Ofsted has announced that Catalyst Care Limited and its directors, Davidson Lynch-Shyllon and Miriam Ekathor, were convicted following Ofsted's first successful prosecution of an unregistered children's home provider in England. The company and its directors pleaded guilty to all charges at Croydon Magistrates' Court on 9 March 2026 for unlawfully operating three unregistered children's homes in Kent between October 2022 and April 2025, accommodating nine children and receiving more than £1.7 million from local authorities despite repeated warnings from Ofsted that registration was required. On 4 August 2026, Catalyst Care Limited and its directors, Lynch-Shyllon and Ekathor, were fined a total of £92,400, ordered to pay victim surcharges totalling £2,960 and £17,250 in costs. Lynch-Shyllon and Ekathor were also disqualified from operating, managing or holding a financial interest in a children's home.

Law360: England's education and childcare regulator unfairly dismissed one of its inspectors for brushing rain from a student's forehead, a London appeals court has ruled.

Ofsted has published updates to the inspection framework for local authority children’s services (ILACS), which will apply from 1 April 2026, aligning inspections with children’s social care reforms and revised statutory guidance. The updated framework places greater emphasis on family networks, purposeful multi‑agency working and professional development and increases focus on ending the use of unlawful unregistered children’s homes by challenging local authorities on their use and plans to stop using them. The removal of the headline judgement from April 2026 will change how services are inspected, and Ofsted intends to open a consultation in summer 2026 on proposals for a renewed children and families services inspection framework to be introduced in 2027.

Ofsted has published the first of its annual updates to the education inspection toolkits and operating guides, which will apply to inspections from September 2026 onward. For state-funded schools, changes provide additional clarity on matters including pupils’ attainment and progress, mobile phone policies and leaders’ engagement with pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families. Early years updates strengthen guidance on safeguarding, children’s welfare and wellbeing, and safer sleeping, eating and weaning arrangements, while further education and skills inspection changes include additional safeguarding wording on identifying learners and apprentices at risk of harm from mental health issues that could develop into safeguarding concerns. Future updates will be published annually before taking effect the following September.

Ofsted has updated the further education and skills inspections and the early years inspection handbooks.

Ofsted has updated its guidance on registering children's homes in emergencies by removing the requirement to complete the 'fit/suitable person' assessment questionnaire at registration. As of 1 July 2025, suitability assessments are now conducted during the interview stage rather than via the initial questionnaire. This update affects the registration process for local authorities and providers registering children's home services under priority application procedures.

Ofsted has reported that it has updated its policies for making complaints about inspections and for pausing inspections. The new policy allows providers to request an inspection review and escalate complaints to Independent Complaints Adjudication Service for Ofsted (ICASO). The policy changes are in response to the consultation on proposals for the complaints process, launched in June 2023. The new complaints policy comes into effect on 5 April 2024 and applies to all inspections and regulatory activities after 4 April 2024.

Ofsted has announced updates to its information sharing agreement with other inspectorates. The revised agreement includes clarity improvements and additional signatories. The agreement covers information sharing between Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services , HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons.

Ofsted has updated its social care enforcement policy to reflect changes to its enforcement powers, including a new power to fine those operating or managing unregistered social care provision and the ability to serve notices by email. The policy states that the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 gives Ofsted the power to impose a fine on anyone who carries on or manages an establishment, agency or supported accommodation service without being registered.

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) has updated its suite of working protocols with the addition of a new protocol between Ofsted and childminder agencies. This forms part of Ofsted's comprehensive framework of protocols with various organisations involved in childcare provision and regulation.

This Practice Note explains the legal powers and duties of the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) in relation to regulation of childminders, childcare providers and children’s social care providers under the Childcare Act 2006, together with the enforcement regime. Ofsted regulation—overview Ofsted inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people and services providing education and skills for learners for all ages. Ofsted has a duty to ensure that only those people who are suitable or fit for registration hold the relevant registration. Ofsted’s inspection and enforcement powers are grouped into the following categories: • childcare and early years providers (including childminders and childminder agencies) • children’s social care providers (including both establishments and agencies) • education provisions (including maintained schools, academics, independent schools and further education and skills providers). Inspection powers for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector are set out in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006) Childcare and early years inspection and enforcement is governed by the Childcare Act 2006

This Practice Note sets out the legislative sources of Ofsted’s administrative arrangements and areas of endeavour, the frequency and nature of school inspections, the different categories of unsatisfactory schools in England, and the steps that a local authority may have to follow under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006) if one of its schools is found to be unsatisfactory. Ofsted Ofsted is a non-departmental, government-funded organisation, operating in England and managed by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (HMCI). Most of Ofsted’s powers and duties are set out in Part 1 of the Education Act 2005 (EA 2005), and the general functions and duties of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector are detailed in EIA 2006, ss 116–119. These functions may be delegated in accordance with the law set out in EIA 2006, Sch 12. Ofsted inspectors (HMIs) report to a senior HMI. This Practice Note concentrates on the position in England. The education and training inspectorate for Wales is called Estyn. For further information