Section 1 Children’s homes
25.Subsection (2) defines a children’s home as an establishment which provides care and accommodation wholly or mainly for children. This will catch community homes, voluntary homes and registered children’s homes (including small private children’s homes) as defined in the Children Act 1989, and homes for disabled children. Subsection (3) excludes a place where a child is cared for by his parents, a relative, a person with parental responsibility for him or a foster parent. Subsection (4) excludes NHS hospitals, independent hospitals and clinics, schools and other institutions and gives the appropriate Minister the power to make other exceptions in regulations. It is intended that regulations will be made to except, for example, homes where children take holidays or certain hostels set up by professionals to accommodate apprentices (such as footballers or jockeys). Subsection (6) provides that any school which provides accommodation for more than 295 days a year for any individual child must register also as a children’s home. Subsection (7) clarifies the definition of foster parent for the purposes of this section.
26.Small private children’s homes, accommodating fewer than four children, are not required to register under the Children Act 1989. However, section 40 amends the Children Act to require the registration of such homes by local authorities in the interim.