Children's social care
The purpose of inspection is to ensure that your social care service continues to meet the National Minimum Standards and the needs of children and young people who use the service.
How often we visit will depend on what the law says and the judgements we made at past inspections about the quality of care you provide.
The law currently says that:
- children’s homes must be inspected a minimum of twice a year
- residential special schools must be inspected a minimum of once a year
- the following must be inspected a minimum of once every three years:
- residential family centres
- boarding schools
- further education colleges
- local authority adoption services
- local authority fostering services
- local authority private fostering arrangements
- voluntary adoption agencies
- independent fostering agencies
- adoption support agencies.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has consulted on whether these frequencies should be changed so there may be some changes in the future.