Visits & reviews
What is a Regulation 44 visit?
A Regulation 44 visit is an independent visit to a children's home carried out at regular intervals by a person who is not connected to the home, producing a written report on how the home is meeting children's needs.
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<img src="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/regulation-44-visit/diagram.svg" alt="Regulation 44 visit — diagram from CareOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk/glossary/regulation-44-visit">What is a Regulation 44 visit?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://careoptix.co.uk">CareOptix</a>
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</figure>Independence is the entire point. The visitor is there to see what the home may no longer notice about itself, and a visitor who becomes familiar and comfortable is providing reassurance rather than scrutiny.
The visit centres on children. Speaking with them, with staff, and looking at the home as they experience it is what generates the report, and a visit conducted mainly through files has missed its purpose.
The report goes to the registered person and to Ofsted. Its recommendations are the useful part, and a home that responds to them substantively builds a record of improvement that inspection reads favourably.
What goes wrong in practice
- The same visitor for years, which erodes the independence the visit exists to provide.
- Recommendations received with no recorded response, so a pattern of unaddressed findings builds up.
- Visits arranged predictably, so the home is always seen in the same state.
- Children not spoken to in a way that lets them say anything difficult.