New Start-ups

Your registration roadmap

A guided path to Ofsted registration for a new independent fostering agency — from legal entity and responsible individual to panel, Form F and your fit-person interviews.

Define Your Agency & Legal Entity

Done

Decide the type of fostering you will offer (mainstream, therapeutic, parent-and-child, short breaks), the placing authorities you will work with, and set up the company that will be the registered provider.

Research local authority sufficiency statements and framework tenders before committing to a modelRegister the company and open insurance conversations early — IFA insurers are fewDecide who will be the responsible individual (a director) and who will be the registered manager

Registered Manager & Responsible Individual

Done

Ofsted requires a registered manager who is a qualified social worker (or equivalent) with fostering management experience, and a responsible individual who supervises them on behalf of the provider.

Manager: Social Work England registration, Level 5 Diploma (or working towards) and at least two years' relevant experienceEnhanced DBS with barred-list checks for the manager, RI and all directorsSocial care references covering the last five years and a full employment history with gaps explained

Statement of Purpose & Children's Guide

Done

Write the Statement of Purpose required by Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 — your aims, services, staffing, carer support and complaints route — plus an age-appropriate Children's Guide.

Cover every Schedule 1 matter in order so the inspector can check it offDescribe your matching, supervision and out-of-hours arrangements in plain termsProduce the Children's Guide in formats children in placement can actually use

Policies & Procedures

Done

Ofsted will ask for the policies the Fostering Regulations and National Minimum Standards require before registration: safeguarding and allegations, safer caring, recruitment and assessment, panel, matching, complaints, missing from care and recording.

Map every policy to a regulation or NMS referenceInclude the allegations (LADO) procedure, whistleblowing and the complaints procedure for carers and childrenOur Independent Fostering Agency Starter Pack covers the core set; the Complete package adds panel, Form F and review frameworks

Fostering Panel & Agency Decision Maker

Done

Establish an independent fostering panel (central list, chair, vice-chair, panel adviser) and appoint an agency decision maker who is senior, independent of the panel and able to decide within seven working days.

Panel chair must be independent of the agency; recruit members with care-experienced, carer and health or education backgroundsWrite the panel terms of reference and the ADM decision-making procedurePlan how you will handle qualifying determinations and the Independent Review Mechanism

Carer Recruitment, Form F & Training

Done

Set out how you will recruit, assess (Form F), approve, train and supervise foster carers — including TSD standards, first aid, safer caring and the annual review cycle.

Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessment timescales and the information-sharing checks for every household memberSupervising social worker caseloads and the six-weekly visit plus annual unannounced visitPre-approval training (Skills to Foster or equivalent) and a TSD plan to complete within 12 months

Submit the Ofsted Application

Done

Apply through Ofsted's online system (SC1 provider, SC2 manager, SC3 responsible individual) with the Statement of Purpose, Children's Guide, policies, business plan, financial viability evidence and insurance.

Incomplete applications are returned — use Ofsted's IFA application checklistBusiness plan with three-year cash-flow showing viability before your first placementsExpect Ofsted to request documents and fit-person references during the assessment

Registration Visit & Fit-Person Interviews

Done

An Ofsted inspector interviews the registered manager and responsible individual, inspects premises and records, and tests how your policies will work in practice before recommending registration.

Know the Fostering Regulations 2011 and the NMS by number and in practiceRehearse matching, safer caring, allegations and panel scenarios — our IFA mock interview follows the real structureHave recruitment files, panel paperwork and the training plan ready to show

New Start-up Registration Toolkit

Application guidance, Statement of Purpose builder, core policy set and mock interview prep — everything to register with confidence.

£1,000 Preview pages

What's inside · 210 pages

1 Provider Application Walkthrough
2 Statement of Purpose Builder
3 Fit & Proper Person Guidance
4 Core Policy Starter Set
5 Mock Interview Prep

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