National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes

1.	Planning for care
2.	Quality of care
3.	Complaints and protection
4.	Care and control
5.	The home itself
6.	Staff and visitors
7.	Secure children's homes

5. The home itself.

Location and design of the home. Homes that care for children with a disability should have any aids or adaptations needed to care for those children properly. Children with a disability should have access to all parts of the building to which other children have.

The building should be decorated, furnished and maintained to a high standard. This includes gardens and outside spaces, which should be well looked after and safe. Children should have some say in how the home is decorated.

Each child should have their own room or if sharing a double room, their own space in that room. As well as a bed, bedding and somewhere to store clothes, there should be somewhere safe for them to store their personal possessions. Children should be encouraged to make the room their own, with their personal things.

There should be a phone for the children to use, placed somewhere that offers that right level of privacy for personal calls.

There should be at least one toilet for every four children. A toilet in a bathroom should not be the only toilet in the house. Staff should be able to open doors from the outside in case of an emergency.