Precinct Care

Reg 44 visit software

Everything the independent person needs for the monthly Regulation 44 visit, on the home's own tablet, with nothing to download and every page they open recorded.

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Regulation 44 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 says an independent person must visit each children's home every month, speak to children and staff in private if they agree, and inspect the home's records. Their report goes to Ofsted, the registered manager and the Responsible Individual.

In most homes that means printing records, emailing spreadsheets and chasing responses. Precinct Care keeps the whole visit in one place, from the pack to the manager's response.

Where we are: Precinct Care is in final development, shaped with registered managers, Responsible Individuals and Reg 44 independent persons. We are booking demonstrations now and taking a small number of pilot homes. The snippets on this page are from the working system, filled with made-up people and records.

See it in two minutes

The visit pack built for the independent person, actions from the last report with the manager's responses, a one-day read-only pass on the home's tablet, their notes and report upload, and the audit trail.

Reg 44 Visits in a Children's Home: Giving the Independent Person What They Need – Precinct Care

Pressing play loads the video from YouTube. Everything shown is demo data: the homes, staff and young people are made up.

How a Reg 44 visit works in Precinct Care

The month's visit pack

Young people living here, incidents and restraints, missing episodes, complaints and staff training, ready when they arrive.

Actions from the last visit

Every recommendation from last month, the manager's response, and whether it is done.

A pass for today only

The manager starts the visit and hands over the tablet. The independent person signs in with a one-time code to their own phone. No account or password is shared.

Read-only, and recorded

The independent person can't download, print or photograph records in the app. Copies of any record are given on request. Every page they open goes in the home's audit trail.

Young people to speak to

A list of who is placed, so the visitor can ask to speak to each young person, with their consent and in private if they wish.

Notes and report

Private notes to write up the report, then upload it. The manager is asked to respond to each recommendation.

Reg 44 visit pack in Precinct Care showing actions from the last visit and this month's records

Built around the visit, not the paperwork

The visit pack opens with the numbers an independent person looks for: young people living here, incidents this month, restraints, missing episodes, complaints and the share of staff with training up to date. Underneath are the records to review and the actions from last month.

When the manager presses End visit, the pass is removed straight away.

Young people to speak to on a Reg 44 visit in Precinct Care, with their consent and in private if they wish

Speaking to the young people and staff

The visit pack lists the young people to speak to, with their consent and in private if they wish, and the staff on shift. The independent person can see what was recommended last month and whether it has been done.

Actions from the last Reg 44 visit in Precinct Care, with the manager's response and status for each

Reg 45 and Responsible Individual oversight

Reg 44 reports and the manager's responses build up over the six months, ready for the Regulation 45 quality of care review. The area manager and Responsible Individual see on one screen which homes have a report missing or a response overdue. Not using Precinct Care yet? Download our free Reg 44 visit report template.

Not a children's home in England?

Reg 44 applies to children's homes in England only. In Wales the Responsible Individual visits at least every three months (reg 73) and reviews quality of care every six months (reg 80). In Scotland oversight is through the provider's external manager and Care Inspectorate self-evaluation. Precinct Care follows the right rules for each. See Scotland and Wales.

Questions we're asked

Does the Reg 44 independent person need their own account?

No. The registered manager starts the visit on the home's tablet, and the independent person signs in with a one-time code sent to their own phone. The pass only works on that tablet, for that day.

Can the independent person see staff HR files?

Staff HR files are not available to visitors. They see a staffing summary: roles, training, DBS status and supervision.

Where does the Reg 44 report go?

The visitor uploads it to the home's record. The manager is asked to respond to each recommendation, and the report and responses are kept for the Reg 45 review and for Ofsted.

See Precinct Care for yourself

Book a 30-minute demonstration. We'll show you the screens your staff, managers and inspectors would use.

Book a demo