Every children’s home in England must have a visit from an independent person at least once a month. Managers call it the Reg 44 visit, after regulation 44 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. The visitor writes a report, and Ofsted reads it.
This guide sets out what the regulation actually says, what Ofsted adds on top, and how to get real value from the visit rather than treating it as a monthly chore.
What regulation 44 requires
The registered person must make sure an independent person visits the home at least once each month. The visit can be unannounced.
During the visit, the home must help the independent person to:
- interview children, their parents, relatives and staff in private, if they consent
- inspect the premises
- inspect the home’s records, except a child’s case records, which they can only see if the child and the child’s placing authority consent
After the visit the independent person writes a report. It must give their opinion on two things: whether children are effectively safeguarded, and whether the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. The report can recommend actions for the home, with timescales for the registered person to consider them.
Who can be the independent person
Regulation 43 covers the appointment. The registered provider appoints and pays for the independent person, and can use the same person for all its homes. The provider cannot appoint:
- someone it employs, unless they are employed solely to scrutinise how homes are run and the quality of care
- someone involved in preparing a care plan for a child at the home, or their manager
- someone who commissions or pays for the home’s services
- someone with a financial interest in the home
- the Responsible Individual
- anyone with a connection to the registered person, staff or a child that raises doubts about their impartiality
The independent person must declare any conflict of interest straight away, and before the visit if they can. If the provider learns of a conflict before or during a visit, the visit must be cancelled and a different person appointed.
The government’s guide to the regulations adds that the visitor should be able to relate to children, assess all the relevant information and form an impartial judgement about the quality of care.
Who gets the report, and by when
The independent person must send a copy of the report to:
- Ofsted (HMCI)
- the local authority where the home is, if it asks
- the placing authorities of the children
- the registered provider and, where there is one, the registered manager
- the Responsible Individual, if one is nominated
The regulation itself sets no deadline. Ofsted’s inspection framework for children’s homes does: the report must reach Ofsted before the end of the month that follows the month of the visit. So a visit in October must be with Ofsted by the end of November. This still applies when no children are living in the home.
Ofsted also says it is the independent person’s job to submit the report. The provider can see it, comment on it and add a response to the recommendations, but must not change the independent person’s findings. If the visitor thinks the provider has tried to alter the report, they should tell Ofsted.
Why the report matters at inspection
Before a full inspection, the inspector reads the information Ofsted already holds about the home. That includes the regulation 44 reports and the six-monthly regulation 45 quality of care reviews. Inspectors also use them to choose lines of enquiry.
A run of reports that says everything is fine, followed by an inspection that finds serious problems, does the home no favours. Nor does the same recommendation appearing month after month with no response. Inspectors look at whether the home acts on what the visitor finds.
What a good visit looks like
A useful visit is not a tick-box tour. In our experience the visits that help managers most share a few things:
- The visitor talks to the young people. Privately if they want to, and in a way that suits each child. The views of children are the heart of the report.
- The independent person follows the records. Incidents, restraints, missing episodes, complaints and notifications since the last visit, read in full, not just counted.
- Last month’s actions are checked. Every recommendation has the manager’s response next to it, and the visitor checks whether it was done.
- The report says what the visitor thinks. A clear opinion on safeguarding and well-being, as the regulation requires, not a description of the building.
How to prepare each month
You do not need to prepare for an unannounced visit, but you can make it easier:
- Keep a running list of incidents, interventions, missing episodes, complaints and notifications for the month.
- Keep last month’s recommendations with your response and the current status of each.
- Make sure the visitor can get to the records they need, on paper or on screen, without staff hunting for them.
- Tell the young people the visitor is coming, if the visit is planned, and that they can talk to them in private.
- Read the report as soon as it arrives, add your response to each recommendation and keep it with your records.
Doing it on screen
We are building the Reg 44 visit into Precinct Care, the children’s home recording system we are developing. The independent person gets a monthly visit pack with the month’s records and last month’s actions, opens it on the home’s own tablet with a one-day pass, and uploads their report at the end. The manager’s response to each recommendation sits next to it, ready for the next visit and for Ofsted. Precinct Care is in final development and we are taking a small number of pilot homes.
Read more about Reg 44 visit software, our buyer’s guide to children’s home software, or book a demonstration.
Sources
- The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulations 43 to 45 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Social care common inspection framework (SCCIF): children’s homes (Ofsted, updated 1 April 2026)
- Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards (Department for Education)
This guide covers children’s homes in England. Wales and Scotland have their own rules.
