OFSTED REGISTRATION
Ofsted Registration in England
We build and register your childcare, early years, or children’s social care business in 16 weeks, while you keep working.
Ofsted registration is more complex than most people expect: different registers, different rules, different forms depending on what you run. A dedicated team of 13 handles all of it, and builds the whole business around it.
Last reviewed: 04 June 2026
Early years · Childcare · Children’s social care · England-wide
What Ofsted registration actually is
Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. It regulates and inspects childcare, early education, and children’s social care across England, to make sure providers meet the legal standards for keeping children safe and supporting their development.
If you plan to care for or educate children as a business, in most cases you must register with Ofsted before you start. Which register you join, and what you have to prove to get on it, depends entirely on the ages of the children, the type of setting, and where the care happens.
This is where most people starting out get stuck. Ofsted does not have one registration. It has several routes, governed by different rules, with different application forms and different requirements. Getting on the right one, correctly, the first time, is the difference between opening on schedule and losing months to a rejected or misdirected application. That is what we handle.
The Ofsted registers, explained simply
For childcare and early years, there are two registers. Which one you need depends on the ages of the children you care for. You can join more than one.
The Early Years Register
For providers caring for children from birth to 31 August after their fifth birthday. If you run a nursery, pre-school, or childminding service for this age group, this is your register, and you must meet the Early Years Foundation Stage, the EYFS, the statutory framework for safeguarding, welfare, learning and development.
The Childcare Register (compulsory)
For providers caring for children from around five to seven years old for more than two hours a day, typically before-and-after-school or holiday provision. This part of the register is required by law if it applies to you.
The Childcare Register (voluntary)
For providers caring for children aged eight and over, or those otherwise exempt who choose to register, for example to reassure parents or qualify for childcare funding schemes.
Children’s social care is separate again. Children’s homes, supported accommodation, fostering, and similar services register under a different regime with its own rules and standards, not the childcare registers above. If you are opening a children’s home, that is a distinct registration with its own requirements.
The practical point: before you do anything else, you need to know exactly which register and which route apply to your plan. We confirm that on day one, so nothing is built on the wrong assumption.
Who needs to register with Ofsted
As a general rule, if you care for one or more children under the age of eight for more than two hours a day, as a business, you must register with Ofsted. That captures most childcare and early years provision in England.
- Nurseries and daycare settings (group provision)
- Pre-schools and sessional childcare
- Childminders working from domestic premises
- Childminders without domestic premises (a registration category introduced in 2024)
- Before-and-after-school and holiday clubs caring for under-eights
- Children’s homes and children’s social care providers (under the separate social care regime)
There are exemptions, some short-term, informal, or activity-specific provision does not need to register, and some childminders register through a childminder agency rather than directly with Ofsted. The rules are specific, and getting the category wrong wastes time. The first thing we do is confirm precisely what you need to register as.
Not sure which register or route applies to you? That is the first thing we confirm on your free consultation, before any work begins.
What Ofsted assesses
Registration is not a form-filling exercise. Ofsted assesses whether you are suitable to care for children and whether your setting meets the legal standards. What it looks at depends on your register.
For early years and childcare: the EYFS
Providers on the Early Years Register must meet the Early Years Foundation Stage, the statutory framework that sets the standards for safeguarding and welfare, and for learning and development, for children from birth to five. Your policies, your premises, your staffing, and your safeguarding arrangements all have to demonstrate you meet it. Ofsted assesses this at registration and inspects against it afterwards.
For children’s social care: the regulations and quality standards
Children’s homes and social care providers are assessed against their own regulations and quality standards, including the suitability and experience of the registered manager, the safety and appropriateness of the premises, and a Statement of Purpose that sets out exactly how the service will operate. The bar is high, and the documentation is substantial.
For everyone: suitable people
Whatever you register as, Ofsted assesses the suitability of the people responsible, through enhanced DBS checks, references, qualifications, and, for many routes, a registration visit or interview. Everyone living or working on the premises may need to be included. We prepare you, and your people, for all of it.
WHAT WE REGISTER
The Ofsted-regulated businesses we build
We handle Ofsted registration across early years, childcare, and children’s social care. Whatever you are starting, we build the whole business and handle the registration end to end.
Nursery and childcare startup
Open a nursery, pre-school, or daycare setting, or register as a childminder, fully EYFS-compliant and Ofsted-ready.
Learn more →Children’s home startup
Open an Ofsted-registered children’s home, compliant with the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 and built to the quality standards.
Learn more →Other children’s services
Supported accommodation, out-of-school provision, and other Ofsted-regulated services. Tell us what you are planning.
Book a consultation →Not sure which category your plan falls under, or whether you need the Early Years Register, the Childcare Register, or a children’s social care registration? That is exactly what we confirm first.
DONE FOR YOU
How we build and register your Ofsted business
A dedicated team of 13 builds your entire business and handles the Ofsted registration, five regulation professionals, four administration officers, and three technical specialists, coordinated end to end. Here is how the work runs.
Compliance & Regulatory Pathway Assessment
We confirm exactly which register and route apply to your plan, the Early Years Register, the Childcare Register, or a children’s social care registration, and assess you and your proposed registered person against Ofsted’s suitability requirements, flagging any barrier upfront.
Legal & Business Structure Setup
We form your company at Companies House with the right structure and prepare the legal and HR foundation your setting needs.
Complete Compliance Documentation
We write every policy and procedure Ofsted expects, safeguarding, welfare, EYFS or children’s homes requirements, safer recruitment, and the rest, tailored to your setting and your register.
Professional Branding & Web Presence
We build your branding and a professional website, so parents, local authorities, and Ofsted see a credible, trustworthy setting.
Accountancy & Financial Structure
We brief an accountant from our network and align your financial structure with your registration documentation.
Regulatory Registration & Interview Support
We complete your full application on the correct Ofsted form, prepare your Statement of Purpose where required, submit it, and prepare you and your people thoroughly for the registration visit or interview.
Post-Registration Launch Support
Once registered, we help you launch: operations, staff onboarding, the systems to run a safe setting, and the plan to fill your places.
How long Ofsted registration takes
We build and submit your complete application in 16 weeks. That is the part within our control: confirming your route, the company setup, the full documentation, your Statement of Purpose where needed, and the application itself.
After submission, the timeline belongs to Ofsted. Registration involves a check of your documentation and, for most routes, a registration visit or interview to assess suitability, and Ofsted’s timelines vary by provider type. Children’s social care registrations, in particular, take considerably longer than early years registrations, and a strong, complete application is what keeps yours moving rather than stalling.
We manage the whole period for you: we respond to Ofsted’s queries, prepare you for your registration visit or interview, and keep you updated every week until a decision. Then we help you open. Sixteen weeks to a complete, submitted application, then a regulator-dependent period we manage from start to finish.
Ofsted registration questions, answered
Related guides
Want more detail before you book? These guides go deeper.
How long does Ofsted registration take?
The honest timeline by route, early years and children’s homes.
Read the guide →How much does it cost to open a children’s home?
The capital and Ofsted fees for a children’s home.
Read the guide →CQC vs Ofsted: which regulator do you need?
Which regulator your business needs, and the edge cases.
Read the guide →Ready to register with Ofsted?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We will confirm exactly which register and route apply to you, answer your questions, and show you how we would build and register your business in 16 weeks.
No obligation. 100% confidential.