SCCIF
The SCCIF, or Social Care Common Inspection Framework, is the framework Ofsted uses to inspect children’s social care providers, setting out how inspections are conducted and what inspectors evaluate.
SCCIF in practice
It applies across children’s social care settings, with provider-specific guidance for children’s homes, supported accommodation, fostering and other services, so the common framework sits above setting-specific detail.
Inspectors weigh children’s experiences and progress most heavily, supported by observation, discussion with staff and children, and scrutiny of records. Leadership and management is assessed partly on whether leaders know their own service’s weaknesses before Ofsted points them out.
The framework is updated periodically, so a home preparing against an older version can find itself evidencing the wrong things. Check the version date before using it as a preparation tool.
Back to the glossaryRelated definitions
SC1 and SC2 applications
SC1 and SC2 are the Ofsted application forms for registering a children’s home or supported accommodation service: SC1 registers the provider and the service, and SC2 is completed by each person connected to it, including the manager, the responsible individual (nominated individual in supported accommodation) and directors involved in running it.
Read definitionResponsible Individual (Ofsted)
A Responsible Individual is the person an organisation nominates to Ofsted as accountable for supervising the management of a children’s home, and they are assessed by Ofsted for their suitability for that role.
Read definitionChildren’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015
The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 are the regulations governing how children’s homes in England must be run, and they contain the quality standards Ofsted inspects against.
Read definitionRegistering with CQC or Ofsted?
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