How to Open a Children's Home in England

What a children's home is and when registration is required

A children's home is any establishment that provides care and accommodation wholly or mainly for children, subject to certain exemptions. If you intend to provide care and accommodation for children, you must register with Ofsted before you begin operating.

Some settings are exempt from registration as a children's home, including most foster placements, residential schools registered under different legislation, and hospitals. If you are unsure whether your planned setting counts as a children's home, seek advice from Ofsted or a specialist consultant before proceeding.

The opening journey: an overview

Opening a children's home is not a single event. It is a sequence of decisions and preparations that typically takes between 12 and 18 months, sometimes longer. The main stages are deciding whether to open, developing your model of care, choosing a property, resolving planning permission, establishing your provider structure, recruiting key staff, preparing your Statement of Purpose and policies, and applying for Ofsted registration.

These stages overlap. You can work on your model of care and provider structure at the same time, but you should not apply for Ofsted registration until your property is secured, planning is resolved, and your Registered Manager is recruited or identified.

Start with the children, not the building

The most common mistake new providers make is starting with a property. A building does not define a children's home. The children you intend to support, and the care you plan to provide, should drive every other decision, including the type of property, the location, the staffing model and the Statement of Purpose.

Before you look at properties, ask yourself: which children will live here? What ages, backgrounds and needs will they have? What outcomes do I want to help them achieve? What model of care will deliver those outcomes? Only then can you judge whether a particular property and location are suitable.

Child-centred question

If a child moved into this home tomorrow, would they feel this place was chosen for them, or for the convenience of the provider?

Model of care and outcomes

Your model of care describes the approach you will take, the needs of the children you will support, and the outcomes you aim to achieve. It should be specific enough to guide staffing, activities and the physical environment, but flexible enough to respond to individual children.

Your model of care should address: the age range and needs of children you will support, your therapeutic or practice approach, how you will support education and health, how you will manage behaviour, and how you will help children move on when the time is right.

Provider structure and key roles

Your provider structure is the legal and organisational framework within which the home will operate. Children's home providers can operate through different legal structures, including companies, charitable organisations, partnerships and individual-provider arrangements. The structure affects matters such as liability, governance and taxation.

Two roles are central to every children's home: the Registered Manager (RM), who leads the home day to day, and, where the registered provider is an organisation, a Responsible Individual (RI), who represents the provider and supervises the management of the home. The Responsible Individual and Registered Manager are distinct roles. Where a person intends to hold more than one role, Ofsted assesses their suitability and capacity for each role. You need to identify the relevant roles before applying for registration.

The RI does not need to be registered with Ofsted individually, but Ofsted assesses their suitability as part of the provider's registration. The Registered Manager is personally registered with Ofsted against the specific home they will manage.

Property, planning and location

Finding the right property involves three separate but connected workstreams: choosing a suitable building, resolving planning permission, and assessing the location. Each can take several months, and they should be started early.

Planning permission is a separate process from Ofsted registration. Most children's homes require planning permission for change of use, typically to use class C2 (residential institutions). Do not assume that because a building was previously used for care, it has the right planning consent for your intended use.

Staffing before registration

You need to have your staffing plan in place before you apply for registration. This includes your Registered Manager, your first staff team, and your approach to safer recruitment. Ofsted will ask about staffing during the registration visit.

Your Registered Manager does not need to have the Level 5 qualification before starting, but they must achieve it within three years of appointment, and many providers expect it sooner. Your first staff team should have the right values and experience for the children you intend to support. Staff must meet the fitness requirements in Regulation 32, and the registered person must obtain the information required by Schedule 2 about each person working at the home. Current safer recruitment guidance requires enhanced DBS checks, including barred list checks, for staff working with children, subject to any exceptions set out in that guidance.

Statement of Purpose and Children's Guide

The Statement of Purpose (SoP) is the document that defines your home. It sets out your philosophy, the needs you aim to meet, the facilities you provide, and how you will deliver the Quality Standards. The Children's Guide is a version of the SoP written for children, explaining what life in the home will be like and what they can expect.

Your SoP should be specific to your home, not a generic template. It should reflect your model of care, the children you will support, and the outcomes you aim to achieve. A vague or generic SoP is one of the most common reasons Ofsted asks for further information during registration.

Child-centred question

If a child read your Children's Guide, would they understand what life here would be like and what they could expect from the adults around them?

The Ofsted registration process

Ofsted registration involves two forms: SC1 (the provider application) and SC2 (the manager application). You submit both forms, along with your Statement of Purpose, policies, and supporting documents. Ofsted then carries out checks, interviews, and a registration visit before deciding whether to register the home.

From July 2026, Ofsted introduced a prioritisation system for new applications. Some applications may be waitlisted with no fixed timeframe. This does not mean your application has been refused, but it does mean you should factor potential delays into your business planning.

After registration: your continuing responsibilities

Registration is the beginning, not the end. Once registered, you must operate the home in line with the Children's Homes Regulations 2015 and the Quality Standards. This includes ongoing duties around care, safeguarding, staffing, records, notifications, and the monthly Regulation 44 independent visit.

Ofsted inspects children's homes regularly under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF). Your first inspection may come within months of registration. You should be ready to demonstrate how your home meets the Quality Standards from the day you open.

Financial feasibility

Opening a children's home requires significant upfront investment, and the costs should be understood before you commit to a property or start the registration process. Major cost categories include property acquisition or lease, refurbishment, staffing before the first placement, professional fees, and the costs of the registration process itself.

You also need to understand your operating costs and how your home will be funded. Most children's homes are funded through placements by local authorities, and the fee structure needs to cover your staffing, premises, and overhead costs while allowing for void periods when no children are placed.

Common opening mistakes

Several mistakes are common among new providers. Avoiding them will save time, money, and stress:

• Starting with a property before defining the model of care
• Underestimating the time planning permission and registration will take
• Not recruiting a Registered Manager early enough in the process
• Using a generic Statement of Purpose instead of one specific to the home
• Underestimating the costs of operating before the first placement
• Not understanding the local market and whether there is demand for the type of home you plan to open

The Opening Tracker helps you manage the stages of opening a home, from initial planning through to registration. It is a practical tool for tracking your progress and identifying what needs to happen next.