Regulation 40 is the serious-event notification rule for children’s homes in England. Its purpose is not to send Ofsted every incident log. It is to ensure that Ofsted and other relevant people are told without delay when an event is sufficiently serious to affect a child’s safety, welfare or the home’s regulatory oversight.
A good notification is prompt, factual and clear about what the home has done. It distinguishes confirmed facts from allegations or information still being checked, identifies who else has been informed and shows how children are being protected.
Do not confuse the regimes: Regulation 40 applies to children’s homes. Supported accommodation providers make serious-event notifications under Regulation 27 of the 2023 Regulations.
What Regulation 40 covers
The registered person is responsible for ensuring that the required notifications are made. The duty includes the death of a child, safeguarding referrals and a defined group of serious events. A notification must include details of the matter, the people or organisations notified and the actions taken by the registered person, and it must be made or confirmed in writing.
The notification duty does not replace immediate safeguarding action. Emergency services, the placing authority, the local authority designated officer, social workers or other safeguarding partners should be contacted first where the circumstances require it.
Events that must be notified
Regulation 40 and Ofsted’s current guidance cover the following core categories:
- the death of a child;
- a referral of a person working in the home under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006;
- known or suspected sexual exploitation involving a child;
- a serious incident involving the police;
- an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;
- the start of a child protection enquiry and its conclusion, including the outcome; and
- any other incident relating to a child that the registered person considers serious.
The final category requires professional judgement. Consider the actual and potential impact on the child, the level of harm or risk, the need for external safeguarding action, the seriousness of the home’s response and whether the event may indicate a wider failure in care or management.
Practical threshold: ask whether a reasonable regulator would expect to know about the event promptly in order to understand the child’s safety and the home’s response.
What “without delay” means
The statutory wording is “without delay”, not “within 24 hours” or “by the end of the week”. The home should notify as soon as reasonably possible once it has enough reliable information to identify the event and explain the immediate response.
Do not wait for a police investigation, strategy meeting or internal review to conclude. Submit the initial notification, state what remains unknown and send relevant follow-up information as it becomes available. Child protection enquiries require notification when they begin and when they conclude.
If a notification is late, submit it without further delay and record why the deadline was missed, who was informed and what management action will prevent a repeat.
What a strong notification should contain
| Section | What to record |
|---|---|
| Event | Date, time, location and a concise factual account of what happened. |
| Child | The child affected and the relevant context, without unnecessary personal information. |
| Immediate safety | Medical help, safeguarding action, staffing changes, contact restrictions or other protection. |
| Notifications | Every person, authority or organisation informed, with dates and times. |
| Management response | Actions already taken, decisions made, evidence secured and oversight arrangements. |
| Next steps | Open investigations, meetings, reviews and when follow-up information will be available. |
Use neutral language. Avoid speculation, blame or copying a long incident log into the form. If information is disputed or incomplete, say so and explain what is being done to establish the facts.
Record the decision to notify — or not notify
Some events clearly fall within a named category. Others depend on the registered person’s judgement about seriousness. Keep a short decision record showing the information considered, the person who made the decision, the reason for the conclusion and any advice sought.
This is particularly important where police attended but the incident was not considered serious, or where an event was concerning but did not reach the “other serious incident” threshold. A consistent decision log helps leaders review patterns and helps inspectors understand the reasoning.
Follow-up after the notification
Submitting the form is not the end of the process. Link the notification to the child’s records, safeguarding actions, risk assessment, care plan, staff records and any complaint or allegation process. Track the outcome of external enquiries and send Ofsted material updates where appropriate.
Review the event for learning. Ask whether earlier warning signs were missed, whether staff followed the child’s plan, whether escalation was timely and whether another child could face the same risk. Assign actions with owners and deadlines and test whether they improved practice.
OVcare can connect incidents, notifications, management review and follow-up actions in one audit trail. Use the Ofsted readiness checklist to test whether notification evidence is easy to retrieve.
Common Regulation 40 mistakes
- waiting for an investigation to finish before notifying;
- treating a fixed internal deadline as permission to delay;
- sending a narrative with no clear safeguarding or management response;
- failing to record who else was notified;
- not notifying the conclusion of a child protection enquiry;
- using Regulation 40 for supported accommodation incidents; and
- keeping no record of decisions where the threshold was considered but not met.
Official sources
- The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Regulation 40
- Ofsted: tell us about a serious incident in a children’s home
Related regulation guides: Regulation 32 quality review · Regulation 33 manager absence · Regulation 44 independent visits · Regulation 45 quality reviews · Regulation 46 location assessments
Frequently asked questions
How quickly must a Regulation 40 notification be made?
The regulation says the required people and organisations must be notified without delay. The home should act promptly once it has enough reliable information to identify the serious event and should not wait for every investigation to finish.
Does every police attendance require a Regulation 40 notification?
No. Regulation 40 refers to an incident requiring police involvement that the registered person considers serious. The decision and its reasoning should be recorded, especially where the threshold was considered but a notification was not made.
Should the home wait for a child protection enquiry to finish?
No. Regulation 40 requires notification when a child protection enquiry is instigated and another notification when it concludes, including the outcome.
Is Regulation 40 the notification rule for supported accommodation?
No. Regulation 40 belongs to the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. Serious-event notifications for supported accommodation are governed by Regulation 27 of the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023.
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This article provides general information for services in England. It is not legal advice and does not replace the Regulations, Ofsted guidance or professional judgement.
