The Region Adding the Most Children's Homes Has England's Lowest Ratings
The North West added 230 children's homes last year, more than any other region in England. It also has the country's lowest share of homes rated good or outstanding, at 82%, against London's 90%. Put those two facts side by side and a quieter story appears. The region absorbing the most new homes is the one where quality is under the most pressure. Growth is part of that story, though not all of it, and the detail is what matters for anyone running a home.
This is our own reading of Ofsted's Children's social care in England 2026 data, drawn from the provider-level figures rather than the headline tables. We set the full analysis out in our study of the Ofsted children's homes data. At Sue Solutions we build children's homes management software, and the pattern underneath these numbers is one we see play out in real homes.
Two Numbers That Are Rarely Read Together
On their own, each figure has been reported. The North West added the most homes of any region last year, taking it past 1,250. Separately, it has the lowest good or outstanding rate in England. They are rarely put side by side, and together they say more than either does alone.
| Region | Good or outstanding | Homes added last year |
|---|---|---|
| London | 90% | 96 (up 38%) |
| North East, Yorkshire and the Humber | 90% | 71 (up 12%) |
| South East | 88% | 74 (up 18%) |
| England | 85% | 801 (up 20%) |
| East of England | 83% | 56 (up 17%) |
| North West | 82% | 230 (up 23%) |
The region adding the most children's homes is the one with the lowest ratings.
What The Data Does And Does Not Show
It would be easy to say growth explains the North West's rating. The data is more complicated than that, and it is worth being precise. Across England, newly opened homes are less likely to be rated good or outstanding. Homes registered during 2025 to 2026 sit at 79%, against 88% for homes open since before 2021. The North West has opened more new homes than anywhere else, so it carries more of that effect.
But growth is not the whole explanation. The North West's established homes also rate a little below the national average, at 85% against 88%. And London, which grew fastest in percentage terms, has the highest ratings in the country. Pace puts pressure on quality. It does not decide it on its own.
An 82% good or outstanding rate is still a large majority of homes meeting a high bar. The North West is not a region of poor homes. It is a region absorbing more change than anywhere else, on top of a quality gap that was already there, and that combination is worth watching.
Fast growth does not have to cost quality. London grew faster than any region last year and still has the highest ratings in England. The homes that hold their rating through rapid expansion are the ones that put strong recording and oversight in place from the start.
What This Means If You Run A Home In A High-Growth Area
If you are opening or running a home in a fast-growing region, the data carries a practical warning and a practical opportunity. The warning is that new homes are more likely to fall short at inspection, and in the North West the regional average is lower to begin with. The opportunity is that the things separating a good home from a struggling one are within your control, and they are the same things whatever the region.
The homes that hold up under growth tend to share a few habits.
- Recording is consistent across every shift, not dependent on who is on duty
- Leadership oversight is visible in the record, so it can be seen rather than assumed
- Actions from incidents and reviews are tracked and closed, not just raised
- The way the home records does not fall apart when the team is stretched or a manager is away
Building Quality That Survives Growth
None of those habits depends on caring more. They depend on having a structure that keeps good practice repeatable when a home is busy, short-staffed or new. That is exactly where a system built for the sector helps, and it helps most in the high-growth, new-home conditions the North West figures describe.
Good children's homes management software makes strong recording the default, keeps the evidence inspectors look for current, closes the loop on actions and gives leaders a live view of where oversight is slipping before it becomes a finding. For a provider growing across several homes, our multi home reporting tools keep that quality consistent as the group expands, so growth does not come at the cost of the rating. The North West's numbers are a reminder that scale and quality can pull apart. They do not have to, and the homes that keep them together are the ones that built the structure before they needed it.
Frequently Asked Questions
On the latest provider-level inspection data, the North West has the lowest share of homes rated good or outstanding, at 82%, according to Ofsted's Children's social care in England 2026 figures. London and the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber have the highest, at around 90%. The gap is not huge in absolute terms, but it is notable that the region adding the most homes is also the one scoring lowest.
Partly, but not entirely. Newly opened homes are less likely to be rated good or outstanding across England, and the North West has opened more of them than anywhere else. But the region's established homes also rate slightly below the national average, at 85% against 88%, so growth is only part of the explanation. The region is not failing. It is absorbing more new homes than anywhere else on top of an existing gap.
Not inevitably, but it raises the risk. Homes registered during 2025 to 2026 were rated good or outstanding 79% of the time, against 88% for homes open since before 2021. Yet London grew fastest in percentage terms last year and has the highest ratings in England. Quality holds up where new homes put strong recording and oversight in from the start. Growth itself is not the problem, growth without structure is.
The most useful step is to make good practice repeatable rather than dependent on individuals. That means consistent recording across every shift, clear oversight that leaders can see and actions that are tracked and closed. New and growing providers who build that structure early tend to hold their quality as they scale. Sector-specific systems help by making the right way to record the easy way, so quality does not depend on everyone remembering everything.
