Understanding Children’s Home Referrals, Matching & How to Build Your Placement Pipeline

You’ve registered as a children’s home provider — you’ve invested, prepared, and built a safe environment. Now the next challenge begins: referrals. For every new provider, this stage raises the same questions:

• How long should I expect to be unoccupied?
• Why am I empty when unregulated placements are at an all-time high?
• Why am I being priced out of referrals when other providers seem to secure higher-paying placements?
• Is there something I should be doing that I’m not?

Referrals and occupancy can feel unpredictable from the outside. In reality, they follow a structured but complex system built around matching, capacity, risk, and local authority priorities. Understanding how referrals truly work — and how to position your home to receive them — is essential.

This guide explains the logic behind children’s placements, the challenges new providers face, and how to build a sustainable, credible, and effective referral pipeline.

🧩 Matching: The Core of Every Placement Decision

Despite high demand nationally, placements aren’t assigned simply based on availability. They follow a strict matching process, designed to protect children and reduce the risk of placement breakdown.

Local authorities look at:

• The child’s needs – emotional, behavioural, social, and medical
• Education requirements – proximity to school and maintaining routine
• Existing relationships – whether the child can maintain family time or sibling contact
• Compatibility with any children already in your home
• Staffing capacity – can your team meet the required level of supervision?
• Support packages – such as 2:1 staffing, therapy input, and specialist expertise

Even if your home is excellent, you might not be the right match for the child currently being referred.

Matching is not personal; it is a risk-based decision.

⏳ How Long Should You Expect to Be Unoccupied?

This varies widely depending on:

• The age range you register for
• The complexity of the needs you accept
• Location and transport links
• Your reputation and track record
• Your operational readiness
• Your ability to take emergency placements (if appropriate)

Some homes secure placements within weeks. For others, especially new providers, three to six months of unoccupancy is not unusual.

This is where strategy matters — new providers often underestimate the importance of:

• Referral positioning
• Relationship building
• Clear specialism
• Operational confidence
• Evidence-based matching responses

Having a strong Responsible Individual helps, but strategic referral management is a business function, not something to leave solely to an RM.

💷 Why Are Other Providers Getting Higher Fees?

Local authorities are under significant pressure to reduce placement costs. This affects:

• What they offer
• Who they approach
• Which providers they already trust

Established providers with a strong track record can command higher fees because they have:

• Proven outcomes
• Documented stability
• Reliable staffing
• Longstanding relationships

New providers must build this credibility from scratch. Competing on price is not a smart long-term strategy — providers that succeed focus on specialism, quality, and relationship building, not discounting.

🚨 Why Am I Empty When Unregulated Services Are Full?

Because regulated children’s homes follow strict matching rules that unregulated providers are not legally accountable for. A child who is placed temporarily in unregulated accommodation may not be suitable for a children’s home environment.

In many cases:

• Needs are too high or unsafe for a solo or small home
• Staffing requirements exceed the home’s capacity
• Location is inappropriate
• Compatibility is unviable
• The child requires transitional, emergency or specialist support first

Regulated placements prioritise stability and suitability, not speed.

🗂️ How Local Authorities Place Children — What New Providers Need to Know

Every local authority follows its own internal process, but the general pattern looks like this:

1. Local placement first

The child’s own local authority will try to place them within their area.

2. Nearby authorities

If unsuccessful, they will extend the search to neighbouring boroughs or counties.

3. Regional search

A wider regional search follows.

4. National placement search

As a final step, the search goes national.

How you hear about referrals:

• Through referral portals many LAs now use
• Direct emails from placements teams
• Phone calls, especially once relationships form
• Social workers directly approaching trusted providers

A good consultant ensures you are registered on all relevant portals and consistently responding — even if it’s a polite decline — because visibility and responsiveness matter.

🔍 Why Your Referral Responses Matter More Than You Think

Local authorities watch for:

• Speed of response
• Professional presentation
• Clear risk assessment
• Evidence-based matching statements
• Clarity around your team’s capability and capacity

A strong matching response signals:

• You understand the child’s needs
• You understand your home’s remit
• You can deliver stability
• You are safe and competent

Weak responses — or none at all — lower your visibility and credibility.

⭐ How to Stand Out as a New Children’s Home Provider

It is challenging for new providers, but not impossible. The strongest outcomes come from:

1. Start small and stay focused

Register for what you can confidently deliver.
Broad statements like “we can take any child aged 8–17” raise concerns.

2. Build a clear specialism

Examples:

• Trauma-informed solo placements
• ASD
• CSE/CCE risk management
• Emotional and behavioural regulation
• Stability-based re-integration

3. Maintain excellent relationships

Placement teams remember providers who are:

• Responsive
• Professional
• Honest
• Evidence-led
• Consistent

4. Deliver quality care

Your first placements build your entire reputation. A positive outcome speaks louder than any marketing strategy.

5. Have a structured approach

A strong RM is helpful — but your business needs a structured referral strategy, not just operational confidence.

This is where new providers often struggle without support.

How Outsource 24 Supports New Providers

Outsource 24 helps you shape a strategic, professional approach to referrals, matching, and occupancy:

• Guidance on age ranges, registration type, and specialist provision
• Support to understand your ideal matching profile and avoid unsuitable referrals
• Ensuring you are registered on all relevant referral portals
• Refining your matching responses, making them safer and evidence-based
• Developing your referral process, scripts, templates, and workflows
• Helping you build relationships with local authorities
• Service optimisation to increase confidence and capability
• Guidance on fee setting and negotiation
• Recruitment and compliance support to ensure you are always inspection-ready

We help you become the provider that social workers and placements teams trust — even in your first year.

Final Thought: Referrals Are a Strategy, Not a Waiting Game

Many new providers believe that once they’re registered, referrals will simply appear. The truth is:

Occupancy is built.
Reputation is earned.
Matching is strategic.

With the right support, structure, and approach, you can become a provider that local authorities return to consistently.

Outsource 24 is here to help you get there.