​Uniform Education Expands into Children’s Residential Care Across London & the Home Counties

Uniform Education is expanding into the children’s residential care sector, partnering with a new client operating 15 children’s homes across London and the Home Counties.

Having spent more than a decade recruiting professionals to support children and young people across schools, SEND settings, alternative provision and specialist education, this is a natural extension of the work we already do.

Our new partnership will see Uniform recruit across a growing network of residential children’s homes, supporting services caring for children and young people with a range of complex needs, including Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), SEMH, challenging behaviour and young people requiring higher levels of individual support.

Some of the immediate opportunities include brand-new Emergency Same Day Placement homes in Croydon and Sutton, supporting young people who need an immediate safe and supportive placement. Some placements may require enhanced staffing levels of up to 3:1.

Current Children’s Home Vacancies

We are currently recruiting experienced professionals at all levels, including:

Registered Children’s Home Managers

We have opportunities for experienced Ofsted Registered Managers to lead children's residential services across London and the Home Counties.

Current opportunities include new homes in Croydon and Sutton, with responsibilities including:

• Overall leadership and management of the home

• Recruiting, supervising and developing residential care teams

• Maintaining excellent safeguarding standards

• Overseeing care plans, placement plans and risk assessments

• Managing EBD and challenging behaviour

• Working closely with social workers, local authorities and families

• Ensuring compliance with Ofsted requirements and children's home regulations

• Managing emergency and same-day placements

• Leading on quality of care and outcomes for young people

Our current Registered Manager opportunities require substantial children's residential experience and a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare, or an appropriate equivalent qualification.

Deputy Children’s Home Managers

We are also recruiting Deputy Managers to work closely with Registered Managers and provide strong operational leadership within residential homes.

Typical responsibilities include:

• Supporting the day-to-day management of the home

• Supervising Residential Support Workers

• Deputising for the Registered Manager

• Supporting safeguarding and incident management

• Maintaining care plans and risk assessments

• Supporting young people experiencing emotional dysregulation

• Helping staff implement effective behaviour-management and de-escalation strategies

• Participating in management on-call arrangements

Candidates should have strong residential childcare experience and ideally hold, or be working towards, a Level 3 or Level 4 qualification in Children's Residential Care.

Residential Support Worker Jobs

A major part of our expansion will be recruiting high-quality Residential Support Workers to work directly with children and young people.

Residential Support Workers can make an enormous difference to a young person's life. The role is far more than simply supervising a residential setting; it is about providing stability, encouragement, boundaries and positive relationships.

Typical duties can include:

• Providing day-to-day care and emotional support

• Building positive and professional relationships with young people

• Supporting routines, education and independence

• Helping young people regulate their emotions

• Supporting young people displaying challenging behaviour

• Using appropriate de-escalation strategies

• Supporting appointments and community activities

• Maintaining accurate daily records

• Following individual care and placement plans

• Completing safeguarding and incident reports

• Working with social workers, schools, families and external professionals

• Supporting young people during evenings, weekends and overnight shifts

• Maintaining a safe, nurturing and consistent home environment

What Qualifications Do Residential Support Workers Need?

We are interested in hearing from both experienced residential childcare professionals and strong candidates looking to develop their career within children's residential care.

Depending on the individual home and vacancy, employers will commonly look for:

• Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or equivalent

• Candidates willing to complete the Level 3 qualification where appropriate

• Children's residential care experience

• Experience supporting children with EBD, SEMH or challenging behaviour

• Strong safeguarding knowledge

• Behaviour-management and de-escalation experience

• Understanding of professional boundaries

• Good written communication and record-keeping skills

• The ability to work confidently as part of a multidisciplinary team

• Flexibility to work shifts, evenings, weekends or nights where required

Additional training such as First Aid, safeguarding, medication awareness, behaviour management, physical intervention and trauma-informed practice can also be highly beneficial.

Senior Residential Support Workers & Team Leaders

For experienced support workers ready to progress, we will also be recruiting Senior Residential Support Workers and Team Leaders.

These positions typically combine direct work with young people with additional responsibilities such as:

• Leading shifts

• Supporting and mentoring junior staff

• Reviewing records and handovers

• Supporting care planning

• Managing incidents

• Maintaining safeguarding standards

• Liaising with management and external professionals

• Ensuring consistency across the staff team

Candidates will normally need significant children's residential experience and an appropriate Level 3 qualification.

Waking Night Residential Support Workers

Children's homes also require reliable Waking Night Support Workers to ensure children and young people remain safe and appropriately supported throughout the night.

These roles require individuals who are calm, observant and able to respond professionally to incidents or safeguarding concerns while maintaining detailed records and effective handovers to the daytime team.

Why Uniform Education?

Since 2015, Uniform Education has specialised in recruiting people whose work directly impacts the lives of children and young people.

Our background across SEND, SEMH, alternative provision, behaviour support, outreach tuition and specialist education means we understand that children's services require more than simply matching a CV to a vacancy.

The right person needs the correct experience, temperament, safeguarding knowledge and commitment to the young people they support.

Moving into children's residential care allows us to apply the same recruitment standards to an area where attracting and retaining exceptional people is absolutely critical.

Our new partnership covering 15 homes across London and the Home Counties represents the beginning of a significant new area of recruitment for Uniform.

We Want to Hear From You

We are currently interested in speaking with:

• Registered Children's Home Managers

• Deputy Managers

• Children's Home Team Leaders

• Senior Residential Support Workers

• Residential Support Workers

• Waking Night Support Workers

• EBD Support Workers

• SEMH Support Workers

• Behaviour Support Workers

• Children's Residential Care Practitioners

Whether you are an experienced Registered Manager looking for your next home to lead, an established Residential Support Worker looking to progress, or an experienced children's professional interested in moving into residential care, Uniform Education would love to hear from you.

Looking for Children's Home Jobs in London or the Home Counties?

Send your CV to lauram@uniformeducation.co.uk and tell us what type of children's residential role, location and working pattern you are looking for.

Uniform Education – Recruitment to Shape Future Generations.