All 19 children's residential care agencies
One brand per group per ranking: where sister brands from one group both work in social care, only the higher-ranked brand is listed. Missing an agency? Suggest it.
Agencies ranked here include Spencer Clarke Group, Compass Associates and Cucumber Recruitment. We assessed all 19 with one method, from official registers, public sector framework supplier lists, company filings and each agency's own website. Rankings are free and no agency can pay to rank. How we rank · Overall ranking.
- 47% are on at least one public sector staffing framework
- Half have traded for at least 13 years
- 15 (79%) have open jobs on our site, and 13 of those show pay on most of them
About these children's residential care agencies in the UK
19 of the 224 social care agencies we rank (8%) recruit for children's residential care.
9 of these agencies (47%) are on at least one public sector staffing framework, fewer than the 63% across all social care agencies. The most common are Crown Commercial Service RM6281 (6) and HealthTrust Europe TWS3 (6).
The median agency here has traded for 13.0 years. 15 (79%) have open jobs on our site, and 13 of those show pay on most of them.
The settings they most often supply are supported living, care homes and NHS hospitals. 15 (79%) recruit for permanent roles as well as temporary or locum cover. Many also recruit for support work (learning disability, autism, mental health), registered managers and care coordinators and residential and nursing home care.
Further down the list, the longest-established is Only Social Care Recruitment, trading for 20 years. Only Social Care Recruitment has the most open jobs on our site (331).
At the top:
- Spencer Clarke Group: on 2 confirmed frameworks, trading 9 years.
- Compass Associates: trading 16 years, 124 open jobs on our site.
- Cucumber Recruitment: on 1 confirmed framework, trading 8 years.
- Belmont Recruitment: on 2 confirmed frameworks, trading 10 years.
- Medsolve: on 2 confirmed frameworks, trading 11 years.
- Only Social Care Recruitment: trading 20 years, 331 open jobs on our site.
- Total Care Recruitment: on 1 confirmed framework, trading 9 years.
- Supply Care Solutions: on 2 confirmed frameworks, trading 13 years.
- Moon Rise 24 HR Recruitment: on 1 confirmed framework, trading 12 years.
- Tezlom: on 1 confirmed framework, trading 18 years.
Figures are from our latest checks of each agency's website, Companies House and public sector framework lists. How we rank.
Questions
How are these children's residential care agencies ranked?
Every agency is assessed with the same method, at the same time, from evidence we can check: official registers, public sector framework supplier lists, company filings and what each agency publishes about itself. Rather than a position for every agency, we show tiers (Top 10, 25 and 50), because small differences in the middle of a ranking aren't meaningful. No agency can pay to be listed, to rank higher or to change a result.
What makes a good children's residential care agency?
Look for one that is on a public sector staffing framework, has a trading record, shows pay on its adverts and is clear about training, the checks you'll need before you start and when you'll be paid. Each agency's page here shows its frameworks, how long it has traded and its live jobs. Then talk to people who work through it.
What is a public sector staffing framework?
An approved supplier list that public sector buyers, such as NHS trusts, health boards and councils, use to book agency staff. To get on one, an agency has to meet the framework's standards on vetting, compliance and rates. Frameworks cover public sector bookings; an agency that supplies care homes, GP practices or private hospitals doesn't need one for that work. Each agency's page lists the frameworks it is on.