This guide explains what a childrens home is and what you must do if you intend to open one.
You should also read our main guide to registration, which applies to all childrens social care services and our guidance on recruiting staff.
Clarification added to the location assessment about consulting with relevant local bodies and updated the unregistered section to clarify when we may undertake a criminal investigation. We have also removed guidance on indicators for supported accommodation that is now in our guidance for registering supported accommodation.
Guidance on Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children removed in the interim whilst the Home Office and Department for Education review current position.
Clarified the section 'When you do not need to register' and removed guidance on unregulated establishments as this content is currently under review.
Clarified our guidance about applications to manage more than one childrens home.
Added link to guidance about applying to register a multi-building children's home.
Clarified our guidance on one manager managing two homes.
Revised guidance on applying to manage more than one children's home.
Revised throughout for clarity.
Minor updates to reflect a legislation change on exemptions from registration for 16 to 19 academies (p5), and to clarify existing guidance on unregulated and unregistered providers (p16).
Updated this guidance to clarify that we do not register satellite childrens homes.
Updated to make it clear when unregulated and unregistered services should register.
Updated to bring in line with legislation changes in 2015.
First published.