Children's home software: a buyer's guide for 2026

Choosing children's home software is one of the few decisions a registered manager makes that every member of staff will feel, every shift, for years. Get it right and recording gets quicker, handovers get better and inspection preparation stops being an evening job. Get it wrong and you have paid to move your paperwork onto a screen.

This guide is for providers in England choosing a system for the first time, or thinking about leaving the one they have. It covers what the regulations actually require, what good software does that a folder cannot, how pricing works across the market, the questions worth asking every supplier, and how to switch without putting placements at risk.

We make Arc, which is one of the options. We have tried to write the guide you would want even if you never look at us, and the questions at the end apply to us as much as anyone.

The short version

• No regulation requires you to use software. Choose it because it solves a problem you actually have.
• The best test of any system is your least confident member of staff, not your most enthusiastic deputy.
• Price the whole bill, not the headline. Per-user charges, modules, onboarding and contract length change the real cost a lot.
• Ask how you leave before you join. What format your records come back in, and how quickly, tells you a great deal about a supplier.
• Switching is a staff project, not a data project. You rarely need to migrate the archive. You need the team recording properly from day one.

Who this market is for

Most children's homes in England are small, and most providers are too. Our analysis of Ofsted's provider data at 30 September 2025 found 4,394 registered children's homes, with a mean size of around 3.5 beds. 56.9% of homes had between one and three registered places, and 52% of owning organisations ran exactly one home.

That matters when you are buying software, because a lot of the market is priced and designed for large groups. If you run one or two small homes, check early whether a system's pricing, onboarding and support make sense at your size, rather than discovering it at the contract stage.

What the regulations actually require from your records

Suppliers often talk about software as though Ofsted expects it. It does not. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 set out what your records must contain and how long you keep them. They say nothing about format.

The duties a system should make easier, rather than replace:

• Case records (Regulation 36). A record for each child that includes the information in Schedule 3, is kept up to date, and has every entry signed and dated by its author. Records are kept for 75 years from the child's date of birth (or 15 years from death if a child dies before 18), securely in the home while the child lives there and in a secure place afterwards.^[1]
• Notifications (Regulation 40). Certain events, including serious incidents, allegations of abuse and police involvement, must be notified to Ofsted, the placing authority and others "without delay".^[2] Software can track the deadline and prepare the evidence. The notification is still yours to make.
• Independent visits (Regulation 44). An independent person visits at least once a month and reports to Ofsted, the placing authorities, the provider and the responsible individual.^[3]
• Quality of care review (Regulation 45). At least every six months, with the report sent to Ofsted within 28 days of completing the review.^[4]

A good system makes each of these a by-product of ordinary recording. A weak one adds a second place where the same facts have to be typed in again.

A point worth holding onto: a supplier cannot make you compliant. The registered person is responsible for the records. If a supplier implies their product is "Ofsted approved" or "Ofsted compliant", ask them where that approval comes from. Ofsted does not endorse software.

Do you actually need children's home software?

Sometimes no. A home with one settled team, good inspections and well-kept paper records is meeting its obligations, and change has a cost. We wrote a whole page on moving off paper that makes that case honestly.

Where software earns its place is not in recording, which paper does well, but in assembling:

• Handovers. The information exists, spread across the daily log, the incident book and what a colleague meant to mention. Software can bring it to the person coming on shift instead of relying on what they happen to read.
• Seeing what needs attention. A manager on a Monday morning should be able to see what is overdue, unresolved or waiting for sign-off without reading every entry.
• Evidence on the day. When an inspector asks how a risk has been managed since March, the answer should already exist as a chronology, not need building in an evening.
• Oversight across homes. If you run more than one home, consistent practice is hard to see from paper.

If none of those is a problem for you, you may not need to buy anything yet.

What good children's home software does

Feature lists in this market look similar. Most systems have daily logs, incidents, care plans and risk assessments. The differences are in how those pieces relate to each other, and that is hard to see in a feature grid. These are the things we would look for.

One record per child, not a set of forms

Ask what happens to a daily log after it is written. Does it feed the daily journal and the handover, link to a goal in the care plan, appear in the child's chronology? Or does it sit in a list of logs? Systems that are really collections of digital forms make you write the same thing in several places, and staff notice within a week.

Recording that works on a shift

Staff record on phones and tablets, in the middle of a shift, often in a house with patchy wifi. Watch a real member of staff complete a log, an incident and a handover on the device they would actually use. Ask what happens if the connection drops part-way through an entry.

Incidents that stay open until they are finished

A serious incident has a tail: manager review, safeguarding follow-up, a Regulation 40 notification, a debrief, perhaps a change to the risk assessment. Good software keeps the incident open until those steps are done and shows the manager what is still outstanding. Weak software records the incident and forgets it.

Safeguarding that is properly restricted

Safeguarding and allegation records need tighter access than the rest of the record. Check who can see them, whether a staff member who is the subject of an allegation could see it through ordinary permissions, and whether there is an audit trail of who has opened what.

Deadlines worked out from the record

Return home interviews, health assessments, LAC reviews, Regulation 40 deadlines and report due dates should be calculated from what has been recorded, and disappear when the work is done. A separate compliance checklist that someone has to maintain by hand is a second job.

Inspection access that is controlled

Ask how an inspector would see your records. Is it a time-limited, read-only login for one home, with access logged? Or does someone have to print or export everything?

Versioned plans and acknowledged risk assessments

Care plans and risk assessments change. Look for version history, approval before a risk assessment goes live, and a way to confirm staff have read the current version.

Sensible use of AI, if any

Some systems now use AI to draft summaries. If a supplier offers it, ask where the data is processed, whether identifying details are removed first, whether it can be switched off, and who is accountable for the final text. AI should help someone write. It should not make a care or safeguarding decision.

How pricing works

Pricing in this market varies a lot, and the headline rarely tells you the bill. You will see four broad models:

Whatever the model, ask for a written figure for your actual homes, with everything you need switched on, including onboarding, training, data migration and support. Then ask how long the contract is and what it costs to leave early.

Several suppliers now publish prices, which makes this easier. We keep published comparisons of a number of them, with every claim sourced and dated, and we point out where competitors start cheaper than us.

Questions to ask every supplier

Including us.

1. Can a support worker who avoids computers complete a full shift's recording without help? Ask to watch one try, rather than watching a salesperson do it.
2. What does a daily log connect to once it is saved? Ask them to show you, not tell you.
3. What happens to an entry if the connection drops halfway through?
4. Is every entry signed and dated by its author, as Regulation 36 requires? Can you see who changed a record, and what it said before?
5. Who can see safeguarding and allegation records, and can you show me the audit trail?
6. What does the inspector see, and how do we control it?
7. Where is our data hosted, and who can access it? Ask about certifications such as Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001, and what they mean in practice.
8. What does it cost per home with everything we need included, and how long is the contract?
9. If we leave, what do we get back, in what format, and how quickly? Your records have to be kept for decades. They cannot be stuck inside a system you no longer pay for.
10. What does the first month look like for the person who has to run it?
11. What does the system deliberately not do? A supplier who answers this clearly is one you can plan around. A supplier who says "everything" is worth a second look.

Switching without putting placements at risk

Most of the risk in changing systems is people, not data.

• You usually do not need to migrate the archive. Closed and historic records can stay where they are, stored as Regulation 36 requires. Pick a date and record new entries in the new system from then on. Bring across the live information you need: current plans, active risk assessments, open incidents and key contacts.
• Avoid moving a home mid-crisis. If a placement is unstable, wait.
• Plan a short overlap, not a permanent one. A few weeks of running both lets staff build the habit at their own pace. Months of double recording breaks morale.
• Train the least confident staff first. They decide whether the system is used properly.
• The registered manager has to run it. Our view: a new system works when the manager checks recording every day for the first month, and drifts when it is bought and left to bed in.

Where Arc fits

Arc is care recording software built only for residential children's homes, designed around the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015. The idea behind it is one connected record for each young person: the daily log feeds the journal and the handover, incidents stay open until review and follow-up are complete, plans and risk assessments are versioned, deadlines are worked out from the record, safeguarding sits in a restricted area with audited access, and inspectors get a time-limited, read-only login for one home. Data is hosted in the UK.

Things Arc deliberately does not do, so you can plan around them:

• It is not a rota system. Staff duty rosters stay wherever you keep them now.
• There is no MAR yet. Prescribed medication is recorded in the health care plan, but Arc does not currently record each dose given, refused or missed. Keep your existing administration record.
• It does not submit Regulation 40 notifications for you. It tracks the deadline and prepares the evidence; you send it.
• It does not replace documents owned by the local authority.

Pricing is published: £149 a month for a home with 1 to 3 registered beds, £199 for 4 to 6, and £249 for 7 or more. Unlimited staff, every feature, no minimum contract, with onboarding, training and help moving records included. Pay annually and you pay for ten months rather than twelve.

Common questions

What is children's home software? Software that residential children's homes use to keep their records: daily logs, incidents, care and placement plans, risk assessments, safeguarding, health information and the reports required for inspection. Some systems also cover rotas, medication administration and HR.

Is children's home software required by Ofsted? No. The regulations set out what records must contain and how long they are kept, not what they are kept on. Ofsted does not endorse or certify software.

How much does children's home software cost? It depends on the pricing model. Per-home pricing gives a fixed monthly fee for each home, while per-user pricing grows with your staff numbers, and modular pricing depends on which add-ons you need. Several suppliers now publish prices, and our comparisons link to them. Always ask for a written figure for your homes with everything included.

How long does it take to switch? Setting up the software is the short part. The habit takes about a month, and depends mostly on whether the registered manager checks recording daily during that time.

Do we have to move all our old records across? No. Historic records can stay where they are, stored as Regulation 36 requires. Most homes bring across live information only and record everything new in the new system from a chosen date.

Can we use the same software for supported accommodation or fostering? Some systems cover several settings. If you run more than one type of service, ask whether each is built properly or whether one has been adapted from another. Arc is built for children's homes only.

Is our data safe in the cloud? It can be safer than a filing cabinet, but it depends on the supplier. Ask where data is hosted, who can access it, how access is logged, and what certifications they hold.

Sources

1. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 36. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/36 Checked 3 October 2026.
2. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 40. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/40 Checked 3 October 2026.
3. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 44. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/44 Checked 3 October 2026.
4. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 45. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/45 Checked 3 October 2026.
5. Arc Research, Ofsted provider data analysis (snapshot at 30 September 2025). https://arccare.co.uk/research/ofsted-provider-data-2025