Next Steps Children's Care Ltd
Deputy Manager
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Deputy Manager Job Specification
Location: Castle Donington, Northwest Leicestershire
Salary: £16.00 per hour | Sleep-In Payment: £55.00 per sleep | Overtime: £18.00 per hour
Reports To: Registered Manager
About Next Steps Children's Care
At Next Steps Children's Care, we believe every child deserves more than just a placement, they deserve a home where they feel safe, understood and valued.
Our first home is a solo stabilisation home, specifically designed to support one child at a time who requires intensive therapeutic intervention following placement instability, trauma or significant emotional and behavioural challenges.
Unlike traditional children's homes, our stabilisation model allows us to provide individualised, relationship-based care, giving children the time, consistency and support they need to build trust, regulate emotions and develop the foundations for long-term success. This includes our clinical psychologist team, who offer direct support to our young people and supervisions with our staff team every 2 weeks.
The home operates with a 2:1 staffing model, alongside a waking night worker and sleep-in support, ensuring children receive consistent, high-quality care throughout the day and night.
Everything we do is underpinned by our H.O.M.E Values:
- H – Healing: Fostering emotional recovery through trauma-informed care, therapeutic interventions, and empathetic relationships.
- O – Opportunity: Providing education, skills, leisure, and growth experiences.
- M – Meaningful Support: Delivering tailored, consistent, child-centred care with high staff ratios.
- E – Empowerment: Building confidence, resilience, independence, and self-advocacy.
We provide stable, nurturing, child-centred care, using high staff ratios and therapeutic approaches, including PACE, to achieve meaningful outcomes for children.
A Home Built Through Lived Experience
Next Steps Children's Care was founded by someone with lived experience of the care system. Having spent many years growing up in residential care, our founder understands first-hand the lasting impact that stable relationships, compassionate adults and feeling genuinely cared for can have on a young person's life.
This experience has shaped every aspect of our service, from the environment we create, to the values we uphold, and the expectations we have of our team.
We're looking for professionals who understand that great residential childcare isn't simply about managing behaviours or completing paperwork, it's about building relationships, restoring trust and helping children believe in themselves again.
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Job Purpose & Key Responsibilities
- The Deputy Manager will work alongside the Registered Manager to provide strong leadership and operational oversight within our solo stabilisation home, ensuring children receive exceptional, therapeutic and trauma-informed care in a safe, nurturing environment.
- This is a hands-on leadership role, balancing direct work with children alongside management responsibilities. The Deputy Manager will lead by example, support and develop the staff team, and help create a culture where children feel safe, valued, respected and empowered to reach their full potential.
- Working closely with the Registered Manager, the Deputy Manager will contribute to the continued development of the home, ensuring high standards of care, safeguarding and regulatory compliance are consistently maintained.
- The role includes a combination of day shifts, sleep-ins and dedicated administration days, allowing time to effectively fulfil management responsibilities while remaining actively involved in supporting the child and leading the team.
The Deputy Manager will be responsible for:
Leadership & Team Development
- Supporting the Registered Manager with the day-to-day leadership and operation of the home.
- Leading shifts and taking responsibility for the home in the Registered Manager's absence.
- Acting as a positive role model and leading by example, promoting professional standards and reflective practice.
- Supporting the recruitment, induction, supervision and ongoing development of Residential Support Workers.
- Promoting a positive, supportive and solution-focused team culture.
Delivering Outstanding Care
- Building meaningful, therapeutic relationships with the child through consistency, trust and compassion.
- Delivering high-quality, trauma-informed care tailored to the child's individual needs.
- Supporting the child to achieve positive outcomes across education, health, emotional wellbeing, independence and social development.
- Promoting positive behaviour support strategies that focus on understanding the reasons behind behaviour rather than simply managing it.
- Ensuring the child's voice, wishes and feelings remain central to all aspects of their care.
Safeguarding & Compliance
- Ensuring safeguarding remains at the heart of all practice.
- Supporting the Registered Manager to maintain full compliance with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Quality Standards and Ofsted requirements.
- Completing audits, monitoring records and maintaining accurate documentation.
- Ensuring risk assessments, care plans and behaviour support plans are regularly reviewed and updated.
- Supporting the home to remain inspection-ready at all times.
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Partnership Working
- Building positive relationships with social workers, placing authorities, education providers, healthcare professionals and families.
- Attending and contributing to professionals' meetings, reviews and planning discussions.
- Advocating for children and ensuring they receive the services and support they require.
Operational Responsibilities
- Supporting rota planning and staffing arrangements.
- Assisting with quality assurance and continuous improvement initiatives.
- Monitoring resources and maintaining a safe, welcoming home environment.
- Completing management administration during dedicated office days.
- Contributing to the ongoing development of policies, procedures and best practice within the organisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications:
- Level 3 in Residential Childcare or Children and Young People’s Workforce (or equivalent)
- Full driving license
Experience:
- Proven experience managing a residential children’s home, ideally with EBD, MH and mild LD children.
- Strong background in safeguarding, child protection, and regulatory compliance.
- Experience leading, mentoring, and developing a small staff team.
- Skilled in supporting children with complex emotional, behavioural, or learning needs.
Skills & Competencies:
- Strong leadership, organisational, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to create a therapeutic, safe, and nurturing environment.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
- Competent in budget management, resource allocation, and operational planning.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, and inspection frameworks.
Personal Attributes:
- Committed to child-centred, trauma-informed practice.
- Professional integrity, resilience, and adaptability.
- Calm and reflective under pressure.
- Solution-focused, flexible, and positive.
Please email CV and application form completed to Recruitment@nextstepschildrenscare.co.uk & cemone@nextstepschildrenscare.co.uk
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