Why your Ofsted Registration Application is Taking Longer Than Usual.
If you’ve sent off an application to register a children’s home, supported accommodation or an early-years setting, you might be staring at your inbox thinking, Is it supposed to take this long? You’re not imagining it. Ofsted has openly said that delays are becoming more common, and there are a few reasons why things may be moving slower than you expected.
What’s causing the delays?
One of the clearest issues — and Ofsted says this themselves — is volume. Applications for children’s homes have almost doubled in a year, and supported-accommodation applications have shot past 1,600, which is far higher than the regulator anticipated.
Another factor that keeps cropping up is the suitability of what’s being proposed. A noticeable chunk of applications suggest opening homes in areas that don’t match local authority needs, or they’ve been developed with little contact with commissioners. When this happens, the regulator has to spend more time probing the proposal, which slows the whole queue. Ofsted is pretty direct about this: applications aligned with real local demand tend to move faster.
Early-years applicants face a slightly different set of hurdles. Ofsted’s guidance repeatedly mentions simple but time-consuming issues like incorrect forms, missing information, or DBS and health checks that arrive late. These small oversights can easily add weeks.
So while it’s tempting to blame the delays on backlog alone, the picture is a bit more layered. High volume plays a part, yes, but the detail and clarity of each application matter just as much.
What you can do to speed things up.
A few practical things genuinely make a difference:
- Sort your paperwork early. For early-years registration, Ofsted encourages sending in DBS checks, qualifications, health declarations and anything else required right at the start.
- Use the right form and fill it in fully. It sounds basic, but incorrect or incomplete forms are one of the most common reasons applications are sent back.
- Show clear evidence of local need. For children’s homes or supported accommodation, demonstrating a real link to commissioning priorities — ideally backed by conversations with the local authority — tends to strengthen your application and reduce back-and-forth.
- Prepare for a long wait. Ofsted has said some decisions now take “several months… far beyond our usual timescales,” so planning your timeline conservatively may save a lot of stress later on.
- Reply quickly to queries. Any request for extra information or a site visit is time-sensitive. A slow response on your end can turn a bad delay into a very long one.
Why it matters.
Delays don’t just test your patience — they affect staffing plans, budgets, property arrangements and sometimes your credibility with investors or partners. Understanding why things are slow helps set expectations internally and keeps everyone grounded.
It also highlights something important: when an application is well-prepared, aligned with local need and clearly thought through, it tends to move more smoothly. A tidy application isn’t everything… but it certainly helps your service start off on the right foot.
Ready to strengthen your registration strategy?
At AHLC, we support providers through the entire registration process — from preparing documents to shaping the service model so it aligns with commissioning priorities and regulatory expectations. If your application is dragging on longer than you hoped, or you want to avoid delays before you even submit, we can help.
Contact AHLC today to make sure your application is as clear, strong and efficient as possible — and to build a service model that stands up to scrutiny from day one.
