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 visitors. 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.

How a Reg 44 visit works in Precinct Care

The month's visit pack

Young people placed, incidents and physical interventions, 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 visitor signs in with a one-time code to their own phone. No account or password is shared.

Read-only, and recorded

The visitor can't download, print or photograph records from the app. 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 placed, incidents this month, physical interventions, 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.

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 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 visitor need their own account?

No. The registered manager starts the visit on the home's tablet, and the visitor 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