Residential childcare worker jobs and recruitment
Residential childcare workers look after children and young people in children’s homes. The job is part parent, part mentor and part professional: getting young people to school, helping with homework, listening, setting boundaries and keeping them safe.
We recruit residential childcare workers for children’s homes, and check every worker against the children’s barred list or its equivalent before they are introduced or supplied.
Register for residential childcare work Send a residential childcare vacancy
The residential childcare worker role at a glance
- Duties
- Daily care, school runs, meals, activities, keeping young people safe, recording, and working with social workers, schools and families.
- Shifts
- Long days with sleep-ins, or earlies, lates and waking nights.
- Checks
- Enhanced DBS with the children’s barred list in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland, or enhanced AccessNI in Northern Ireland; references from previous work with children.
- Pay basis
- Hourly for temporary cover, with sleep-ins paid as agreed; salaried for permanent posts.
- Qualifications
- A Level 3 residential childcare qualification, or working towards one, with registration where the nation requires it.
What a residential childcare worker does
Most young people in children’s homes have had a hard start in life. The job is to give them the care, routine and stability every child needs, while managing risks such as going missing or being exploited.
Workers write daily records, help young people keep in touch with family where that is safe, and work with social workers, teachers and health professionals. On a sleep-in, you stay overnight and are there if a young person needs you.
Qualifications for residential childcare workers in each nation
Each nation sets its own qualification for work in a children’s home:
- England
- The Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) or an equivalent, within two years of starting in a care role, under regulation 32 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.
- Scotland
- SSSC registration, usually within six months of starting, with the qualification condition for the role.
- Wales
- Social Care Wales registration within six months of starting, and the Level 3 Health and Social Care: Practice (Children and Young People) qualification.
- Northern Ireland
- NISCC registration within six months of starting.
Checks we run for residential childcare workers
Safer recruitment matters more in children’s homes than anywhere else. Before anyone starts in your service, we check:
- identity and right to work in the UK
- an enhanced DBS check with the children’s barred list in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland, or an enhanced AccessNI check with the children’s barred list in Northern Ireland
- references, including from previous work with children, and why each such job ended
- a full employment history with every gap explained in writing
- qualifications, and the date the worker started in a care role, for the English two-year rule
Shifts residential childcare workers usually cover
Many children’s homes work long days followed by a sleep-in, so the same adults are there at bedtime and breakfast. Others use earlies, lates and waking nights.
- Long day to
- Sleep-in to A worker sleeps at the service and gets up if someone needs help. The service sets the hours and says what happens if the night is disturbed.
- Early to or
- Late to
- Waking night or to or
How residential childcare pay is set
Temporary workers are paid by the hour, with any sleep-in payment agreed in advance. Permanent posts are salaried, often with an allowance for sleep-ins.
The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026, according to GOV.UK. For sleep-ins, the minimum wage applies to time spent awake and working.
Where residential childcare workers work
Residential childcare workers work in children’s homes, and some support young people in short-break and disability services.
- Children’s homes Residential homes for children and young people who cannot live with their families.
- Learning disability and autism Support for autistic people and people with a learning disability, in any setting.
- Respite and day services Short breaks for people and their carers, and daytime support and activities.
Questions about residential childcare work
Can I work in a children’s home without the Level 3?
In England you can start without it, but you must gain the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or an equivalent within two years of starting in a care role. Many homes support you through it.
How do sleep-ins work in a children’s home?
You stay overnight in the home, usually in a staff bedroom, and get up if a young person needs you. How it is paid is agreed before you accept the shift.
Register for residential childcare work
Send us your details or phone the office. Tell us about any experience with children or young people.