Guidance

Residential holiday schemes for disabled children registration policy

Updated 28 November 2025

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-a-residential-holiday-scheme-for-disabled-children/residential-holiday-schemes-for-disabled-children-registration-policy

This policy sets out the processes Ofsted uses to assess the suitability of providers of residential holiday schemes for disabled children and the suitability of individuals seeking to be associated with a registration.

This policy is for:  

  • anyone who wants to start a residential holiday scheme
  • individuals registering to be a manager of a residential holiday scheme
  • an appointed responsible individual of a residential holiday scheme

Due to the exceptionally high number of applications, it is taking us longer than usual to process new submissions. If you are applying to register, it is likely to be several months before you receive a decision.

To help avoid further delays, please ensure that you provide all required information both at the time of application and throughout the process.

Providing services in England and Wales

If you intend to provide residential holiday schemes in both England and Wales, you will need to register with the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), regardless of where the office or branches are located. You may need to follow the regulatory framework under both the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 (RISCA) and the Care Standards Act 2000.

Read about how Ofsted works with CIW.

Residential holiday scheme

A residential holiday scheme for disabled children is an establishment where care and accommodation are provided ‘wholly or mainly’ for disabled children, and:

  • where such care and accommodation are provided for a specified period
  • which is for the purposes of a holiday or is recreational, sporting, cultural or educational
  • which is not provided for more than 56 days in any 12-month period
    (this can be for as many periods as needed)
  • where care for a particular child does not exceed 28 consecutive days in any 12-month period

Residential holiday schemes can run all year and in different locations, as long as they follow the limits above.

Starting a residential holiday scheme

Individuals, partnerships or organisations that want to start a residential holiday scheme for disabled children must register with Ofsted first before doing so. Registering is a legal requirement under the Care Standards Act 2000. It helps us regulate who can own, operate, manage or work in a residential holiday scheme.

To register a residential holiday scheme, applicants must complete a ‘register a children’s social care service (SC1)’ offline form for each service you want to run. The SC1 form is about the provider and the service.    

It is an offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act 2000 to run a residential holiday scheme without the appropriate registration.

Anyone found running or managing a residential holiday scheme without registration will be liable for prosecution. It remains an offence to provide or manage a residential holiday scheme without registration while we process the application. School residential holiday schemes may be an exception.

Providing services for both disabled and non-disabled children

It is very likely that a holiday scheme will need to register if it looks after more disabled children than non-disabled children.

When applying to register you must take account of the following:

Services that do not need to register as a residential holiday scheme

Schools do not need to register their holiday scheme as a residential holiday scheme for disabled children if:

  • they are also registered as a children’s home
  • they provide a care and accommodation service for a specified period
  • the scheme is for the purposes of a holiday or is recreational, sporting, cultural or educational
  • the residential holiday scheme is for their own pupils

Who Ofsted needs to know about

Ofsted needs to know about everyone in a ‘role of responsibility’ for what we call ‘managing or carrying on the residential holiday scheme’. This means anyone in a governance or management role of the residential holiday scheme.

This covers:

  • an individual, partnership or organisation that is registered with Ofsted (the ‘provider’)

  • a manager who is registered with Ofsted (‘the registered manager’ of the residential holiday scheme) 

  • a ‘responsible individual’ if the provider is registering as an organisation. (This is someone who has the skills necessary to carry on the residential holiday scheme and is the point of contact for the organisation)  

These people will need to submit an ‘Apply to be associated with children’s social care service (SC2)’ offline form as part of the application to register.

Ofsted must be satisfied that those in a role of responsibility meet the Residential Holiday Schemes for Disabled Children (England) Regulations 2013 fitness for registration requirements, and are suitably qualified and experienced to carry out the role they are applying for. If you intend to hold more than one role, we will assess your suitability and capacity for each role.

We will interview the person applying to be the registered manager. We may also interview:

  • an individual provider or partner
  • the responsible individual

How Ofsted uses your data

Ofsted needs to make sure that providers and managers can remain fit to carry on or manage a registered children’s social care service.

We need to keep some data, including personal data, for as long as you are registered to provide these services. This includes information about your suitability to provide children’s social care services.

We may keep this information for longer if any regulatory issues or concerns were raised when you were registered.

Factors that may prevent an individual from being associated with a residential holiday scheme 

There are several factors that may prevent you from being associated with a residential holiday scheme, including:

We also take into consideration whether you have previously been disqualified from working in a children’s home. You can find a full list of reasons for disqualification in our social care enforcement policy and in the Disqualification from caring for children (England) regulations 2002.

Types of providers

The provider is the legal entity providing the residential holiday scheme. They are responsible for making sure that the provision meets the Care Standards Act 2000, the Residential holiday schemes for disabled children (England) regulations 2013  and the National minimum standards for residential holiday schemes for disabled children.

There are 3 different types of residential holiday scheme providers, they are:

  • organisations
  • partnerships
  • individual providers

Organisations

Organisations include:

  • companies or limited liability partnerships (LLP) – the details provided must match what is recorded by Companies House
  • statutory bodies
  • charities
  • trusts, for example those appointed by a local authority
  • committees, for example a social care committee of a local community
  • unincorporated associations

Charities must ensure that their organisation is set up correctly and that they can demonstrate this to Ofsted.

Read the Charity Commission’s guidance on setting up a charity.

Partnerships

A partnership is a business where 2 or more people share the profits and liabilities. This is usually under a written partnership agreement. A business registered as an LLP or a company does not count as a partnership. When a partnership applies to register, each person in the partnership must apply and be granted registration.

We will need to see a copy of the agreement or document that clearly establishes the partnership as a legal entity.

Individual providers

An individual provider can be one person or more than one person. They can provide a service, without having to set up a partnership, a company or an organisation. We name each person on the registration certificate. Any regulatory action we take may result in action against each person.

If an individual registers their business as a company, then this is an organisation.

Roles

Certain roles must be in place to register a residential holiday scheme for disabled children, depending on the type of provider responsible for the scheme.

Responsible individuals

An organisation must appoint a responsible individual. They will communicate with Ofsted about the residential holiday scheme on behalf of the organisation and have the experience, qualifications and skills necessary to supervise the management of the residential holiday scheme.

Individuals and partnerships do not need to appoint a responsible individual. The individual or partnership must meet the same fitness requirements as responsible individuals. They will also need to nominate a point of contact to communicate with Ofsted.

The responsible individual must be an individual who has the appropriate skills. They will perform the functions of, or similar functions to those of, a director, whatever job title they have, for example:

  • a director of the organisation
  • a manager of the organisation
  • a secretary of the organisation
  • another officer of the organisation

A responsible individual, individual provider or partner must:

  • be of integrity and good character
  • have regard to the size of the residential holiday scheme, its statement of purposes, the number children accommodated and their needs, and the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children
  • carry on the residential holiday scheme with sufficient care, competence and skill
  • be mentally and physically fit to carry on the holiday scheme
  • be financially fit to carry on or manage the holiday scheme
  • ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to Schedule 2 of The residential holiday schemes for disabled children (England) regulations 2013

Ofsted does not register the responsible individual, but we must know who the individual is. The responsible individual will need to complete an SC2 form. We will carry out checks and will interview them. As a proposed provider, you should only appoint a responsible individual who you have assessed as suitable to represent the service to Ofsted. We may refuse the application if we do not consider the responsible individual to be suitable. We will contact you to discuss our concerns.

Suitability of responsible individuals

Responsible individuals must demonstrate in their written application and interview that they are suitable and have the appropriate skills to carry on the residential holiday scheme on behalf of the organisation. We also consider relevant information about any previous applications they have been associated with or are still associated with.

You can find more information on what to expect at interview and what documents the responsible individual will need in our Applying to register a residential holiday scheme for disabled children guidance.

Registered managers

You must ensure that each registered residential holiday scheme has a manager. The manager is responsible for carrying out the holiday scheme’s regulatory activities. The manager must be registered by Ofsted.

Fitness requirements for managers

You must not allow a person to manage a residential holiday scheme unless they are fit to do so. A person is not fit to manage a residential holiday scheme unless that person: 

  • is of integrity and good character
  • has regard to the size of the residential holiday scheme, the statement of purpose, and the number and needs of the children
  • has the qualifications, skills and experience necessary for managing the residential holiday scheme
  • is physically and mentally fit to manage a residential holiday scheme
  • can ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to Schedule 2 of The residential holiday schemes for disabled children (England) regulations 2013

The manager’s registration is personal to them and is for the residential holiday scheme they are applying to manage. It is not transferable to another registered provider or to another holiday scheme run by you.

The registered manager (or registered person, where the registered person is an individual and therefore a manager is not required) must have the following:

  • at least 2 years’ relevant experience working with children with complex needs
  • at least one year’s experience supervising and managing professional staff
  • an appropriate management qualification

If the manager does not have the management qualification, they should enrol on a management training course within 6 months of registering and must obtain a relevant management qualification within 3 years.

Managers must apply for registration and pay a fee for each application. The manager must demonstrate that they have the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience to meet the requirements of the residential holiday scheme.

You can read more information on what to expect at an interview in our Apply to register a residential holiday scheme for disabled children guide.

In a few cases, we receive applications from managers who are wholly unfit for registration because they are unable to meet the requirements in relation to integrity and good character. In rare circumstances, some applicants may, similarly, be wholly unfit for registration due to lack of experience, skills and qualifications. We are likely to refuse these applicants at an early stage of the process. 

Partnerships and the manager

If the partner and the manager are the same person, we will assess their fitness for each role.

Individual providers and the manager

If an individual provider and the manager are the same person, we will assess their fitness for each role.

Organisations

Organisations must appoint a manager to manage the residential holiday scheme. We will assess the manager’s fitness for the role. In rare circumstances where the responsible individual and manager are the same person, we will assess their fitness for each role.  

Managing multiple residential holiday schemes

A manager is typically assigned to oversee only one residential holiday scheme. If you plan for a manager to be responsible for more than one scheme, contact us at sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk. We will get in touch to discuss your specific circumstances and provide further guidance.

Two managers applying for one residential holiday scheme

Two individuals may apply to be registered managers of a residential holiday scheme. This can be through a job share or 2 people working full-time to run the same holiday scheme. In either case, each person must complete an SC2 form and pay an application fee.

We will consider how both managers will be held accountable for meeting the requirements of the Care Standards Act 2000 and the national minimum standards, and how these relate to the size and scope of the proposed holiday scheme.

The provider must email sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk before the individual managers apply. We will contact the applicants to discuss the arrangements. Proposed applicants should wait for a response from Ofsted before submitting an application.

Conditions of registration

We may place conditions on the registration that set out our expectations of how the residential holiday scheme will operate.

There are conditions we always apply to the registered person of holiday schemes that must be followed. You must tell Ofsted about:

  • the address of the premises or the site to be used
  • any scheduled provision that is not to be provided in a 12-month period
  • the dates on which the service will operate, no less than 28 days before the scheme starts

Occasionally, we may apply conditions that you have not agreed to, if we feel they are necessary for the residential holiday scheme to operate effectively. In this case, we will issue a notice of proposal to you, which you can object to by making a ‘written representation’ to us. For information on how to make a written representation, see the social care enforcement policy.

The conditions of registration are recorded on your registration certificate.

It is an offence under the Care Standards Act 2000 to operate outside of the conditions set.

The social care enforcement policy sets out information about actions we may take if you do not follow these conditions.

Registration stages

The registration process consists of 3 stages: 

  • the application 
  • information gathering 
  • determining suitability

Stage 1: application

The application should include:

When submitting an SC1 form, providers will be given a submission reference number. The number is 14 characters and includes numbers, hyphens and upper-case letters, for example ABCD-1234-1234. It is also referred to as the ‘application number’.  

Once we confirm that all the information has been provided, we will ask you to pay the required fees. 

Once the required fees are paid, we will allocate a unique reference number (URN) for the residential holiday scheme, and we will start to process the information. Everyone who submitted an SC2 form as part of this application will be linked to this URN. The URN is a 6-digit number and is used to identify the application from this point in the process.  

Having a URN does not mean you can operate. You must wait until Ofsted has granted your registration before you can operate.

Stage 2: information gathering

After we have accepted the application, we will contact the local authority children’s services department for any local authority areas the individuals have lived in within the previous 5 years to check whether it holds any relevant information about any of the individuals that may affect their suitability to provide care or have regular contact with children.

The information could include:

  • whether an individual has been connected with a child protection inquiry
  • whether an individual has had a child removed from their care
  • whether any individual is subject to ongoing investigations
  • whether there are any concerns that children may be at risk of harm on childcare premises
  • whether there are any previous childcare professional conduct concerns

Other checks we carry out include:

  • requesting references
  • further health checks if we require medical advice about the individual’s health and well-being

If necessary, we will discuss the information received from suitability checks with the associated individual as part of our decision-making process.

We will contact you to discuss the application and whether any additional information is required.

We may return your application if there are delays in receiving the necessary information; this is when we are ‘unable to determine’ your application.

Unable to determine an application

In some situations, we may be unable to progress your application to the next stage or make a decision on it.

This may happen because:

  • we do not have all the information we need
  • there are delays with your references
  • there are delays caused by planning or property issues

  • other agencies or regulators are carrying out ongoing investigations that involve you

  • individuals linked to the application leave or withdraw and you do not identify anyone to replace them

If we are unable to progress your application, we will begin a formal process known as ‘unable to determine an application’. We will warn you that their application may be closed without a decision being made because we do not have all the information we need.

We do not start this process if there are delays in receiving information from local authority checks. We will continue to chase the information so that we can make a decision about the application.

If there is other missing or delayed information, we will write to you to tell you what information we require. If you do not send us the information within 12 weeks of paying your registration fee, we may write to you to tell you that your application has been closed because we have been unable to process it without the relevant information. The fee you paid will not be refunded.  Any people associated with the application will also have their applications closed down, and we will not refund their fees. 

Applicants may re-apply in the future and pay another fee.

Stage 3: determining suitability

At this stage, the inspector will contact you to arrange interviews and ask you whether you need any reasonable adjustments.

Interviews may take place on different days, and we will arrange them with each individual. The interview is your opportunity to show us how you meet the requirements of the regulations and guidance. Inspectors will usually interview both the proposed manager and the appointed responsible individual, even if we have interviewed the responsible individual before.

To reassure Ofsted of suitability, the inspector will:

  • visit all the premises that make up the residential holiday scheme where applicable
  • ask whether any reasonable adjustments are required on the day
  • interview all people in certain roles of responsibility
  • read and discuss all necessary documentation provided
  • assess and evaluate all the information we have gathered

You can find more information on what to expect at interview and what original documents you must provide in our Apply to register an residential holiday scheme for disabled children. 

After the interviews, the inspector will go over with you: 

  • a summary of the evidence that they have collected
  • what happens next, including whether you need to provide any more information or whether further interviews are required

If new information is presented during the interview that requires further exploration, the inspector will usually give brief feedback about their likely recommendation unless they need to seek further advice. 

 You can withdraw your application at any time if you wish to do so.

Regional manager’s decision

Following the interviews, the inspector will discuss all the evidence with their regional manager. The regional manager will decide whether you will be registered. Occasionally the regional manager may ask for more evidence before making their decision. In these cases, the inspector will contact you.  

The regional manager will make separate registration decisions for you and for the residential holiday scheme’s manager. They will grant or refuse registration, usually within 7 working days and will send you one of the following:

  • a notice of decision to register
  • a notice of proposal to change the proposed conditions
  • a notice of proposal to refuse registration

Notice of decision to register

If the condition is agreed between you and us, we will issue a notice of decision to register.

The notice of decision to register confirms that you are now registered with us as a provider. We will send a registration certificate.

Registration certificate 

The registration certificate includes:

  • the URN
  • the name of the registered provider
  • the name of the registered manager (if applicable)
  • the name of the responsible individual (if applicable)
  • the name and address of the office of the residential holiday scheme
  • the date of registration
  • the conditions that apply to the registration

Registration refusal

If we are not satisfied that you can meet the regulatory requirements for registration, we will issue a notice of proposal to refuse the registration.

You will have the opportunity to tell us why we should not refuse the registration. To do this, you must write to us with reasons, also known as ‘representations’, within 28 days of the date that the notice of proposal is served. This time period cannot be extended.

If we do not receive a response within 28 days, we will send a notice of decision to refuse the application.

For more information on the notice of proposal to refuse a registration, see the social care enforcement policy. 

What happens if the application is refused

If we refuse the registration, this may have a negative impact on any application you or the manager make in the future. 

Withdrawing an application

You may withdraw your application by emailing sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk. We will accept a withdrawal request if we have not already issued a notice of proposal to refuse. We will write to you if we have concerns about your fitness to register as a provider or manager to tell you that we will consider those concerns if you apply in the future.

Notice of proposal: requesting to withdraw

If we have issued a notice of proposal to refuse an application, you can ask to withdraw the application. We may not allow this, for example if we have concerns about:

  • your ability to safeguard children
  • other relevant information in the application, for example offences that you have committed

If we refuse a withdrawal request, you can still appeal the notice of proposal. More information can be found in the social care enforcement policy. 

Further information

You can go to our Apply to register a residential holiday scheme guide for information on the application process, including the documents that you will need to apply and what to expect at interview.

You can read Reporting changes about a residential holiday scheme to Ofsted to find out more about what to expect when registered, including fee payment and making changes.

If you need help with a query that is not covered in these guides or you do not understand what you need to do in your circumstances, contact us at sc.admin@ofsted.gov.uk.

Legislation

You should also consult:

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