Online course

Understanding Children's Homes & Starting Up

For managers, leaders and practitioners moving into children's residential care. A thorough grounding in the legal, regulatory and operational framework behind children's homes in England.

Enquire about this courseWe will reply with full details and next steps

What you will understand

The regulatory framework underpinning residential children's care, including the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Quality Standards — and what these mean in practice for day-to-day management and leadership.

Full course outline

Module 1 — Vision & Legal Foundations

  • Welcome to the course
  • Understanding the sector
  • Principles of residential children's care

Module 2 — Planning Your Home

  • Statement of purpose
  • Location risk assessment
  • Policies & procedures
  • Project planning & financials

Module 3 — Registration with Ofsted

  • Ofsted application process
  • Fit person interview preparation
  • Governance & leadership

Module 4 — Recruitment & Safer Recruitment

  • Workforce planning
  • Safer recruitment steps
  • Induction, probation & ongoing suitability

Module 5 — Preparing Staff & Culture

  • Training matrix & CPD
  • Supervision & staff support
  • Embedding a child-centred culture

Module 6 — Admissions, Placements & Risk

  • Pre-placement risk assessment
  • Placement planning
  • Admissions, transitions & endings
  • Risk assessment

Module 7 — The Quality Standards

  • Quality & purpose of care (Reg 6)
  • Children's views, wishes & feelings (Reg 7)
  • Education, enjoyment & achievement (Reg 8–9)
  • Health & wellbeing, relationships, protection (Reg 10–12)
  • Leadership & management, care planning (Reg 13–14)

Module 8 — Safety, Notifications & Governance

  • Fire safety & premises compliance
  • Notifications & serious incidents (Reg 40)
  • Reg 44 & 45 reports
  • Partnership working (Reg 5)

Module 9 — Inspection Readiness

  • The SCCIF inspection model
  • Annex A & evidence preparation
  • Common pitfalls & enforcement
  • Mock inspection walkthrough

Ready to get started?

Get in touch and we will talk you through the nine modules and how to join.

Get in touch