Regulation 45 reviews in children's homes: what to include

A Regulation 45 review is the quality of care review that the registered person of a children's home in England must complete at least once every 6 months. It examines the care the home provides, takes in the views of children, parents, placing authorities and staff, and ends in a written report with an action plan.^[1]

This guide is for registered managers, deputies and responsible individuals. It sets out what the regulation requires, who writes the review, how often, who must receive the report, how Ofsted uses it, and where reviews tend to fall short of the requirements. It also introduces a free Word template you can use to structure your own.

The short version

• The registered person must complete a quality of care review at least once every 6 months, and write a report on it.^[1]
• The review needs a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care, the feedback and opinions of children, and any actions needed to improve or maintain that care.^[1]
• That system must ascertain and consider the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.^[1]
• A copy of the report must go to Ofsted within 28 days of the date the review is completed. A placing authority that is not the child's parent can ask for a copy.^[1]
• The DfE guide says the review does not have to cover every part of the quality standards every time. You decide what to focus on, and say why.^[2]

What is a Regulation 45 review?

Regulation 45 of the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 is titled "Review of quality of care". It requires the registered person to complete "a quality of care review" at least once every 6 months.^[1]

The DfE's guide to the regulations describes it as a review that focuses on the quality of the care the home provides, the experiences of the children living there, and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for them. It adds that the review should be underpinned by the quality standards in regulations 5 to 14, and that the whole process should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home.^[2]

It is a different thing from the monthly independent person's visit under Regulation 44. The Regulation 44 report is written by someone from outside the home. The Regulation 45 review belongs to the registered person. Our guide to Regulation 44 visits covers the other half, and Ofsted reads the two sets of reports side by side.^[3]

Who has to carry it out and write it?

The duty falls on "the registered person". The DfE guide defines that as any person who is the registered provider or registered manager of the home, and says that where a home has both, a task required of "the registered person" is done once if either of them does it.^[2] In practice the registered manager usually does the work and the responsible individual reads, challenges and signs it off, but the regulation does not say that. Agree it between you and write it down.

The regulation does not require an outside person to carry out the review. Ofsted's inspection framework expects you to monitor your own impact on children, and treats the review as part of how well the home does that.^[3]

How often does it have to be done?

At least once every 6 months.^[1] The DfE guide says the home's processes should allow a report to be generated at least once every six months.^[2] Ofsted's framework describes the report as one "summarising the findings at least every 6 months".^[3]

The regulation does not say how to count the six months. The safe reading is that each review should be completed no more than six months after the last, so if one is completed on 15 March, plan the next to be completed by 15 September, and allow time to gather views. Leaving the gathering until the last fortnight is an easy way for a review to slip.

What must the review cover?

The regulation sets out three things the system must monitor, review and evaluate.^[1]

• The quality of care provided for children.
• The feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.
• Any actions the registered person considers necessary to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

It then says the system must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.^[1] That is four groups, and a review that only quotes children and staff leaves two requirements unmet.

How much of the quality standards do you have to review?

The DfE guide is explicit that there is "no expectation" that the registered person reviews the home against every part of the quality standards every six months. You use professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on, based on the circumstances of the home at that time and any areas of high risk to the children it is designed to care for, such as missing from care or exploitation. The review should identify areas of strength and possible weakness, and the report should clearly identify the actions required for the next six months and how they will be addressed.^[2]

The nine quality standards are those in regulations 6 to 14: quality and purpose of care, children's views, wishes and feelings, education, enjoyment and achievement, health and well-being, positive relationships, protection of children, leadership and management, and care planning.^[4] A sensible review touches each standard briefly and goes deep on the ones where this period's evidence points. If you skip a standard, record that you did and why.

What evidence goes in?

The regulation does not list the data sources. The DfE guide says the registered person considers what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions.^[2] Ofsted tells inspectors that the reports include monitoring by the registered person of any incident when a child goes missing or is at risk of, or subject to, child sexual exploitation.^[3] Beyond that, typical sources are:

• incident records, including physical interventions;
• missing-from-care episodes and return interviews;
• complaints and how they were resolved;
• notifications made under Regulation 40, covered in our guide to Regulation 40 notifications;
• the Regulation 44 reports for the period and your responses to their recommendations;
• care plan and placement plan reviews, education and health information;
• staffing, training and supervision records;
• the previous review and whether its actions were completed.

These are our suggestions for an evidence base, not a list taken from the regulation. Say in the report what you looked at, so a reader can see what the conclusions rest on.

How do you gather views from children, parents, placing authorities and staff?

The regulation fixes who must be asked, but not how. The method is yours, and the report should show it was real. Some options that fit the requirement:

• Children. Conversations with keyworkers, house meetings, a short survey in age-appropriate language, or an independent person's conversations if they can share them. Record what children said in their own words where you can, and what changed as a result.
• Parents and carers. A call or email from the manager, contact feedback, or a short questionnaire. Some parents will not respond, so record that you asked.
• Placing authorities. Feedback from social workers and independent reviewing officers collected through reviews and visits.
• Staff. Team meetings, supervision themes and a short anonymous survey.

The regulation says you must ascertain and consider opinions. Considering means the report shows what you did with them: what you accepted, what you challenged and what became an action.

What goes in the written report?

After completing the review, the registered person must produce a written report about it and the actions they intend to take as a result.^[1] Ofsted's framework describes the report as a short one, including a summary of the findings, some analysis and a plan setting out the action the registered person intends to take to address the findings.^[3] A workable structure is:

1. Home details and the review period.
2. The evidence and sources you used.
3. Views gathered from children, parents, placing authorities and staff.
4. Your assessment of the quality of care, by theme or by quality standard.
5. Actions for improvement, each with an owner and a date.
6. Sign-off by the registered person.

The regulation does not prescribe headings, so this layout is a suggestion. For a home registered across more than one building, Ofsted's framework says the manager should complete one report covering all of the buildings, and may split it into sections for each building if that helps the analysis.^[3]

Who receives the report, and by when?

The registered person must supply Ofsted (the regulation says "HMCI", His Majesty's Chief Inspector) with a copy of the report within 28 days of the date on which the review is completed. They must also make a copy available on request to a placing authority, if that authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.^[1]

Ofsted's framework says reports can be emailed to enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk, and that they must include Ofsted's unique reference number (URN) for the home.^[3] The DfE guide goes slightly further than the regulation, saying the generated report should be sent to Ofsted and to the placing local authority of all children in the home who are looked-after children.^[2] Where the guide and the regulation differ, the regulation sets the minimum. Sending the report to the placing authorities up front is the safer course, and it saves the requests.

How do inspectors use it?

Ofsted's inspection framework says inspectors look at the information it already holds before an inspection, which includes the quality assurance reports received under Regulation 45.^[3] It lists the reports among the sources taken into account in scheduling inspections. Inspectors must regularly review the reports and "focus on both the content and the quality" of them, as part of evaluating how well the home monitors its impact on children's experiences. They should also determine how effectively the home applies learning from incidents.^[3]

Information from the reports can lead to further activity such as speaking to the registered manager or responsible individual, an assurance inspection of a home judged good or outstanding, rescheduling of an inspection, including where reports have not been submitted, and lines of enquiry for the next inspection.^[3] For a multi-building home, Ofsted says a report that does not cover each building is likely to result in further action.^[3]

Take two lessons from that. A report that arrives late or not at all is itself information Ofsted acts on. And the inspector reads the content, so a review that restates the regulation without analysis does little for you.

Where do reviews fall short?

The following gaps are measured against the requirements above and the way Ofsted says it reads the reports. They are our observations, not a quotation from any source.

• One or more of the four voices is missing. Parents and placing authorities are the groups most often left out, though the regulation names both.^[1]
• Description without analysis. A page of counts of incidents and missing episodes, with no view on what they mean, does not meet the framework's description of a summary of findings, some analysis and a plan.^[3]
• No link between findings and actions. The regulation requires the report to cover the actions you intend to take. Actions with no owner or date cannot be checked at the next review.
• The previous review's actions are not revisited. The framework expects the home to apply learning, and an unreviewed action list shows it does not.^[3]
• Not sent in time. The 28-day clock to Ofsted runs from completion of the review.^[1]
• Multi-building homes covered in part. One report should cover every building.^[3]
• Risks the home exists to manage are skipped. The DfE guide points to areas such as missing and exploitation as a reason to focus there.^[2]

A free Regulation 45 review template

We have made a Word template that follows the structure above, so you are not starting from a blank page. Download the Regulation 45 review template (Word, .docx).

It has sections for home details, the review period, sources of evidence, the views of children, parents and carers, placing authorities and staff, your assessment of the quality of care against the quality standards, an actions table (action, owner, by when) and sign-off. Each section carries bracketed prompts tied to what the regulation requires. Delete the prompts as you write, and add the home's own priorities. The template is a starting layout and is not an Ofsted form: the regulation does not prescribe a format, and you remain responsible for the content.

How a care system can help

In ARC, creating a Regulation 45 review compiles counts from the home's records for the period you set: incidents, physical interventions, missing-from-care episodes and complaints received, plus the number of children in placement at the moment of compiling. You then write the views gathered from children, parents and carers, placing authorities and staff, and your overall assessment. Each improvement action you list becomes a task on the home when a manager submits the report. ARC does not calculate when the next review is due: you can set a date, and it shows on the manager dashboard until the report is submitted. The counts cover only what is recorded in ARC.

The help guide to Regulation 45 reports shows each step. If you are choosing a system, our buyer's guide to children's home software explains what to look for in inspection and reporting tools, and our supplier comparisons and published prices cover the rest of the decision.

Common questions

Is a Regulation 45 review the same as a Regulation 44 visit? No. Regulation 44 is a monthly visit by an independent person, who writes their own report. Regulation 45 is the registered person's own review, at least every 6 months.

Does the review have to cover every quality standard? No. The DfE guide says there is no expectation of reviewing against every part of the quality standards every six months. You decide the focus, using professional judgement.

Do I have to send the report to Ofsted? Yes. The regulation requires a copy to go to HMCI within 28 days of the date the review is completed.

Do I have to send it to local authorities? The regulation requires you to make it available on request to a placing authority that is not the child's parent. The DfE guide suggests sending it to the placing authority of each looked-after child.

Does a Regulation 45 report need to be long? Ofsted describes it as a short report with a summary of findings, some analysis and an action plan. Length is less important than showing the analysis and the actions.

Sources

1. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 45, Review of quality of care. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/45 Checked 31 October 2026.
2. Department for Education, Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards (version 1.17), chapter on Part 6, "Review of quality of care", and "Explanation of terms". https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-homes-regulations-including-quality-standards-guide Checked 31 October 2026.
3. Ofsted, Social care common inspection framework (SCCIF): children's homes, including "Analysis and planning", "Scheduling" and "Reports under regulations 44 and 45". https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-common-inspection-framework-sccif-childrens-homes/social-care-common-inspection-framework-sccif-childrens-homes Checked 31 October 2026.
4. The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, regulation 4, The quality standards. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/541/regulation/4 Checked 31 October 2026.