When I register my children’s home with Ofsted, what policies do I need?
If you are in the process of starting a children’s home, you will need a suite of policies to keep the wheels of your business turning and meet your regulatory requirements.
When it comes to submitting your registration documents to Ofsted, there are policies that you must submit with the application. We have created a quick video below to tell you what those policies are and what they should include.
Alongside the policies you need to submit, additional documents include insurance and building planning information. You can find out more about the other documents you need to send here.
Why do we need to send policies and documents?
Every residential children’s home needs to have policies and procedures to meet the lawful requirements of running their service. Policies reflect the law relating to the care side of the business, corporate law, health and safety, human resources and a host of other eventualities.
Policies are statements that guide your staff in practising within the rules, regulations and principles your organisation operates by and what you expect of them. Procedures provide the steps to help staff members do their job, what you expect of them and how to avoid falling foul of your policy requirements.
Policies and procedures make it clear to other professionals how your organisation operates, cares for and supports your client group.
Getting started
If you are starting your children’s home adventure, there is no great shortcut to complete the requirements. However, we have provided a roadmap for you by creating a children’s home start-up package on how to open a children’s home. The package includes most of the documents you need to submit with your application and step-by-step guides to help you get started as quickly as possible.
Beware
Any policy that you find online offered free may only be a sample policy and may not be entirely up to date. Policies and procedures for children’s residential care homes must include the requirements of The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and other applicable regulatory and practice requirements. Submitting an incomplete policy or policy copied from an online source may harm your registration process or inspection outcomes.
Applicable Legislation
- Children and Families Act 2014
- Adoption and Children Act 2002
- Education and Inspections Act 2006
- Care Standards Act 2000
- Children Act 1989
- Children Act 2004
Regulations for all providers
- The Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children’s Homes etc.) Regulations 2015
- The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010
- The Care Standards Act 2000 (Registration)(England) Regulations 2010
Regulations for children’s homes
Guide to the children’s homes regulations
