The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 Regulation 44 visits states that:
‘The registered Person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement’
Ofsted reviews the content of Regulation 44 reports to inform the next inspection and uses the information to decide if we need to take any other action;
Failure to submit any regulation 44 report will be noted in the lines of enquiry for the next inspection. Findings in this area may impact on the judgement for Leadership and Management.
A little bit about the visit
The visits will be undertaken by a person not involved in the day-to-day operation of the home.
These visits are for a minimum of 3 hours long to get a full oversight of the home. They can be announced or unannounced, and also take place over the weekends to ensure that the young people are in and not at education during the visit. During the inspections discussions will be had with the young people and staff. Feedback will also be sought from social workers, independent reviewing officers and parents where applicable.
Following the inspection a report will be written with the inspectors’ findings and evaluation on the care. This report will be circulated to the Responsible individual, the homes Manager any other interested parties and Ofsted.