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 Statement of Purpose is the document that defines your home. It sets out your philosophy, the needs you aim to meet, the facilities you provide, your admissions criteria, and how you will deliver the Quality Standards. Regulation 16 and Schedule 1 set out what the SoP must include. The SoP must be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. Any revision must be notified to HMCI and the revised SoP sent within 28 days. CHH guidance: a generic or outdated SoP is a common reason Ofsted asks for further information during registration.
In this guide
- What the Statement of Purpose is and why it matters beyond registration
- What Regulation 16 and Schedule 1 require the SoP to include
- How to write a philosophy section that is specific to your home, not generic
- How to define the needs the home aims to meet and the needs it cannot support
- How to describe facilities, admissions criteria and staffing accurately
- How the Children's Guide connects to the SoP and what it must include
- How to review and update the SoP so it stays current with the home's practice
Regulation 16 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 requires every children's home to have a Statement of Purpose (SoP) containing the matters specified in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. The registered person must keep the SoP under review and, where appropriate, revise it. Any revision must be notified to HMCI (Ofsted), and the revised SoP must be sent to HMCI within 28 days of the revision. Copies of the SoP must be made available on request to the categories specified by Regulation 16. Where the home has a website, the registered person must ensure the SoP is published on it unless the registered person considers publication would prejudice the welfare of children accommodated in the home. The Children's Guide is defined by Regulation 2 and the access, explanation, review and children's-comment duties are in Regulation 7. The Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations (DfE, 2015) explains what the SoP should cover and how it should be used.
What the Statement of Purpose is and why it matters
The Statement of Purpose 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. It is the document Ofsted uses to understand what your home is for, who it is for, and how it operates.
The SoP is not a marketing document. It is a regulatory document that should accurately describe what the home does. A SoP that overstates what the home provides, or that describes a model of care the home does not actually deliver, creates a gap between the document and the reality. Ofsted will find that gap during inspection.
The Statement of Purpose is a document you write once for registration and then file away.
Regulation 16 requires the SoP to be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. The SoP should be a living document that reflects the home's current practice. If the home's model of care, admissions criteria or facilities change, the SoP should be updated. A SoP that does not match the home's actual practice is a common inspection finding.
What Regulation 16 and Schedule 1 require
Regulation 16 requires the SoP to set out the matters specified in Schedule 1 to the Regulations. Schedule 1 is detailed and specific. It sets out the information the SoP must include, covering the home's philosophy, the needs it aims to meet, the facilities, the staffing, the admissions criteria, and how the home will deliver the Quality Standards.
Schedule 1 to the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 sets out the matters to be included in the Statement of Purpose: the overall philosophy of the home; the needs of the children the home is intended to care for; the facilities provided; the arrangements for education; the arrangements for health; the staffing arrangements; the arrangements for child protection; the arrangements for promoting children's wishes and feelings; and the arrangements for complaints. The Guide to the Regulations explains each requirement. Therapeutic support falls under the 'arrangements for health' heading, not as a separate Schedule 1 item.
The SoP should address each matter in Schedule 1. Missing or vague sections are a common weakness. Ofsted may ask for further information during registration if the SoP does not adequately address the Schedule 1 requirements.
The philosophy and approach
The philosophy section should set out the home's overall approach to care. This is where the model of care is described. The philosophy should be specific to the home, not a generic statement about providing a safe and caring environment.
A good philosophy section explains: the practice approach the home uses, the values that underpin the approach, how the approach will meet the needs of the children, and how staff will work day to day to deliver the approach. It should be specific enough that a reader can understand what the home will actually do, not just what it believes.
Developing Your Model of Care
How to define your practice approach, outcomes and admissions criteria.
The needs the home aims to meet
The SoP must set out the needs of the children the home is intended to care for. This includes the age range, the types of needs (emotional, behavioural, social, educational, health), and any specific needs the home is designed to meet. This section drives the admissions criteria.
Being specific about the needs also means being clear about the needs the home is not designed to meet. A home that says it meets 'all needs' is not being honest. A home that is clear about what it can and cannot support is more useful to placing authorities and more credible to Ofsted.
Schedule 1 requires the SoP to set out the needs of the children the home is intended to care for. The Guide to the Regulations explains that this should be specific, including the age range, the types of needs, and any specialisms. The admissions criteria should follow from the stated needs.
The facilities and services
The SoP must describe the facilities the home provides. This includes the physical environment (bedrooms, communal areas, facilities for education, outdoor space), the services provided directly (education, therapy, health support), and the services accessed externally (local schools, NHS services, external therapists).
Be accurate about what the home provides. If the home does not have an on-site school, do not imply it does. If the home accesses therapy through external providers, say so. Placing authorities rely on the SoP to make placement decisions. Inaccurate descriptions lead to poor matches.
Admissions criteria
The SoP must set out the home's admissions criteria. This includes the age range, the needs the home can support, the needs the home cannot support, and the process for assessing whether a child is suitable for the home.
The admissions criteria should be clear enough for a placing authority to know whether the home is right for a child before they make a referral. Vague criteria lead to inappropriate referrals and poor matches. Clear criteria protect both the child and the home.
Schedule 1 requires the SoP to set out the needs of the children the home is intended to care for, which includes the admissions criteria. Regulation 14 (the Care Planning Standard) requires the home to ensure that placements are planned and matched to meet children's needs. CHH guidance: a home that admits children whose needs do not match its stated criteria is likely to face questions during inspection.
Regulation 14: Care Planning
Admissions, matching and placement planning.
Staffing and management
The SoP must describe the staffing arrangements, including the Registered Manager, the Responsible Individual, the staff team, and the approach to recruitment, training and supervision. This section should show how the staffing is designed to deliver the model of care.
If the model of care requires staff with specific training or qualifications, the SoP should say so. If the model requires higher staffing ratios at certain times, the SoP should explain why. The staffing section should make sense when read alongside the philosophy section.
Staffing: Ratios, Rotas and Qualifications
How to plan staffing levels and qualifications.
Children's rights and participation
The SoP must set out the arrangements for promoting children's wishes and feelings, and for handling complaints. This section should show how children are involved in decisions about their care and about the home, and how they can raise concerns.
The Children's Guide is the child-friendly version of the SoP. Regulation 2 defines the Guide as explaining what each child can expect from the home's care, the support they are entitled to, how to make a complaint, and how to access advocacy support. Regulation 7 requires the registered person to ensure children have access to the Guide, keep it under review, seek children's comments before revision, and give each child an explanation of the Guide on arrival. The Children's Guide should be written for the children in the home, not for Ofsted.
Child-centred questionIf a child read your Children's Guide, would they understand what life in this home would be like, what they could expect from the adults, and what to do if they were unhappy?
The Children's Guide
What the Children's Guide must include and how to make it accessible.
Reviewing and updating the SoP
If the SoP is revised, the registered person must notify HMCI of the revision and send the revised SoP within 28 days. Any revision triggers the notification requirement, not only significant ones. A home that has drifted from its SoP without updating it is a common inspection finding. The review is not just a date in the document. It is a genuine check that the SoP still describes the home.
Regulation 16 requires the SoP to be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. Any revision must be notified to HMCI, and the revised SoP must be sent to HMCI within 28 days of the revision. The Guide to the Regulations explains that the review should involve the manager, the RI and staff, and should consider whether the SoP still reflects the home's practice. Copies of the SoP must be made available on request to the categories specified by Regulation 16, not automatically to all. Where the home has a website, the registered person must ensure the SoP is published on it unless the registered person considers publication would prejudice the welfare of children accommodated in the home.
The 9 Quality Standards
How the Quality Standards connect to the Statement of Purpose.
Common Statement of Purpose mistakes
- Using a generic template instead of writing a SoP specific to the home
- Overstating what the home provides to attract placements
- Not addressing all the matters in Schedule 1
- Not updating the SoP when the model of care or admissions criteria change
- Writing the SoP for Ofsted rather than for the home, the children and placing authorities
- Not making the Children's Guide accessible to the children who will use it
- Treating the review as a date change rather than a genuine review of the content
- Not notifying HMCI of a revision within 28 days
The SoP test
If a placing authority read your Statement of Purpose, would they know what kind of home this is, who it is for, and what it does? If not, the SoP needs work.
Key takeaways
- 01The SoP is a regulatory document that must accurately describe what the home does, not a marketing document.
- 02Regulation 16 and Schedule 1 set out what the SoP must include. Missing or vague sections are a common weakness.
- 03The philosophy section should describe the model of care specifically, not generically.
- 04The admissions criteria should follow from the stated needs and be clear enough for placing authorities to use.
- 05The Children's Guide is defined by Regulation 2; the access, explanation, review and children's-comment duties are in Regulation 7.
- 06Regulation 16 requires the SoP to be kept under review and, where appropriate, revised. Any revision must be notified to HMCI and the revised SoP sent within 28 days.
- 07A SoP that does not match the home's actual practice is a common inspection finding.
Related resources
Guides and tools that connect to this one.
How to Open a Children's Home in England
Opening a children's home is not simply a case of finding a suitable property and applying to Ofsted.
Complaints, Advocacy and Regulation 39 in Children's Homes
A practical deep dive into complaints and advocacy in children's homes in England, covering Regulation 39, what counts as a complaint, complaints vs e…
Developing Your Children's Home Model of Care
Before choosing a property, writing policies or completing an Ofsted application, you should be able to clearly explain what your children's home is a…
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.
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 pr…
What to do next
Sources and further reading
This guidance references the following official sources. Always consult the underlying legislation and official guidance where appropriate.
Legislation
Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 — Regulation 16 and Schedule 1
Legislation · Legislation · Regulation 16, Schedule 1
Accessed 2026-08-10
Statutory guidance
Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards
Department for Education · Statutory Guidance
Accessed 2026-08-10
Ofsted guidance
Apply to Register a Children's Home
Ofsted · Ofsted Guidance
Accessed 2026-08-10
Ofsted post-registration guidance
Ofsted · Ofsted Guidance
Accessed 2026-08-10
About this guidance
The Children's Home Hub provides independent information intended to make children's-home regulation and operation easier to understand. The Hub Statement of Purpose Builder described above is practical guidance, not an Ofsted-prescribed template. Providers remain responsible for ensuring their own Statement of Purpose accurately reflects their service and meets Regulation 16 and Schedule 1.