Training & Recruitment

We are committed to supporting a skilled and resilient workforce in children’s residential care.

In every children’s home or residential child care setting, people – staff and practitioners – not properties – are the real assets to quality care.

At The Children’s Homes Association, a key part of our work supporting members and local authorities is focused on improving sector understanding of the issues affecting recruitment of great staff in children’s homes, and the work that can be done to inspire and enable more great people to enter this rewarding career.

Qualifications

There has long been a need to review and enhance the qualification options available to individuals interested in residential child care roles. We are currently working with members and stakeholders to scope out ways to move forward and ensure that residential child care qualifications are not only robust and effective, but accessible to any individual with a passion and capability to play a transformative role in a child or young person’s life.

One of our partners, Dialogue, will play an important role in this work to inform development of a wider range of qualifications suitable to evidence skills and capabilities in the broad range of individuals that we need to enter, succeed and transform lives in children’s residential care. So that if you care, you can.

Recruitment

As we recover from a pandemic and feel the effects of Brexit, many sectors and industries are experiencing challenges in staff recruitment and retention. Despite this, the residential child care sector has shown incredible resilience throughout the pandemic, working hard to keep services open and avoid disruption for children and young people. Although, without action to strengthen the residential child care workforce, our sector’s ability to provide services that meet children’s needs will be challenged.

At The Children’s Homes Association, a key part of our current work involves drawing attention to this workforce challenge and challenging government and stakeholders to provide the support our sector needs and deserves. Because unlike in other sectors, there has been a long term absence of any government investment in recruitment campaigns to inspire careers in residential child care. The Children’s Homes Association is working with partners and stakeholders to change that. Our members are involved in and will benefit from this work. Join us to find out how your children’s homes organisation can play a part in this vital initiative, and furthermore celebrate the important work we all do.