Children's Home Registered Manager

Registered Manager, Therapeutic Children’s Home (Muswell Hill, North London)

Lead a small therapeutic children’s home in Muswell Hill, North London, established in 2015 and registered for up to five children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Our care is informed by Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP) and PACE, with a dedicated waking night team rather than sleep-ins, and the home has its own registered school on site.

£60,000 to £80,000, depending on experience. Full-time and permanent: Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with management on-call. Experienced interim managers who can commit to at least six months are also welcome.

Closing date: 12.11.26. Interviews: 04.11.26 and 05.11.26, then on a rolling basis. We may appoint before the closing date.

About us

We were founded on a clear belief: children in residential care deserve more than containment, compliance or survival. They deserve relationships that change the direction of their lives, and a way out of the cycle of placement breakdown, criminalisation, homelessness and substance misuse that too often follows care.

We understand behaviour as communication. Many young people in care have learned to survive in a world that has not kept them safe, and are frightened, hyper-vigilant and mistrustful of adults, with good reason. Our response is consistency, empathy and unconditional positive regard, not control, punishment or emotional distance, so that everyday relationships offer the reliability and safety of family. Education is part of this: our school is integrated with the home and built for young people who have been failed by mainstream provision, to help them re-engage with learning and experience success. Therapy is too: in-house therapy is part of our model, and the therapist post is currently vacant. A central aim is for care, education and therapy to work together and support each other, so that every child receives comprehensive care.

This is not easy work. We want people who understand the depth of what is being asked of them, who can sit with distress, stay curious under pressure, and lead with compassion as well as boundaries.

The role

This is a senior leadership appointment with real influence over how the home develops. We are looking for a registered manager who can turn our values into consistent practice. You will not be starting from scratch: core policies and a digital care recording system are already in place, and you will review them and make sure they are used well, shaping the tools you need for your own oversight. Your time goes on leading the home and the quality of its care, not on administration.

Your first responsibility is to make sure every child is safe, settled and making progress. You will:

• set and hold high standards of care with the staff team
• make sure recording and reporting are accurate, timely and of a high standard
• lead the home’s work with local authorities, social workers, CAMHS, the Regulation 44 independent visitor and other professionals
• act as the home’s designated safeguarding lead and promote an open safeguarding culture
• hold oversight of quality and compliance without becoming reactive
• keep standards consistent when you are not in the room
• lead a culture in which children can grow and staff feel valued and supported, with the whole team committed to each child’s progress
• develop and retain a stable staff team and future leaders
• create stability for children through calm, consistent leadership

What we offer

• Reporting to and supervised by the responsible individual
• Systems and administrative support: a systems lead draws up the rotas, runs systems such as ClearCare, and handles pay and annual leave administration
• Tools built around the role to make it manageable: the administration of training, payroll and rotas is largely automated and is not part of your role, and a manager’s dashboard is being introduced that brings the key areas of care into one place, so you can see at a glance what needs your attention. We set the tools up and support you with them; they support your professional judgement rather than replace it
• A supernumerary post: no requirement to work care shifts
• A phased approach: fewer children at first, so the focus can be on the highest quality of care and a strong team culture, building up to fill more places over time. We will explain the full plan at the next stage
• Support with your registration with Ofsted

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