How to Register a Children's Home with Ofsted (2026 Guide)

Opening a Children’s Home is one of the most rewarding things a care provider can do, and one of the most closely regulated. Ofsted has to be satisfied that the people, the premises and the plans are right before a single child moves in.

This guide walks through the process in the order we recommend. It is based on Ofsted’s current guidance for providers in England.

Is a Children’s Home the right registration?

A Children’s Home provides care and accommodation for children. If you plan to look after children under 18 who live with you and need care, you are almost certainly setting up a Children’s Home.

If you plan to house looked-after young people and care leavers aged 16 and 17 and offer support, but not care, you may need to register as 16+ Supported Accommodation instead. That falls under different regulations, the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023, with four Quality Standards rather than nine.

Getting this right at the start matters. Carrying on or managing a Children’s Home without registration is an offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act 2000, and it remains an offence while your application is being processed.

Step 1: Plan the home around the children

Everything in your application flows from one document, your Statement of Purpose. Before you look at properties, be clear about:

the age range and number of children you will care for
the needs you can meet, such as emotional and behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities or short breaks
how you will meet those needs, including staffing, education and health support
why there is a need for your home in the area you are considering

Ofsted judges your application against the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and its nine Quality Standards. Your plans need to show how you will meet every one of them from the day the first child arrives.

Step 2: Find the property and check planning

The home has to suit the children described in your Statement of Purpose, and so does the area around it. Two things catch providers out here.

Planning permission. You must give Ofsted evidence of your planning position, and Ofsted cannot carry out a registration visit until you do. Ofsted strongly recommends waiting until planning permission has been granted before you apply. The evidence has to come from the local planning authority itself, even if you believe no permission is needed.

The location. You will need a location assessment showing that the home is needed and suitably sited. This means looking honestly at risks in the local area and consulting the police and the local authority. Inspectors visit the area themselves and do notice local risks a provider has missed.

Check planning with the local planning authority before you sign a lease or buy. It is far easier to walk away from a property at this stage than after you have applied.

Step 3: Appoint your Registered Manager and Responsible Individual

Ofsted looks very closely at the people who will run the home.

The Registered Manager must have the right experience and qualifications. The regulations require relevant experience of residential childcare, including time spent supervising or managing staff, and the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare or an equivalent. The rules on this are not flexible. A manager who does not meet them will have their application refused.

The Responsible Individual is the person your organisation appoints to supervise the management of the home. They are usually a director or senior leader.

Choose both carefully and early. Changing either person part-way through the application means restarting their checks, which is one of the most common causes of delay.

Step 4: Prepare your documents

Ofsted’s guidance lists the documents to send with your application. For each home you will need:

a Statement of Purpose that meets the Children’s Homes Regulations
evidence of your planning position
an insurance certificate, or written confirmation that cover will be in place
a children’s guide
policies on missing children, safeguarding, behaviour support, prevention of bullying and complaints
your location assessment
evidence of financial viability, including a business plan and a 12-month cash flow forecast (and your last two years’ accounts if your organisation is already trading)

Each file must be no larger than 2 MB, in a format such as PDF, DOCX or XLSX.

Write every document for your home. Inspectors can tell when a policy has been copied from somewhere else, and outdated or copied documents are a common reason for applications being delayed.

Step 5: Complete the SC1 and SC2 forms

The application is made online.

The SC1 form registers your organisation. It is completed by a director or someone with a similar role, or by someone they authorise.
An SC2 form is completed by each person linked to the home, including the manager, the Responsible Individual and directors.

When you submit the SC1, you receive a 14-character reference number. Give it to everyone who needs to complete an SC2. Your application is not complete until every SC2 is in.

Two details cause more delays than almost anything else:

Your organisation’s name must match Companies House exactly. Ofsted’s guidance warns that incorrect names cause applications to be returned and placed at the back of the queue.
References and work histories must be complete. The reference for someone’s last social care job has to come from that employer, and gaps in employment need explaining.

Step 6: Pay the registration fee

Ofsted invoices a non-refundable registration fee once it has all the documents it needs to process your application, and there is a separate fee for each Registered Manager application. Nothing moves forward until the fee is paid. Once registered, you pay an annual fee.

Step 7: The registration visit and interviews

When everything is in place, an inspector visits the home. Ofsted usually carries out one visit and interviews the people linked to the application, normally including the proposed Registered Manager and Responsible Individual. Questions are tailored to each person rather than following a fixed script.

The home does not need to be fully equipped, but it should have enough furniture for children to live there from the day it is registered. Inspectors look at the home, the local area, sleeping-in arrangements for staff, door locks and any CCTV.

Have these ready on the day:

original identity documents, qualification certificates and DBS certificates for the manager and Responsible Individual
a staffing list and rota showing enough suitably qualified staff from the start
some personnel files, so the inspector can check your recruitment
health and safety and fire risk assessments
your training and development plan, including induction and supervision
examples of how children’s records will be kept

Our guide to fit person interviews explains how to prepare for the interviews themselves.

How long does it take?

Ofsted’s current guidance says that priority applications will in general receive a decision within six months. Other applications are placed on a waiting list without a set timeframe. Either way, your side of the process is the part you control: a complete, consistent application with the right people in place moves faster.

The most common reasons for delay

From Ofsted’s own guidance and our experience, applications are most often held up by:

What goes wrong	How to avoid it
Organisation name does not match Companies House	Copy it exactly from the Companies House register
Manager or Responsible Individual changes mid-application	Confirm both people before you apply
Planning evidence missing or not from the planning authority	Get written confirmation from the local planning authority
Documents copied, outdated or too large	Write them for your home and keep files under 2 MB
SC2 forms incomplete	Check referees, employment gaps and DBS details before submitting
Fee not paid	Pay the invoice as soon as it arrives

Before you apply: a quick checklist

You know whether you need a Children’s Home or 16+ Supported Accommodation
Your Statement of Purpose describes the children you will care for and how
You have a property, with planning confirmed by the local planning authority
Your location assessment is complete, with police and local authority input
Your Registered Manager meets the experience and qualification requirements
Your Responsible Individual is confirmed
Your policies, children’s guide, insurance and financial evidence are ready
Your organisation’s details match Companies House exactly

If you can tick every item, you are in a strong position to apply.

Official guidance

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Regulator guidance changes, so check the current position before you act, or talk to us about your plans.