Regulation 44
Independent monthly scrutiny
An independent person visits the home at least monthly and reports on whether children are effectively safeguarded and the home’s conduct promotes their well-being.
Children’s home governance
Regulation 45 quality-of-care review: a practical guide
What the law requires, what strong analysis looks like and how to turn six months of evidence into a useful improvement plan.
Updated 10 July 2026 · 9 minute read · CareBids Editorial Team
Short answer
Regulation 45 requires the registered person to maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and improving the quality of care in a children’s home. The review must consider the matters in Schedule 6 and children’s opinions, be completed at least every six months, produce a written report and set out the action the registered person intends to take. The report must be supplied to HMCI within 28 days of completion.
Regulation 44 and 45 are not interchangeable
Regulation 45
The registered person’s review
The provider looks across the review period, evaluates quality and outcomes, hears children’s views and commits to action. Regulation 44 reports are useful evidence, but they are not the review itself.
What the report needs to do
The regulation defines duties, not a page count. Ofsted’s current SCCIF guidance describes a short report that includes the review’s findings and any action the registered person intends to take. A concise, analytical report is more useful than a long chronology.
Define the period
State the dates, home, URN, registered person and evidence reviewed.
Hear children
Explain whose opinions were sought, how communication was adapted and how their views affected findings.
Analyse care
Show what the evidence means for children’s experiences and outcomes, including variation and adverse trends.
Test governance
Review leadership, workforce, safeguarding, incidents, complaints, Regulation 44 findings and previous actions.
Acknowledge weakness
Record data limits, incomplete feedback and areas where practice did not achieve the intended effect.
Commit to action
Give each action an owner, date, intended outcome and measure of impact.
Build the evidence set before writing
A last-minute report becomes descriptive because the writer is still hunting for facts. Keep a light evidence register through the period and agree who owns each source. The review should triangulate information rather than rely on one dashboard.
- Children’s meetings, individual feedback and advocacy
- Regulation 44 reports and resulting actions
- Safeguarding concerns, notifications and referrals
- Missing episodes and return-home information
- Restraint and restrictive-practice records
- Complaints, compliments and outcomes
- Care plans, transitions and placement stability
- Education, training, health and well-being evidence
- Staffing, supervision, competency and turnover
- Audits, incidents and previous improvement actions
Move from data to analysis
Counts are the beginning of a review, not the conclusion. “There were four missing episodes” does not explain whether risk increased, why episodes occurred, what children said, whether plans changed or whether the response reduced harm.
1
Finding: State the observed pattern or difference.
2
Context: Explain occupancy, mix of need, service changes and data limitations.
3
Interpretation: Test possible causes against more than one evidence source.
4
Impact: Describe the difference for children, including who benefited and who did not.
5
Response: Set the improvement action and how the home will know it worked.
Submission and information handling
Regulation 45(4) states that the registered person must supply the report to HMCI within 28 days of completing the review. Ofsted’s SCCIF guidance asks providers to include the home’s URN and the review date when emailing the report. Check the current Ofsted page before submission because operational routes can change.
The report can discuss sensitive patterns without reproducing every child’s personal history. Use only the personal data necessary for the purpose, restrict access and send the document through an approved route. Keep a submission record and the supporting evidence under the home’s retention and security arrangements.
Do not automatically copy a Regulation 44 distribution list. If a contract, another legal duty or your policy requires additional recipients, record that separately and share only what is appropriate.
Free editable resource
Download the Regulation 45 Word template
Eight editable pages covering evidence, children’s views, outcomes, leadership, action planning and submission. It is a working aid, not a prescribed form or substitute for professional advice.
Frequently asked questions
It is the registered person’s review of the quality of care provided by the home. The system must monitor matters listed in Schedule 6 and improve care. The review must consider children’s opinions, subject to their age and understanding, and be completed at least once every six months.
At least once every six months. The report should identify the exact review period, and the home should keep enough evidence to show how findings and actions were reached.
The legal duties sit with the registered person. This is different from the independent person’s monthly visit and report under Regulation 44. Staff can gather evidence, but responsibility for a genuine review cannot be reduced to filling in a form.
Regulation 45(4) requires the registered person to supply the report to HMCI within 28 days of completing the review. Follow current Ofsted instructions for the submission route, and record the home’s URN and review date. Check separately whether another law, contract or provider policy requires other recipients.
The regulation does not prescribe one report design. The CareBids Word template is a structured working aid, not an Ofsted form. Adapt it to the home and check it against current legislation and guidance before use.
Next step
Turn governance evidence into stronger commissioning answers.
CareBids helps children’s home providers organise evidence and prepare responses for local-authority opportunities.