Ofsted has secured the first successful prosecution of an unregistered children’s home provider, with Catalyst Care Limited and its directors fined £92,400 for operating three illegal homes in Kent between October 2022 and April 2025. The company and its directors, Davidson Lynch-Shyllon and Miriam Ekathor, pleaded guilty to managing unregistered homes that accommodated nine children. They were also ordered to pay £2,960 in victim surcharges and £17,250 in costs. Lynch-Shyllon and Ekathor were disqualified from managing children’s homes. Ofsted emphasized that unregistered providers operate without regulatory oversight, endangering vulnerable children. The case marks a milestone in efforts to combat illegal homes, following hundreds of prior warnings. Ofsted now has new powers under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act to impose fines and expand its Unregistered Social Care team to investigate and prosecute such providers.
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