Our approach is underpinned by the following 3 principles that apply to all social care inspections:
to focus on the things that matter most to childrens lives
to be consistent in our expectations of providers
to prioritise our work where improvement is needed most
Published 22 February 2017 Last updated 2 September 2022 +show all updates
Minor edits for clarity in the 'Timeframe' and 'Monitoring visit' sections. Revised text referencing the updated 'Ofsted code of conduct' policy.
Added updated SCCIF for April 2022: additional guidance for when inspectors discover possible unregistered provision.
Updated guidance on the scheduling of inspections of agencies previously judged inadequate or requires improvement to be good, to make this consistent with our guidance on all adoption and fostering agency inspections.
Added guidance on inspecting voluntary adoption agencies during COVID-19 restrictions. Updated guidance to reflect the changes to Ofsteds post-inspection processes and complaints handling (including the timeline) that we introduced in September 2020. Updated the 'Frequency of inspection' section to include a rolling 3-year inspection programme. Minor edits for readability.