Ofsted data analysis · England · 2026

Number of Children's Homes in England Grows by 70% in Five Years

In the year to March 2026 the number of children's homes in England reached a record 4,747, up 20% in a single year and 70% higher than five years ago. Most of that growth has come from small, privately run homes.

Net growth since you opened this page 0 homes
+70%
growth in children's homes over five years
4,747
children's homes open in England, a record
+801
more children's homes than a year earlier
85%
of homes are now privately owned

Five years of relentless growth

The number of children's homes in England has risen every single year since 2022, climbing from 2,798 to 4,747. That is a 70% increase in five years. Registered places have grown more slowly, up 46% to 16,200, because the homes opening now are smaller than the ones that came before.

Children's homes and places in England, 2022 to 2026

Children's homes including short-break-only homes, at 31 March each year. Source: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

One region has a quarter of the country's homes

Children's homes are not spread evenly across England. The North West alone holds 26% of every children's home in the country , yet only 18% of England's children in care come from that region. The South West, by contrast, has just 300 homes. Tap a column heading to sort.

Children's homes by region, 31 March 2026

Region Homes % of England Places Avg beds Good/Outst.
North West 1,252 26.4% 3,584 2.86 82.4%
West Midlands 723 15.2% 2,392 3.31 85.1%
North East, Yorks & Humber 647 13.6% 2,237 3.46 89.7%
East Midlands 606 12.8% 2,027 3.34 85.9%
South East 486 10.2% 2,165 4.45 87.9%
East of England 387 8.2% 1,494 3.86 82.6%
London 346 7.3% 1,397 4.04 90.0%
South West 300 6.3% 887 2.96 83.6%
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
The North West row is highlighted. "Good/Outstanding" is the share of inspected homes rated good or outstanding for children's overall experiences and progress. Source: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026 (underlying data). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

More homes in one corner means more children placed far from home

When provision clusters in a handful of regions, children are often placed miles from their family, school and social worker. Keeping records straight, handovers tight and safeguarding visible across dispersed placements is exactly the problem good software is built to solve.

Half of all providers own just one home

Behind the growth is a long tail of small operators. England's 4,747 children's homes are run by 1,649 different organisations, and more than half of them own a single home. At the other end sit a few large groups, one of which owns 181 homes on its own.

854
organisations own a single children's home. That is 52% of all providers.
181
homes are owned by the single largest provider. The ten biggest groups run 596 homes between them.

Source: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026 (underlying data). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Single-home providers carry the same responsibilities as the biggest groups

A brand new single-home operator has to meet the same regulations, keep the same records and pass the same inspections as a group running a hundred homes, usually with a fraction of the back-office support. The rules do not scale down for newcomers.

As homes multiply, quality is under strain

Most children's homes in England are good. Across inspected homes, 85% are rated good or outstanding. But that leaves 626 homes, around 1 in 7, rated below good. And the region adding the most homes is the one with the lowest ratings.

Inspection outcomes, and the growth-versus-quality gap

4,305 homes with a published rating. 626 (1 in 7) are rated below good.

Ratings are for children's overall experiences and progress at the latest full inspection. Source: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026 (underlying data). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The region adding the most homes has the lowest ratings

The North West added 230 homes last year, more than any other region, and has the smallest homes on average. Its good-or-outstanding rate (82%) is the lowest in England. London grew fastest in percentage terms, from a much smaller base, and sits highest at 90%. Adding homes at the North West's scale puts real pressure on the systems that keep care consistent.

How we sourced the data

Every figure on this page comes from Ofsted's accredited official statistics, analysed by Sue Solutions. Nothing here is modelled or estimated by us.

Data sources and definitions
Figures are drawn from Ofsted's "Children's social care in England 2026" release, published 30 July 2026, including its provider-level underlying data. Counts of children's homes include short-break-only homes and are taken at 31 March 2026, the snapshot date Ofsted uses. The number of children's homes rose from 3,946 at 31 March 2025 to 4,747 at 31 March 2026, a net increase of 801 homes (a 20% rise in a single year). This net figure reflects openings minus closures over the year. Five-year growth compares 31 March 2022 (2,798 homes) with 31 March 2026. Registered places rose 46% over the same period, to 16,200. Regional net change in homes is taken from Ofsted's main findings (Table 1). The share of privately owned homes (85%) is Ofsted's figure for children's homes of all types. Regional and ownership breakdowns are calculated by Sue Solutions from Ofsted's provider-level dataset. Inspection ratings use each home's latest published full inspection judgement for children's overall experiences and progress. The share of looked-after children by region is from the Department for Education's "Children looked after in England" statistics. Numbers may not sum exactly due to Ofsted's rounding conventions.
Using these figures
This analysis was produced by Sue Solutions. You are welcome to cite these figures with a link to this page as the source. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026, and the Department for Education.

Further reading

Six short reads on what the 2026 data means, drawn from this study.

A growing sector needs systems it can trust

Sue Solutions is care management software built for England's children's homes, and only for them. As the sector grows and inspections come round more often, Sue helps your team keep records straight, evidence strong and young people at the centre. See how she fits your home.

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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data: Ofsted, Children's social care in England 2026, and the Department for Education. Analysis by Sue Solutions. Please cite this page as the source.