Job Title: Registered Children’s Home Manager

Location: Bicester, Cherwell, Oxfordshire, OX26 (Relocation assistance available)

Salary: £62,000 per annum

Bonus scheme: Performance related bonus available linked to successful registration, compliance, and full occupancy retention.

Job Type: Permanent, Full time

Hours of work: 40 hours per week, flexibility required for evenings and weekends.

Start Date: Subject to satisfactory DBS check

The Client is a newly established children’s home provider with a strong commitment to delivering high-quality, nurturing, and trauma informed care for children and young people with learning disabilities, autism, and associated complex needs. Their vision is to create a safe and stable home where children can thrive, achieve, and feel valued. They are seeking a passionate Registered Children’s Home Manager with a strong background in learning disabilities to lead their first home and play a key role in helping to shape their culture, standards, and future growth. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who has experience of being a home’s manager and is looking for a new challenge with a view to eventually progress to a more senior role within the company. You will lead a holistic, person-centred service that promotes emotional wellbeing, regulation, independence, and positive outcomes for children with learning disabilities. Supporting the delivery of a range of wellbeing, physical, and sensory-based activities tailored to individual needs and preferences

Job Details

Reports to: Responsible individual

The registered manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the children’s home, ensuring highest standards of care, safeguarding, and compliance.

The Client is currently working closely with Delphi Care Solutions who are a care consultancy with expertise in the Ofsted sector. The successful candidate will work together with them, whilst demonstrating commitment to the start up process inclusive of the initial stages, such as developing relevant paperwork for the home and ensuring the setting is fully compliant with regulations. It is essential that the successful candidate has extensive knowledge of the relevant legislations (Children’s Home Regulations 2025 and Quality Standards) and understands what it takes to be compliant with Ofsted. This role requires a deep understanding of Ofsted regulations, excellent communication and analytical skills, and the ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.

In this exciting role, you will be responsible for:

• Supporting the provider to establish a children’s home, lead on the statement of purpose, policies and procedures, recruitment, and be in communication with Ofsted.
• Registering with Ofsted and maintaining full regulatory compliance.
• Managing the home on a day-to-day basis, ensuring it is compliant in meeting all relevant legislative and contractual requirements, including the health and educational needs of children.
• Liaising with other departments and specialist external agencies to ensure that the young people receive appropriate plans, programmes, and support in the home to aid their rehabilitation into the community, and to meet contractual obligations.
• Coaching, supporting and developing staff, including supervision, to maximise their performance and ensure high standards of care, values, ethical standards, equality and diversity, policies and procedures, legislation and contractual and inspection framework requirements are met.
• Assisting in budget preparation and manage and control budgets to meet financial parameters.
• Interpreting and implementing changes in legislation relating to occupancy to ensure any enhanced requirements are met.
• Identifying resourcing needs and the ongoing selection, training and development of staff to ensure service delivery is optimised and relevant standards are met.
• Engendering a positive health and safety culture to meet and maintain company and external accreditation standards.
• Building and creating mutual trust and respect with young people in order that they respond and react appropriately to information and advice.
• Producing, maintaining, and distributing house paperwork to ensure relevant information is recorded accurately and is available.
• Managing the complex behaviours of the children and young people to encompass all physical, psychological, emotional, spiritual, social need of our children and young people.
• Ensuring care is person-centred, communication led, and strengths based.
• Working closely with families, education providers, health professionals and local authorities.
• Overseeing care planning, EHCP-linked outcomes, and individual support strategies.
• Maintain regulatory reporting, including Reg 44/45 and quality assurance, as well as notifications to Ofsted and completing internal audits.
• Managing staffing, rotas, budgets, and resources effectively.
• Working with an on-call rota.

Requirements

About you

You will be an experienced and compassionate leader with specialist knowledge of supporting children with learning disabilities.

The successful candidate will have awareness of how to create policies and procedures, formation of the home’s statement of purpose, workforce development, and business continuity plans. The registered manager must also be fully confident in curating risk assessments and care plans for children and for the home.

Essential Requirements:

• Experience working with children who present with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and learning disabilities (essential).
• Minimum of 3+ years of Registered manager experience (essential).
• Level 5 in leadership and management for residential childcare (essential).
• Level 3 or above in residential childcare diploma (essential)
• Ability to complete Statement of purpose that will meet Ofsted approval.
• Strong understanding of autism, learning disabilities, and complex needs.
• Previous experience of establishing a children’s home from concept to Ofsted approval or initial start from Ofsted approval (Desirable).
• Proven experience of working within a senior leadership role at an SEN educational provision (desirable).
• Knowledge of positive behaviour support, communication strategies (e.g. PECS, Makaton), and sensory informed practice.
• Excellent leadership, organisational, and communication skills.
• In depth knowledge of Ofsted regulations and Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF).
• Previous training in specialised areas (e.g. autism, ADHD, Learning disabilities)
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Proven ability to develop and implement quality improvement initiatives and utilise reflective practice to make positive changes.
• Enhanced DBS registered with the rolling update system (desirable).

Benefits

What we offer

• Progression opportunities within the company
• Competitive salary package and bonus scheme
• Opportunity to shape a specialist LD service from its opening
• Supportive senior leadership and governance
• Ongoing specialist raining and professional development
• A rewarding role making a meaningful difference in children’s lives
• 28 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Access to a workplace pension scheme with employer contributions
• Blue light card discount on various, activities, shops, and restaurants
• Day off on your birthday
• Necessary training and mentoring
• Free parking.
• Meals on shift.