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The crucial role of registered managers

Our Director of Engagement, Georgina Turner, talks about our ‘Managing your service’ campaign and the importance of registered managers in our sector.

Registered managers are central to their organisations. For most care services they act as the glue which binds together almost all areas of the business, playing a crucial role in ensuring delivering great care, supporting staff, managing compliance and a huge variety of other tasks.

According to our most recent data, England’s population aged 65 and above is projected to grow from 10.5 million to 14.5 million between 2020 and 2040. This means that by 2040 the sector may need 540,000 extra new posts (29% growth) to service the increasing need for care services. In addition to this, 31% of workers in registered manager filled posts were aged 55 and over, meaning they will be reaching retirement age in the next 15 years.

What does this mean for our sector? Well, it means that the requirement for care services is going to increase, while a significant portion of the registered managers who support those services are coming towards the end of their careers. It also means that the needs and wants of those being supported are likely to change. This paints a very clear picture of how leaders will need to develop their services to deal with these changes.

The sector as a whole has made some really positive steps towards providing further support for registered managers in the last twelve months. In July 2024, the Workforce Strategy for Adult Social Care was released and contained a variety of important recommendations for the sector. One of these recommendations is establishing a professional body for registered managers with a competency and development framework, something that has the potential to massively increase the recognition of registered managers as professionals within the care space.

Our membership offer for registered managers allows members to become part of a community that helps increase the professional recognition of registered managers and champions the values for delivering compassionate, person-centred care. As a member you will keep up-to-date with sector development and access many benefits including a copy of our social care manager’s handbook which is an essential resource for registered managers. You will have access to the Good and outstanding care guide (Single Assessment Framework) and have the chance to train to become a mentor or receive mentoring.

The Care Workforce Pathway also launched in 2024 and aims to set out the competencies, skills and knowledge required of those working in specific job roles in the sector, mapping them to relevant qualifications and providing a clear path of progression for staff. Stage two of the Pathway will include development of a registered manager role category which will articulate the knowledge, skills and behaviour required for the job. This will provide more clarity around how people can progress into the role.

Our local networks are a great opportunity to come together with peers in the local area to discuss learnings, successes, challenges, and solutions. Feedback about these networks tell us that managers find these peer connections incredibly beneficial in feeling less isolated and in gaining new perspectives and ideas.

‘The care exchange’ podcast is now in its fifth series and is another popular support offer for registered managers. The podcast allows managers to hear from peers about their experiences, which again supports managers to feel part of a wider community and to learn from others.

While all registered managers share similar core responsibilities, the specifics of their roles can vary greatly. No two days are the same, and for managers working in different settings or within organisations of varying sizes, their duties and experiences can look very different. So, we hope that some of the resources highlighted here prove useful and we look forward to sharing a huge variety of other valuable content with you during the course of this campaign.

We’re also continuing to build our range of tools and resources for registered managers. On the ÁÕÀÅÊÓƵ website, we have lots more resources, information and support for registered managers including our regular webinars. We’ll be spotlighting all this information and support throughout the campaign.

Make sure to visit our ‘Managing your service’ campaign landing page or explore our registered manager support page.

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