Regulation 32 requires recruitment procedures designed to ensure children's safety and full and satisfactory information on the six matters in Schedule 2 for everyone working at the home. Care workers must hold the Level 3 Diploma within two years of starting in a care role in a children's home; managers must hold the Level 5 Diploma within three years of starting to manage one.
Regulation 33 adds induction, probation, a job description, a disciplinary procedure, continuing professional development, practice-related supervision and an annual appraisal.
Staff files are among the first things sampled at inspection, and among the easiest places to find a gap that is entirely avoidable. The requirements are precise, they are short, and they are set out in one schedule. Most shortfalls come not from ignorance of the rules but from files assembled over years by different people with different views about what "complete" means.
The six Schedule 2 items
Schedule 2 applies to persons seeking to carry on, manage or work at a children's home, and is referenced by regulations 26, 28 and 32. It requires:
| Para | Requirement | Where files commonly fall short |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proof of identity, including a recent photograph | Photograph missing, or identity evidence not retained after checking |
| 2 | An enhanced criminal record certificate, including barred list information where the position falls within the relevant regulations, or otherwise a criminal record certificate | Certificate at the wrong level, or no record of the number, date and recruitment decision |
| 3 | Two written references, including a reference from the most recent employer if any | Only one reference; references not from the most recent employer; verbal references not written up |
| 4 | Where the person has previously worked in a position involving work with children or vulnerable adults, verification so far as reasonably practicable of why that employment ended | Not attempted at all, or attempted and the attempt not recorded |
| 5 | Documentary evidence of any qualifications the person considers relevant to the position | Certificates claimed but never seen or copied |
| 6 | A full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing | Gaps visible on the CV with no written explanation on file |
Employment history and the written explanation
Paragraph 6 is the single most common gap in staff files. It requires a full employment history together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. Most files contain the history. Far fewer contain the written explanation. A gap that was discussed at interview and satisfactorily explained but never written down does not meet the requirement, and an inspector sampling three files will find it quickly. The fix costs a paragraph per file.
Paragraph 4 sits alongside it and is also frequently missed. Where someone has previously worked with children or vulnerable adults, the home must verify, so far as reasonably practicable, why that employment ended. The qualifier matters: you are not required to achieve the impossible, but you are required to try, and to record what you tried where you could not.
Starting someone before checks are complete
Regulation 32(7) provides a narrow route, and all four conditions must be met:
- the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information on each Schedule 2 matter, but enquiries on paragraphs 3 to 6 are incomplete;
- full and satisfactory information has been obtained on paragraphs 1 and 2, which are identity and the criminal record certificate;
- the registered person considers the circumstances to be exceptional; and
- the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out their duties, pending receipt of the outstanding information, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.
Two points follow. Identity and the criminal record certificate can never be the outstanding items, so this is not a route to starting someone without a DBS. And "exceptional" is doing real work: a staffing shortage that recurs every winter is not exceptional, it is foreseeable. Where the route is used, record the exceptional circumstances, the supervision arrangements, and the date the outstanding information arrived and was accepted.
The Level 3 clock, and where it starts
Regulation 32(4) requires an individual working in a care role to have attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England), or a qualification the registered person considers equivalent, by the relevant date.
The relevant date is two years after the date the individual started working in a care role in a home, for anyone who began after 1 April 2014. That wording matters: the clock runs from when they first worked in a care role in a children's home, not from when they joined your organisation. A support worker with eighteen months at another provider arrives with six months left, not two years. Homes that reset the clock on joining routinely discover the problem when someone is already overdue.
Regulation 32(6) allows the registered person to defer the relevant date where the individual has not worked in a care role for a prolonged period, or works part-time. That is a decision to record rather than assume.
Manager requirements under regulation 28
Regulation 28(1) requires a manager to be of integrity and good character, to have the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose and the number and needs of the children, to be physically and mentally fit, and to have full and satisfactory Schedule 2 information.
Regulation 28(2) then defines appropriate experience and qualification as all three of:
- within the last five years, at least two years worked in a position relevant to the residential care of children;
- at least one year worked in a role requiring the supervision and management of staff working in a care role; and
- by the relevant date, the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England), or an equivalent.
For a person who started managing a home after 1 April 2014, the relevant date is three years after they started managing a home. As with the Level 3, deferral is possible under regulation 28(4) for prolonged absence or part-time working.
Induction, supervision and appraisal
Regulation 33 covers what happens after recruitment:
- 33(1) Each employee completes an appropriate induction; each permanent appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period; each employee has a job description outlining their responsibilities.
- 33(2) A disciplinary procedure that provides for suspension where necessary in the interests of children's safety or welfare, and that makes failure to report abuse or suspected abuse a ground for disciplinary proceedings.
- 33(4) All employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development, receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience, and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.
The wording of 33(4)(b) is worth noting. Supervision must be practice-related and delivered by someone with appropriate experience. A supervision record that runs through rotas, annual leave and training bookings without discussing the children, the staff member's practice or their wellbeing may satisfy an HR process but does not evidence what the regulation asks for.
Why this gets checked before an inspector arrives
Staff qualification and recruitment information forms part of what Ofsted holds about your home in advance, which means shortfalls can shape lines of enquiry before anyone walks through the door. It is one of the few areas where a home can be confident about what will be examined, which makes an unresolved gap harder to explain.
Two separate staff records, easily confused. Schedule 4 paragraph 2 requires a record for each person working at the home covering name, sex, date of birth, home address, qualifications and experience relevant to work with children, full or part-time hours, and whether they live at the home. That record is retained for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry under regulation 37. It is not the same as the wider personnel file holding Schedule 2 evidence, supervision notes and appraisals, for which the Regulations set no retention period at all. Your retention policy needs to treat them separately.
How OVcare supports workforce compliance
OVcare is a care management platform built for UK children's homes, supported accommodation providers and family assessment centres, including a workforce module designed around Schedule 2. Staff records, Schedule 2 evidence, qualification progress, training, supervision and appraisals are held in one place, with the expiry and deadline dates visible rather than tracked on a spreadsheet.
Because qualification clocks run from a date that is easy to get wrong, and because supervision and appraisal are annual duties that drift, having them surfaced as outstanding items changes what a manager sees on a Monday morning. OVcare does not make recruitment decisions or replace professional judgement, and no software can determine an inspection outcome. What it can do is reduce administrative burden and support clearer evidence that the requirements have been met.
See how your staff files would be tracked. Book a free demo and we will walk through Schedule 2 records, qualification deadlines, supervision and appraisal tracking for your setting. Book a free demo.
Related reading
- What Must You Notify Ofsted About? Regulations 40, 41 and 42
- The Statement of Purpose: Regulation 16 and Schedule 1
- How Long Must Children's Homes Keep Records?
About the author. Paula Martinez has spent several years writing about and researching social care in England. She writes OVcare's regulation and compliance guides, working from the current text of the Regulations and Ofsted's published guidance rather than from secondary summaries.
Sources: The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/541), regulations 28, 31, 32, 33 and 37, and Schedules 2 and 4, at legislation.gov.uk. Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards, Department for Education.
This guide is provided for general information for care providers and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. It covers Ofsted-registered children's homes in England; different requirements apply to supported accommodation under the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023, and to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Always refer to the current Regulations and take professional advice on your own circumstances.
