England to lower Ofsted fee thresholds from 1 April 2026

If you run a children’s home, a residential special school or a residential college in England, your Ofsted annual fee band is about to shift. New regulations-formally the Registration and Inspection of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Fees) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026-were made on Monday 23 February, laid before Parliament on Tuesday 25 February, and come into force on Wednesday 1 April 2026. They amend the 2015 Fees and Frequency of Inspections Regulations and apply in England only, even though the instrument extends to England and Wales.

The headline change is to the approved‑places thresholds that trigger higher annual fees. For residential colleges, the “higher fee” bracket moves from 4–10 approved places to 4–8. For residential special schools, it moves from 4–9 to 4–6. For children’s homes, it moves from 4–11 to 4–8. In plain English: the point at which you step into a higher annual fee now arrives earlier, so more smaller settings will be affected from April.

Approved places means the maximum number on your Ofsted registration, not a headcount on any given day. What this means for you: a residential college registered for nine or ten places will now sit above the 4–8 bracket and fall into the band above; a residential special school registered for seven to nine places also moves into a higher band than before; and a children’s home with nine to eleven places will now be in that higher band too. If you’re at eight places, you are now at the top of the mid band for homes and colleges.

For those who like the legal wording, the changes sit in regulation 19 for boarding schools, residential colleges and residential special schools, and in regulation 23 for children’s homes. The 2026 instrument substitutes “10” with “8” for the relevant residential college bracket, replaces “9” with “6” for residential special schools, and lowers the children’s homes threshold from “11” to “8”. An Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside the statutory instrument on legislation.gov.uk to walk readers through the detail.

The Schedule to the 2026 regulations also updates the sterling amounts payable across Parts 2, 3 and 4 of the 2015 Regulations. Government fee tables on GOV.UK will reflect the new figures once the law takes effect. Since 2024 the Department for Education has been moving providers closer to full cost recovery for Ofsted’s regulation and inspection work, so it’s sensible to assume figures will be higher than last year once published.

Let’s put this into everyday scenarios. A children’s home registered for eight places remains within the mid bracket, but a ninth place from April pushes it into the band above. A residential special school registered for six places stays within the revised 4–6 bracket; moving to seven places would shift it into the higher band that previously began at ten. For residential colleges, nine or ten places now land you in the band above the former 4–10 bracket.

The timeline is tight. Made on 23 February 2026, laid on 25 February 2026, and live from 1 April 2026, there’s just a few weeks to prepare. The instrument is signed by Josh MacAlister, Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State at the Department for Education. If you’re budgeting on an academic year, remember these are legal changes from April, mid‑financial year.

Our learning tip if you manage a setting: check your Ofsted certificate today to confirm your approved places, and make sure any planned variations are intentional given the new bands. Then speak with your finance lead or trust board about 2026–27 budgets and build a small contingency while the updated fee tables are uploaded to GOV.UK.

For students and early‑career educators following how law is made, this is secondary legislation-a statutory instrument that amends existing rules rather than creating a whole new Act. The Department for Education states no full impact assessment has been produced because no significant effect is foreseen on the private, voluntary or public sector. In practice, settings near the new thresholds will notice the difference most from April.