Regulation & inspection
What is Ofsted registration?
Ofsted registration is the permission a provider needs to operate a children's home. It names the home, the provider, the responsible individual and the registered manager, and it carries conditions.
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<img src="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/registration/diagram.svg" alt="Ofsted registration — diagram from CareOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/registration">What is Ofsted registration?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk">CareOptix</a>
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</figure>It is specific to the home rather than to the provider. Opening a second home is a fresh registration, and moving a registered manager between homes is a registration matter rather than an internal transfer.
Conditions on registration can limit the number of children, their ages, and the categories of care provided. Operating outside them is operating outside the registration, however well the home is run.
Variations have to be applied for and granted before the change, which is a lead time worth knowing about before a placement is offered that the registration does not cover.
What goes wrong in practice
- A child admitted outside the age range or category the registration permits.
- Operating above the registered number during a placement crisis.
- A variation assumed to be a formality and relied on before it was granted.