Regulation 44 Visiting
- Liam Walker
- Feb 4
- 4 min read
We have availability for Reg 44 visits to children’s homes from March 2025 on an ad hoc or long term basis.
In England, Regulation 44 visits are a vital aspect of ensuring the quality and safety of care provided in children’s homes. These visits are a requirement under The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, specifically Regulation 44, which mandates that all Ofsted-registered children’s homes undergo regular independent monitoring to ensure that children’s welfare is being promoted and their rights are protected.
Purpose of Regulation 44 Visits
The primary purpose of Regulation 44 visits is to provide an independent oversight mechanism, ensuring that children living in care are receiving the appropriate standard of care. These visits serve several critical functions:
1. Monitoring Care Quality: Regulation 44 visits ensure that the home meets the statutory standards set by Ofsted, including the quality of care, safety, and the physical and emotional well-being of the children.
2. Identifying Areas for Improvement: These visits help to identify potential weaknesses in the service provided, such as staffing issues, gaps in safeguarding, or inadequacies in facilities or care practices.
3. Promoting Accountability: By requiring an independent person to assess the home’s operations, Regulation 44 ensures that the provider remains accountable for its practices, supporting transparency and trust within the care system.
Who Conducts Regulation 44 Visits?
Regulation 44 visits must be carried out by an independent person (such as ourselves) who is not employed by the home or its parent organisation. This person could be an external professional with expertise in child care, social work, or child protection. The independent visitor should be suitably qualified and experienced to assess the home’s compliance with regulatory requirements. All of our Regulation 44 visitors have extensive experience (at least 10 years) of working in children’s homes including in management roles and quality assurance and are well placed to act as a “critical friend” to give a realistic and measured appraisal of your homes care and services and make recommendations for improvements.
We can visit your children’s home at least once a month and speak directly to the children, staff, and managers, as well as review records, policies, and procedures. The visits will focus on the overall care provided, with particular attention to safeguarding, emotional support, educational opportunities, and the physical environment.
Key Areas of Focus During Regulation 44 Visits
During a Regulation 44 visit, we will assess several key areas:
Safeguarding Practices: Ensuring that the home has robust safeguarding policies and procedures in place to protect children from harm, including appropriate staff training and procedures for reporting concerns.
Children’s Well-Being: Reviewing whether the children’s emotional, psychological, and physical needs are being met, and ensuring that they have access to education, healthcare, and recreational activities.
Staffing: Assessing whether the staffing levels are sufficient, the staff are suitably qualified, and whether there is an appropriate mix of skills and experience to meet the children’s needs.
Health and Safety: Ensuring that the home is safe, clean, and well-maintained, and that all necessary health and safety regulations are followed.
Children’s Feedback: Gathering the views of the children to ensure they feel heard, valued, and safe within the home. This may involve interviews or surveys with the young people to understand their experiences.
The Reporting Process
After each visit, we are required to submit a written report to the children’s home, outlining their findings. This report will include:
1. An assessment of the home’s compliance with the relevant regulations.
2. Recommendations for improvement where necessary.
3. Confirmation of areas of good practice.
4. Any immediate concerns or safeguarding issues that need to be addressed.
The report will also be shared with Ofsted and, if necessary, the local authority responsible for the child;s care. In cases where serious concerns are identified, the independent visitor has a duty to report them immediately to the appropriate authorities, ensuring swift action can be taken to safeguard the children.
Importance of Regulation 44 Visits
Regulation 44 visits are a cornerstone of the regulatory framework for children’s homes in England. They provide an independent, unbiased perspective on the quality of care and help ensure that the homes are consistently striving to improve. These visits also give children and young people a voice in their care environment, ensuring that they are not merely passive recipients of care but active participants in shaping the services they receive.
By holding children’s homes to account in this way, Regulation 44 visits play a crucial role in improving the standards of care across the sector and ensuring that children’s homes remain places of safety, growth, and positive development for vulnerable children and young people.
We can currently provide visitors to homes within 50 miles of our base in Oxford (see above). We are also able to provide visitors for homes outside of this radius on a contract basis.
Our prices start from £350 (based on a children’s home with 1-4 beds) for a three hour visit and a written report circulated to the Responsible Individual, Registered Manager and Ofsted
We are also able to visit more than one home within the same organisation on the same day based on location (travel expenses apply)
If you need a skilled and experienced independent visitor or want to find out more, please get in touch.
07771926975
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