Topic
Ofsted & Inspections
Inspection readiness, Reg 44 visits and what inspectors actually look for.
How to prepare for an Ofsted inspection of your children's home
Full inspections are unannounced, so there's no countdown to plan against. What matters is whether the ordinary week would already hold up if inspectors walked in.
14 July 2026 · 5 min readThe Children's Homes Quality Standards, explained
Nine standards set out in the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 sit behind every Ofsted judgement. Here's what each one actually asks of a home.
25 June 2026 · 5 min readWhat separates a Good children's home from an Outstanding one
The gap between Good and Outstanding is rarely about doing more. It's usually about consistency, and about evidence that goes beyond "this happened" to "this changed something."
10 June 2026 · 4 min readWhat is a Regulation 44 visit, and how often does it need to happen?
Every children's home in England has to be visited by an independent person at least monthly. Here's what that actually involves — and where to go for the detail on what makes those visits count.
2 June 2026 · 5 min readGetting Reg 44 visits right: what inspectors actually look for
Independent visiting reports are one of the most scrutinised records a home produces. Here's what tends to separate a strong one from a weak one.
27 May 2026 · 4 min readOfsted notifications: what you must report, and how fast
Regulation 40 sets out a list of events a children's home must notify Ofsted about. The list is specific — and so, in most cases, is the timeframe.
6 May 2026 · 5 min readRated Requires Improvement to be Good? Here's what happens next
A Requires Improvement judgement isn't a crisis, but it does start a clock. What matters most in the weeks after is what changes, and how visibly.
15 April 2026 · 5 min readHow long does an Ofsted inspection of a children's home take?
Most full inspections of a children's home take place over one to two days on site, though the process around them runs longer than that.