Residential childcare staff for children’s homes
A children’s home looks after children and young people who cannot live with their own families, sometimes for years. The adults on the rota become the people a young person relies on, so consistency matters here more than almost anywhere.
We recruit residential childcare workers, seniors, deputies and registered managers for children’s homes, and check every worker against the children’s barred list or its equivalent before a shift.
What a children’s home does and who regulates it
Children’s homes are registered and inspected by a different body in each nation. In England that is Ofsted, under the Care Standards Act 2000, with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 setting out what homes must do. Staff in a care role in an English children’s home must hold, or gain within two years of starting, the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) or an equivalent.
In Wales, new for-profit providers of children’s homes have not been able to register with Care Inspectorate Wales since 1 April 2026, under the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025.
- England
- Ofsted.
- Scotland
- Care Inspectorate, as a care home service for children and young people.
- Wales
- Care Inspectorate Wales, as a care home service for children.
- Northern Ireland
- RQIA, as a children’s home.
Children’s home cover at a glance
What we usually agree with a children’s home before the first shift.
- Duties
- Day-to-day care of the young people, school runs and activities, keeping them safe, building trust, recording, and working with social workers and families.
- Shifts
- Long days with sleep-ins, or earlies, lates and waking nights, depending on the home.
- 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 in advance. Salaried for permanent posts.
- Qualifications
- England: Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare within two years of starting. Wales: Level 3 Health and Social Care: Practice (Children and Young People) and Social Care Wales registration. Scotland: SSSC registration. Northern Ireland: NISCC registration.
Roles a children’s home usually needs
Residential childcare workers make up most of the team, with seniors and deputies who lead shifts, and a registered manager who answers to the regulator.
- Residential childcare worker Cares for children and young people living in children’s homes.
- Social worker Registered social workers for assessment, care planning and review in social care services.
- Deputy manager Second in charge of a care service, leading the team when the manager is not there.
- Registered manager Runs a care service and is registered with the regulator as the manager responsible for it.
- Kitchen and domestic staff Cooks, kitchen assistants, housekeepers and laundry staff for care homes.
Checks for children’s home staff
Safer recruitment is at the heart of work with children. On top of our standard screening we confirm:
- the children’s barred list, or the adults’ and children’s lists where the home also supports young adults
- the reason the worker left any previous job that involved children or vulnerable adults, as far as we can verify it
- a full employment history, with every gap explained in writing
- the worker’s progress towards the Level 3 qualification for their nation, and the date they started in a care role
Children’s home shift patterns
Many children’s homes work long days followed by a sleep-in, so the same adults put the young people to bed and see them off to school. Others run 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
Temporary cover and permanent hiring for children’s homes
Temporary cover
Tell us about the young people as far as you can share it, and the approach the home uses. We keep the same workers going back to the same home wherever possible, because young people in care have often had too many adults come and go.
Permanent hiring
For permanent posts we look for people who will stay. We ask about their own reasons for the work, their experience of setting boundaries with care, and how they look after themselves after a hard shift.
Questions from children’s home managers
Will your workers have the Level 3 qualification?
Some will have it and some will be working towards it. We record the qualification and the date each worker started in a care role, so you can see whether they are within the two years the English regulations allow.
Do you check why someone left their last children’s home?
Yes. For any past work with children or vulnerable adults, we ask the employer why the job ended and record what they tell us.
Can you send the same workers every weekend?
Where they are available, yes. We plan regular workers for regular gaps so the young people see familiar faces.
Staff for your children’s home
Call to talk about the home and the shifts you need, or send the vacancy in writing.