Children subject to deprivation of liberty (DoL) orders have complex needs
and require high levels of skilled care and supervision. Too
often, these children are placed in illegal unregistered settings
without external oversight.
New guidance, published today, makes clear that settings offering
children’s home services for children subject to DoL orders should register with
Ofsted in England or the Care Inspectorate Wales. The court order
does not exempt the provider from being registered. Operating a
children’s home without registration remains illegal.
Read the ‘Placing children:
deprivation of liberty orders’ guidance.
Ofsted has also updated its guidance on how it prioritises
applications to register children’s homes when local authorities
need urgent placements for children. This means that providers
accommodating children who have been placed by a local authority
in an ‘emergency’, children who are subject to a DoL order and/or unaccompanied
asylum seeking children, can have their application expedited.
However, registration requirements and regulations must be met
before a provider is deemed suitable.
Read the ‘Registering children’s
homes in an emergency: priority applications’ guidance.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s Director for Social Care:
It’s unacceptable that some of our most vulnerable children with
very complex needs are living in places with the least oversight;
where we do not know if they are safe, or if the people caring
for them are suitable or skilled enough to meet their needs.
We know that many children deprived of their liberty are placed
in illegal unregistered settings. It is important that providers
register and local authorities play their part to ensure
vulnerable children are only placed in registered settings.
