Location Assessment for Children's Homes: What Ofsted Expects

Ofsted requires every children's home registration application to include a written location assessment demonstrating that the proposed site is suitable for the children you plan to care for.

No template — but real analysis expected

There is no Ofsted template. But the assessment must show you have systematically evaluated the risks and benefits of the location. The Children's Homes Regulations 2015, read alongside the Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, require the registered person to ensure the premises are appropriate for the purpose of the home and the needs of the children.

Ofsted assessors will scrutinise whether you have considered the local environment, completed the local authority and police consultation, and addressed any identified risks in your Statement of Purpose.

Your assessment must cover the physical environment — traffic, water hazards, industrial sites, flood risk — and then crime and safeguarding data, in that order.

The physical environment

• Is the property on a busy main road where children could be at risk from traffic?
• Is it near a railway line, canal, river, or other water hazard?
• Are there industrial sites, construction zones, or environmental contamination risks nearby?
• Check the Environment Agency flood risk maps — if the property is in a flood zone, explain your mitigation plan.

Crime and safeguarding data

• Use police.uk to review crime maps for the immediate area — antisocial behaviour, violent crime, burglary, and drug offences.
• Check ViSOR (the Violent and Sex Offender Register) data via your police consultation — the police will tell you if there are registered sex offenders nearby.
• Assess proximity to licensed premises — pubs, off-licences, and nightclubs can be sources of noise, antisocial behaviour, and inappropriate contact.

The home must be within reasonable reach of education, healthcare, and community activities — children in residential care need access to all three, and your assessment must demonstrate it.

Education

Identify local schools — primary, secondary, and any specialist provision — and their Ofsted ratings. If you propose to care for children with SEND, check the availability of appropriate education provision locally.

Health

Note the distance to the nearest GP surgery, hospital A&E, CAMHS service, and dental practice.

Community and transport

Identify leisure centres, parks, youth clubs, and other facilities children can access independently or with support. If the home is rural, explain how children will get to school, appointments, and activities — will you provide transport? Is there a reliable bus service?

Your assessment must weigh the impact of the home on its community — and the community on the home — because Ofsted and local authorities are increasingly concerned about both.

Clustering

Assess the density of existing children's homes in the area. Some neighbourhoods have become saturated with provision, leading to tensions with residents and overstretched local services.

Neighbourhood character

Assess whether the area is residential, mixed-use, or commercial; whether there are families with children nearby; and the neighbourhood's likely attitude toward a children's home. This matters not because NIMBYism should dictate your choice, but because a hostile neighbourhood creates ongoing difficulties for children and staff.

Consider how you will manage community relations — introducing yourself to neighbours, maintaining the property to a high standard, and addressing concerns promptly. Your assessment should show you have thought about the home as part of a community, not just as a building.

Yes — consulting the local police force and local authority is mandatory before you submit your Ofsted application. These are not optional courtesy calls — Ofsted will check that you completed them and will consider the responses.

The police consultation

Write to the local policing team — usually the Neighbourhood Policing Team or Safeguarding Unit — setting out the proposed location, the age range and number of children, and the care model. Ask specifically about known risks relevant to looked-after children: crime hotspots, local gang activity, county lines networks, and registered sex offenders in the vicinity.

The local authority consultation

Write to the Director of Children's Services (or their delegated officer) in the authority where the home will be located. The authority will consider the home's impact on local services, whether there is already a concentration of provision, and whether the proposed care model aligns with local need.

Document the location assessment as a structured written document — typically 4–8 pages — that an Ofsted assessor can read and understand without visiting the site.

What to include

• A map showing the property's location relative to key services — schools, GP, hospital, police station, leisure facilities.
• A summary of crime statistics for the area, with data source and date.
• The police and local authority consultation responses, attached as appendices.
• An analysis of environmental risks, with mitigation measures for each.
• A transport and accessibility assessment.
• Photographs of the property and its immediate surroundings.
• A clear conclusion stating why the location is suitable for the children you intend to care for.

The common location-related causes of refusal are no consultation, unmitigated risk factors, isolated rural sites, saturated areas, generic assessments, and ignored planning permission — location issues feature in a significant proportion of Ofsted registration delays and refusals.

The most common problems

1. No consultation — failing to consult police and the local authority at all is a straightforward compliance failure.
2. Unmitigated risk factors — siting a home near licensed premises, crime hotspots, or registered sex offenders without demonstrating any mitigation. Ofsted does not expect zero-risk locations, but it does expect awareness and planning.
3. Isolated rural locations chosen without addressing transport, school access, or emergency service response times.
4. Saturated areas — proposing a location where the local authority has objected to clustering.
5. Generic assessments — submitting a location assessment that clearly does not match the actual site.
6. Ignoring planning — if the property needs a change of use to C2 and you have not applied, Ofsted will not proceed.