: Understanding the SCCIF for Children's Homes
How Ofsted inspects children's homes under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework: the three judgement areas, how evidence is gathered and how to prepare genuinely rather than performatively.
The 9 Quality Standards for Children's Homes: What They Mean, What Good Practice Looks Like & How Ofsted Uses Them
A practical guide to the nine Quality Standards in Regulations 6 to 14, plus the separate overarching Regulation 5 duty concerning engagement with the wider system, what each standard means, what good practice looks like, how the standards overlap, and how Ofsted inspects children's homes.
Looking for additional help? Explore mock inspection support and the questions to ask before appointing a consultant.
Independent monitoring
Regulation 44: independent visits
Monthly independent visits and reports on the quality of care children experience.
Looking for additional help? Explore Regulation 44 independent visitor support and the questions to ask before appointing a consultant.
Quality of care review
Regulation 45: quality of care review
The six-monthly review of the quality of care provided to children.
Notifications
Regulation 40: serious incident notifications
When and how to notify Ofsted of serious incidents and specified events.
Leadership and management
Leadership, governance and management
The roles and responsibilities that underpin a well-led children's home.
The Responsible Individual in a Children's Home: A Practical Guide to Regulation 26, Oversight and Governance
The Responsible Individual, usually shortened to RI, has one of the most important governance roles within an organisation operating a children's home.
The Registered Manager of a Children's Home: A Practical Guide to Regulation 28, Leadership and Management
The Registered Manager is not simply the most senior person on the rota, they are responsible for leading a service where children live.
Regulation 13: The Leadership and Management Standard: Governance, Staffing, Supervision, Quality Assurance, Regulation 44, Regulation 45 and Continuous Improvement
A practical guide to Regulation 13 for children's homes in England, covering leadership culture, the registered person framework, management visibility, staffing, supervision, appraisal, quality assurance, Regulation 44, Regulation 45, and continuous improvement.
Looking for additional help? Explore Responsible Individual and manager support and the questions to ask before appointing a consultant.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding and Ofsted
Safeguarding is central to inspection judgements. CHH guidance on Regulation 12 and related safeguarding topics is on the Safeguarding page.
Official sources
The content on this page is based on the official sources below. Always consult the current versions as the authoritative reference.
Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF): children's homes (Ofsted)
www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspection-of-childrens-homesThe Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/541)
www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/contentsGuide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards (DfE)
www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-homes-regulations-including-quality-standards