Children's homes registrations nearly double during lockdown

Some 220 applications for new children’s homes were received between April and August, while Covid-19 restrictions were in place, Yvette Stanley told CYP Now.

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However, 19 children’s homes had their registrations suspended and 20 had their accommodation restricted.

Of the 220 applications, 80 per cent (177) are now open compared with 95 homes which opened throughout the whole of 2019.

Stanley put this down to a suspension of Ofsted inspections allowing more resources to be focussed on regulatory work.

“Partly because we were doing less inspections we have managed to register a lot more children’s homes than we would have done in normal times,” she said.

“We were able to move swiftly on those, partly because our regulatory resource was more free but also we were able to fast track applications without losing some of the important checks and balances,” she added highlighting the use of digital technology to carry out some meetings with providers.

However, “nothing replaces that face-to-face contact when you want to go through those very important safeguarding questions,” she added.

An influx of new homes opened by providers already running homes described as “good” by Ofsted and working in partnership with local authorities “speaks to the national debate about sufficiency”, Stanley said.

“We wanted to prioritise our children’s homes registration work - to help increase capacity in the system and make sure that there are enough places available for children who need them. Covid-19 has increased pressure on the system, including finding the right home for those children newly coming into care.

“Although the number of children’s homes registered is the most that we’ve ever had, sadly it does not mean there are more places to go around. 

“Placements are changing; we are seeing far more smaller homes with one or two beds. So, we can celebrate this achievement to a point, but the sufficiency problem remains. As there will likely be even more pressure on places as the pandemic continues, getting enough good provision in the right places remains a priority,” she added, saying that an increasing number of older teenagers were coming into care following lockdown.

Peter Sandiford, chief executive of the Independent Children’s Home Association said: “Achieving sufficiency in the number of places in children’s homes could be perceived as a wicked problem in that potential solutions are not true-or-false, but better or worse.  At the start of Covid we already had a lack of available places and the expectation was for this situation to get worse. In addition, there was a built-in natural limitation on sufficiency due to matching requirements, and to add to this mix, many local authorities refused to place children in homes that had been judged as being Requires Improvement or Inadequate at their last inspection. 

“Faced with this wicked problem together with the need to limit the chances of spreading the virus, a decision was made about the best use of the sector’s regulator.  This may have been the best decision or it may not, but either way it did create the possibility of fast tracking some new registrations with the result that some children who would otherwise have been placed in unregistered provision were placed in a registered home. This must be a positive.  

“It is now vital that following assurance visits, local authorities listen to the outcomes, and as well as using newly registered homes, also place in homes that Ofsted has assured are operating well, even without that formal inspection grading.”

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The comments come in response to an Ofsted briefing on findings of ungraded visits to children’s homes following the easing of restrictions. Full inspections are expected to resume in March 2021.

The suspension of inspections and the ability to fast-track applications for new homes were permitted via the controversial Adoption and Children (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.