Personal Care for Children
Care in the child own home, built around their routine and around the family that is already doing most of it.
Help with the parts parents cannot do on their own
Some children need help with washing, dressing, feeding, toileting, moving and medication in ways that go far beyond ordinary parenting, and go on far longer. Parents do almost all of it themselves, usually for years, usually while also working and raising other children.
Personal care for children is support with that. A carer comes to the home at agreed times and helps with whatever has been agreed: the morning routine before school, the evening one, bathing, feeding, positioning, medication, or the full day during school holidays.
The thing that makes children work different from adult work is that we are joining a household rather than supporting an individual. There are siblings. There is a school run. There is a way this family already does things that has been worked out over years and works for them. Our job is to fit into that, not to arrive with a better system.
It is also worth naming what this does for the parents. A shower without listening out. A parents evening for the other child. A full night. Those are not luxuries, they are what makes a family able to keep going.
Children aged nought to eighteen are within the service user bands our CQC registration covers. We were registered on 17 March 2025 and have not yet been inspected.
This is likely right if
- A child needs help with personal care because of illness, disability or complex needs
- Parents are managing everything themselves and it is not sustainable
- Support is needed around school hours or during holidays
- A child is coming home from hospital and needs support while things settle
- Overnight support would let the household actually sleep
Something else may fit better if
- What is needed is a short break rather than ongoing support, where respite fits better
- The need is nursing care requiring a registered nurse
- Support is needed in school, which is arranged through the school and local authority
What support at home involves
Written around one child. The plan names their routine, their preferences and what they can do themselves.
The morning
Washing, dressing, feeding and medication before school, at the pace the child needs rather than the pace the clock wants.
Personal care
Bathing, toileting, continence support and positioning, done in the way the family already does it and with the child privacy respected whatever their age.
Eating and drinking
Preparing food the way the child will actually accept it, support with feeding, and following any specialist dietary or feeding plan exactly.
Medication
Given as prescribed and recorded at the time. Any specific plan, including rescue medication, is written into the care plan.
Play and communication
Support is not only physical. Being with a child properly, using whatever communication they use, is part of the work.
Room for the family
A carer being there is often what lets a parent be a parent to their other children for an hour.
What is included, and what is not
Set out plainly so there is nothing to discover later. Anything not listed here can still be discussed, and often arranged.
Included as standard
- A care plan written with the parents and the child where they can take part
- Carers who are enhanced DBS checked and trained before working alone
- The same small team wherever the rota allows it
- Medication support recorded at the time it is given
- Following existing feeding, positioning and health plans exactly
- Joint working with school, health visitors, therapists and the social worker
- Notes after every visit
Arranged separately
- Nursing tasks requiring a registered nurse
- Support inside school hours, which is arranged through the school
- Therapy, which comes from the therapy team
From first call to first visit
Referrals come from social workers, health teams and local authorities, and directly from parents.
Get in touch
A social worker, a health professional, or a parent ringing us directly. You do not need a professional referral.
Meeting at home
We come to you. We want to see the routine as it actually is, and to meet the child rather than read about them.
A plan you agree
Written down, shown to you, and changed where it is wrong. Parents know things about their child that no assessment finds.
Introductions, then start
Carers are introduced before they work alone with a child. Then an early review while everybody is still settling.
How this is paid for
Support for a disabled child is usually arranged through the local authority children with disabilities team after an assessment, and a family is entitled to ask for one. Some support comes through an Education Health and Care Plan, and some through Continuing Care where the need is primarily a health need.
Direct Payments are widely used for children services and let families choose the provider themselves. If nobody has mentioned a Direct Payment to you, ask about it by name.
Read the full guide to fundingWhat families ask us about this
What ages do you work with?
Nought to eighteen, and up to twenty five where we are supporting a transition into adult services. Children nought to eighteen is one of the service user bands our CQC registration covers.
Will it be the same carers?
The same small team wherever the rota allows. Consistency matters more with children than almost anywhere, because a child should not have to get used to a new adult in their bathroom every week.
Do your staff have enhanced DBS checks?
Yes. Every member of staff working with children has an enhanced DBS check, and everybody completes induction and training before working alone.
Can you support during school holidays?
Yes. Holidays are frequently the hardest period for families, because the structure disappears and the hours multiply. Holiday support is a normal thing to ask us for.
Do I need a social worker to arrange this?
No. We take referrals from local authorities, NHS teams and social workers, and directly from parents. If you do not have a social worker and think you need an assessment, we can tell you who to ring.
Will you follow the plans we already have?
Yes, exactly. Feeding plans, positioning, epilepsy protocols, communication plans. We follow what is already in place rather than substituting our own approach.
Services that often go together
Respite for Families
Planned short breaks so that parents can rest, work, or spend time with their other children.
Read moreLearning Disabilities and Autism Support
One to one and group support for children with learning disabilities and autistic children, built around communication, sensory needs and routine.
Read moreDay Activities for Children and Young People
A structured programme of activities outside school hours and through the holidays, with transport and meals included.
Read moreTell us about your child
A conversation costs nothing. If we are not the right support we will say so and point you towards who is.
Emergency placements are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.