Children’s Homes: National Minimum Standards

The National Minimum Standards for Children’s Homes are issued by the Secretary of State under section 23 of the Care Standards Act 2000. The Secretary of State will keep the standards under review and may publish amended standards as appropriate.

Minimum standards do not mean standardisation of provision. The standards are designed to be applicable to the wide variety of different types of children’s homes. They aim to enable, rather than prevent, individual providers to develop their own particular ethos and approach based on evidence that this is the most appropriate way to meet the child’s needs. Many providers will aspire to exceed these standards and develop their service in order to achieve excellence.

The standards are issued for use by Ofsted, who take them into account in regulating children’s homes. They will also be important in other ways. The standards may be used by providers and staff in self-assessment of their services; they provide a basis for the induction and training of staff; they can be used by parents, children and young people as a guide to what they should expect as a minimum a provider to do, and they can provide guidance on what is required when setting up a children’s home.