Job Overview
We are seeking a dedicated and compassionate Registered Children’s Home Manager to lead the development, registration and day-to-day operation of the children’s home, ensuring that children receive safe, nurturing, trauma-informed and high-quality care. The Registered Manager will provide strong operational and professional leadership, promote positive outcomes for children and ensure compliance with the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, the Quality Standards and all other applicable requirements.
The postholder will be in full-time, day-to-day charge of the home and will work closely with the Responsible Individual, placing authorities, families and partner agencies. The manager must ensure that the home operates consistently with its Statement of Purpose and within the conditions of its Ofsted registration.
Appointment status: The successful candidate will initially be appointed as the proposed Registered Manager. Continued appointment is conditional on satisfactory safer-recruitment checks and successful registration by Ofsted for this specific home and provider.
1. Registration and regulatory compliance
· Lead and support the home’s Ofsted registration process, including completion of the SC2 application, preparation for registration interviews and readiness visits.
· Maintain a detailed working knowledge of the Children’s Homes Regulations, Quality Standards, Ofsted guidance and the Social Care Common Inspection Framework.
· Ensure the home operates within its Statement of Purpose, registration conditions, planning approval and organisational policies.
· Make timely notifications to Ofsted and other authorities when required, maintaining an effective regulatory compliance calendar.
· Maintain evidence demonstrating compliance, impact and continuous improvement.
2. Leadership and quality of care
· Provide visible, values-led leadership and establish a warm, stable and child-centred culture.
· Translate the Statement of Purpose into safe, consistent practice and ensure care is individualised to each child.
· Promote children’s rights, wishes, feelings, identity, culture, faith, relationships, education, health and preparation for adulthood.
· Ensure children are supported to build trusted relationships and experience a genuine sense of belonging.
· Lead service improvement activity and respond promptly to findings from inspections, Regulation 44 visits, Regulation 45 reviews, complaints, audits and feedback.
3. Safeguarding and risk management
· Act as the operational safeguarding lead for the home and ensure concerns are recognised, reported and managed without delay.
· Maintain robust arrangements for allegations against staff, missing-from-care incidents, exploitation, self-harm, online safety, medication, substance misuse and other relevant risks.
· Ensure risk assessments and behaviour support plans are proportionate, current and understood by staff.
· Promote positive behaviour support and ensure any use of restraint is lawful, necessary, proportionate, recorded, reviewed and followed by appropriate debriefing.
· Work effectively with the local authority, police, LADO, health, education and other safeguarding partners.
4. Placement matching and children’s outcomes
· Lead pre-admission assessment and placement-matching decisions, ensuring the home can safely meet each child’s needs and considering the impact on children already living at the home.
· Ensure care plans, placement plans, risk assessments and delegated authority arrangements are current and implemented.
· Monitor children’s progress and use evidence to improve education, health, relationships, safety, emotional wellbeing and independence outcomes.
· Ensure children have access to advocacy, complaints processes and meaningful participation in decisions about their lives and the running of the home.
5. Workforce leadership and safer recruitment
· Recruit, induct, supervise, develop and retain a sufficient, competent and diverse workforce.
· Ensure safer-recruitment requirements are met, including identity, right-to-work, DBS, barred-list, qualification, employment-history and reference checks.
· Maintain safe staffing levels and rotas that reflect occupancy, children’s needs, staff competence and contingency arrangements.
· Provide regular reflective supervision, performance management, team meetings, practice observation and annual appraisal.
· Maintain a workforce development plan and ensure staff complete mandatory and needs-led training.
· Address poor practice, capability, conduct and safeguarding concerns promptly and fairly.
6. Governance, monitoring and records
· Maintain accurate, secure and child-centred records in accordance with legal and organisational requirements.
· Ensure Regulation 44 independent visits are facilitated and recommendations are addressed.
· Complete Regulation 45 quality-of-care reviews and reports within required timescales.
· Analyse incidents, restraints, missing episodes, complaints, safeguarding concerns, staff turnover and other quality indicators to identify themes and learning.
· Provide regular performance and assurance reports to the Responsible Individual and registered provider.
7. Financial and resource management
· Manage the home’s delegated budget responsibly and transparently.
· Monitor staffing, agency, household and maintenance expenditure while ensuring children’s needs remain central.
· Maintain appropriate purchasing, petty-cash and financial-control records.
· Support sustainable occupancy and commissioning relationships without compromising safe placement matching.
· Ensure the premises, vehicles, equipment and resources are safe, well maintained and suitable.
8. Partnership and representation
· Develop constructive relationships with children, families, social workers, commissioners, schools, health professionals, police and community partners.
· Represent the home professionally at reviews, strategy meetings, planning meetings and other multi-agency forums.
· Respond appropriately to enquiries, concerns and complaints, ensuring learning is captured.
· Promote the reputation of the home through ethical, transparent and child-focused practice.
9. Health, safety and emergency preparedness
· Ensure compliance with fire safety, health and safety, food safety, medication, infection control and environmental requirements.
· Maintain effective emergency, evacuation, business-continuity and out-of-hours arrangements.
· Participate in the management on-call rota and provide leadership during significant incidents.
General requirements
· Maintain confidentiality and comply with data-protection requirements.
· Promote equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-discriminatory practice.
· Undertake continuous professional development and remain fit to manage the home.
· Comply with lawful and reasonable directions from the Responsible Individual and registered provider.
· Undertake other duties reasonably consistent with the seniority and purpose of the role.
Pay: £48,000.00-£55,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
