Ofsted: Changes to registered manager guidelines not a new development

By that, I mean getting the right balance between keeping children safe, while making sure that regulation reflects how provision is designed and delivered right now. 

In his recent blog post, Jonathan Stanley raised his concerns about changes to our guidance around the circumstances where a manager is able to manage more than one children’s home. While we previously considered applications to manage more than one home under exceptional circumstances, we have changed the guidance to reflect how children’s homes are currently delivered.

But this isn’t a new development. Managers have been able to oversee more than one home for a number of years now. Indeed, we currently have over 280 managers managing more than one home – a fairly small, but not insignificant number considering there are over 2,600 children’s homes. And with the growth in the number of homes caring for one child, I believe this is the right approach.

This is absolutely not about relaxing safeguards, or deregulating by the back door. Any manager wanting to manage more than one home would still have to clearly demonstrate – through a stringent application process – that they had the right knowledge, skills and experience to take on two homes safely and well.

Essentially, we’re looking for very special managers who can satisfy us that they are up to the task. We’ll also explore whether there are arrangements in place to monitor quality, and oversee each home in the manager’s absence. We will be monitoring the situation carefully to make sure that we have strong, consistent oversight.

And, of course, there are some circumstances, as now happens, where it makes absolute sense for a manager to manage more than one home. For example, when one home is only operational occasionally (such as a short break service), or the two homes are linked closely, with one providing an opportunity for a child to develop independent living skills and requiring less oversight.   

In times gone by, children’s homes used to be large – with multiple beds accommodating many children. Anyone involved in the sector will know that we’ve seen a marked change over the years. Homes are now much smaller – often with only one or two beds, making it a realistic prospect for a strong manager to oversee more than one.

As Jonathan alludes to, there is a longstanding shortage of registered managers in the children’s homes sector. And there are significant changes ahead too – from September, local authorities will no longer be able to place children under the age of 16 in unregulated accommodation. But, with the well-documented lack of sufficient supply – particularly for older children needing care and those with needs best suited to very small provision – there will almost certainly be a knock-on impact in terms of capacity in the system.

As a regulator, children’s safety will always come first. But we must also regulate proportionately and responsively, meeting the sector where it is today. I believe our approach does just that.

Yvette Stanley is Ofsted’s national director for regulation and social care