Registered Children's Home Manager - UAS Children's Service

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Kent County Council’s (KCC) Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UAS) Children’s Service provides accommodation and support to newly arrived UAS children in Kent. The Service is developing as a centre of excellence for social work practice nationally and we are seeking passionate individuals to join our service.

Reception Centres are KCC owned, Ofsted regulated, children’s homes and supported accommodation. Our Reception Centres, and the services they provide to children, are run by a diverse team of managers and workers, who are committed to ensuring children are protected and supported to take the first steps in their journey to a more permanent home elsewhere in the UK.

This role is for Olea Grove. Olea Grove is based in the village of Ash, near Canterbury and is named after the Olive Trees of Syria. Olea Grove is a children’s home for UAS children aged under 16-years-old, with a capacity of up to 22 children, and subject to Ofsted regulations for Children’s Homes. Located in a rural setting, the centre offers views of green fields and farmland and a peaceful atmosphere. Olea Grove opened in October 2024 and has rapidly developed into a well-performing children’s home, receiving a Good judgement in its first Ofsted Inspection.  

We are seeking an experienced Registered Children’s Home Manager who are familiar with Ofsted regulation and setting high standards within a children’s home. Applicants need to be adept at running a home and managing a group of staff to enable them to meet the care needs of UAS children. Successful applicants will be passionate and skilled in quality assuring practice whilst able to motivate and inspire staff to provide the best care to UAS children at the start of their resettlement journey.

You will be a champion of social care values, delivering and improving services for children and young people. Your day-to-day support and high-quality supervision will ensure your team can meet complex and changing demands of the service, as well as enable their ongoing development. You should be confident in your ability to lead and develop a team. With an in-depth understanding of safeguarding procedures, legislative frameworks and social work theories relating to child services, you’ll have the expertise needed to contribute to practice and policy development.

What do our Registered Managers have to say?

…Initially, I had reservations and worried, I wouldn’t have the knowledge or skill set but after speaking with the Responsible Individual, I realised this was the exciting challenge I needed. I have not once regretted my decision; I have loved every minute of being part of something new and working in a collaborative team within KCC. Having had our first Ofsted inspection, has only reaffirmed the right decision was made for this stage of my career and I’ve loved nothing more in making sure the children in our care have the best introduction into the UK care system…

…I was intrigued by the position of KCC Registered Manager for a children’s home for UAS children because it is completely different to all previous registered manager positions, I’ve held. It offers a unique opportunity to provide specialised care, supported by a dedicated KCC UAS Children’s Service. It involves working in a fast-paced dynamic environment with a strong emphasis on immediate safety and welfare. The home provides a wonderful opportunity to make a real and immediate difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable children. The positive response from the children makes it all worthwhile. The smiles are infectious!

What did Ofsted have to say?

Staff work tirelessly to help children to have a sense of belonging. Considering the short nature of placement, this is a significant outcome. Children are welcomed equally to the home and the UK at the same time, and staff are highly conscious of how important this is.

Leaders have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve…

…the home has been set up in a way that relies on multi-agency working. Social workers and education leads speak positively of the impact that the care of staff is having on children, in terms of how well they provide care that identifies and meets children’s needs.

This role requires Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) or equivalent.

If you have the skills to oversee and coordinate a high standard of care afforded to UAS children, this is the role for you - please apply.

KCC’s employment offer for this role includes:

Full induction

- Training and development opportunities

- Basic salary of between £52,716 - £60,246

- Market Premiums as follows:

- £4,000 Golden Hello (for external candidates)

- £3,000 Annual Retention Premium (paid in instalments)

- £2,000 Service-Related Premium (paid in instalments)

- Annual leave allowance of 30 days

- Excellent local government pension scheme

- Relocation packages up to £8,000 (subject to eligibility)

- Opportunities to develop in your career

The opportunity to expand and develop your knowledge and skills of working with children seeking asylum

Please note that shortlisting decisions will be based on the whole application, including the ‘How you meet the requirements’ section. Within this section, please demonstrate how you meet the criteria within the person specification attached to the Job Description and why you would like to work with UAS children.

Please Read:

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service.

This role is subject to holding a Full UK Driving Licence – The Council is committed to making reasonable adjustments so whilst this job requires the jobholder to drive your application will still be considered if you are unable to drive due to a disability.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Contact Details

If you have queries regarding this role, please contact the Team on uascsrecruitment@kent.gov.uk

About The Company

Work that works for you and us - let's talk flexibility!

KCC is committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the county's working residents, encouraging applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities, and aspires to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can be themselves at work.

Please note - if you are interested, please apply soon as possible as the closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply.