EHP Children’s Homes
EHP Consultancy
Portfolio for legislative and regulatory compliance, commercial knowledge, operational and strategic
governance & management in children & social care UK
Is your consultant ‘horizon scanning’ to keep your potential business up to date with legal
and regulatory developments? This is essential to embed strategic thinking and planning
into your Ofsted application for opening a new children’s home where we ensure:
The delivery of appropriate placements to children and young people that best meet their
needs
An effective regime of market oversight
Pricing that accurately reflects the cost of care
Future-proofing of your investment
Production of a compelling business and financial model that is more likely to be approved
by Ofsted.
At EHP Children’s Homes (Consultancy), we apply a level of strategic scrutiny and
planning over and above any of our competitors; this update being an example.
August 2022 UPDATE 1
The Children’s Homes Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, has released a report ‘Reforming
children's homes: a policy plan of action.’
“
As the case studies highlighted in this report demonstrate, too many children in England’s children’s homes are being let down by a system that is failing to find them somewhere decent to live, close to home and that meets their needs. We need local and national action to address this. But there are also strengths to our current system: there are excellent children’s homes in England, we have a robust and independent regulator, and we can see the first signs of innovation in how we provide homes for children in care. We need to build on these strengths to re-set our expectations of the system so that every child can expect to find a home that meets their basic needs and provides the foundations for them to build their own life.”
Dame Rachel de Souza
The report includes 7 recommendations:
1) Every child needing a children’s home should find one is available for them as close to home as
possible
2) Every child should be able to trust that their children’s home place will be theirs as long as they
need it
3) Every child should be heard, seen, and safe
4) Every child in a children’s home should be supported to develop and maintain important
relationships
5) Every child in a children’s home should be getting education and mental health care
6) Every home should be giving children the ability to develop and pursue their interests
7) Children leaving care should be supported to stay close and linked to their children’s homes
It is difficult to see exactly what might be truly ‘reforming’ in this report; it could be argued that
most of the recommendations already exist. However, in relation to recommendation 1, I would ask if local councils are doing all they can to help the opening of new children’s homes? I am aware of many issues that relate to councils requesting planning permission, change of ‘Use Class’, etc.,
arguably sometimes unnecessary, but always a time-consuming and expensive process.
To view the full report, go to CC A4 HEADER (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)
Before you start the process of registering a new children’s home,
ensure you first have legal permission granted in the form of a Certificate of Lawful
Development. EHP Children’s Homes (Consultancy) have a thorough understanding of
the planning process required – which could save you considerable time and money.
EHP Children’s Homes Consultancy
August 2022