These Regulations may be cited as the Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) (Children's Homes etc.) Regulations 2015 and come into force on 1st April 2015.

In these Regulations—

• “approved place” means—

  1. a

     in relation to a children's home M1, boarding school, residential college or residential special school, a bed provided for the use of a service user at night; and

  2. b

     in relation to a residential family centre M2, overnight accommodation which is appropriate to a single family;

  3. c

     F5in relation to a supported accommodation undertaking, premises at which supported accommodation is to be provided by the undertaking;

• “boarding school” means a school (not being a residential special school or a school which is a children's home or care home M3) providing accommodation for any child, and “school” has the meaning given to it in section 4 of the Education Act 1996 M4;

• “Chief Inspector” means Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills;

• “holiday scheme for disabled children” has the same meaning as in the Care Standards Act 2000 (Extension of the Application of Part 2 to Holiday Schemes for Disabled Children) (England) Regulations 2013 M5;

• F6“large supported accommodation undertaking” means a supported accommodation undertaking which has 10 or more approved places;

• F2“multi-building children’s home” means a children’s home where the care and accommodation is provided in more than one building;

• “relevant number of staff” means—

  1. a

     in the case of a voluntary adoption agency M6, seven full-time staff or the equivalent, excluding the manager or, as the case may be, branch manager, appointed in accordance with the Voluntary Adoption Agencies and the Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2003 M7;

  2. b

     in the case of an adoption support agency M8, two full-time staff or the equivalent, excluding the manager appointed in accordance with the Adoption Support Agencies (England) and Adoption Agencies (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 M9 or anyone employed solely as a receptionist or administrator;

• “residential college” means a college as defined in section 87(10) M10 of the Children Act 1989 which provides accommodation for any child;

• “residential special school” means—

  1. a

     a special school within the meaning of section 337 of the Education Act 1996 M11;

  2. b

     an independent educational institution which has been entered on the register of independent educational institutions in England and which is specially organised to make special educational provision for pupils with special educational needs (within the meaning of section 579 of the Education Act 1996 M12),

  which is not a registered children's home but which provides accommodation for any child;

• F4“secure children’s home” means—

  1. a

     a children’s home provided for the purpose of restricting liberty and approved for that purpose in accordance with regulation 3 of the Children (Secure Accommodation) Regulations 1991; or

  2. b

     F9... a secure 16 to 19 Academy approved under section 1B(4) of the Academies Act 2010;

• “small adoption support agency” means an adoption support agency where no more than the relevant number of staff are employed at any one time;

• “small branch” means a branch where no more than the relevant number of staff are employed at any one time as social workers;

• “small children's home” means a children's homeF3, other than a multi-building children’s home, which has fewer than four approved places;

• “small principal office” means a principal office where no more than the relevant number of staff are employed at any one time as social workers;

• “small residential family centre” means a residential family centre which has fewer than four approved places;

• F7“small supported accommodation undertaking” means a supported accommodation undertaking which has fewer than 10 approved places;

• “social worker” means a person who is registered as such in F1the register of social workers in England maintained under section 39(1) of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

• F8“supported accommodation” has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (Extension of the Application of Part 2 to Supported Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2022;

• F8“supported accommodation undertaking” has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000 (Extension of the Application of Part 2 to Supported Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2022.