Our Expertise

Children’s Care and Specialist Education recruitment to place roles supporting children across the UK.

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Fostering

Fostering provides temporary home for children who cannot live with their birth families, offering stability and support.

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Nurseries

Nurseries provide childcare and early education for children aged three months to five years old.

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Residential services

Residential Services provide long-term care in a communal setting.

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Specialist Education

Specialist Education provides students with special educational needs tailored resources and equipment.

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Corporate Services

Children’s Care and specialist education Corporate Services recruitment for providers dedicated to the nurseries and early years, fostering, specialist education and SEND, and children’s residential care markets.

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How much are children’s care and specialist education leaders paid in 2026?

Children’s Care and Specialist Education recruitment at Compass Associates.

The team have dedicated children’s recruitment professionals supporting the Early Years including Nurseries, K12, specialist education, residential children’s services, and fostering sub-sectors, placing talented managers into these businesses. This year the team launched its first salary guide addressing the levels of pay in the children’s care sector for skilled managers across all associated sub-sectors.

If you are considering a move in the space and want to know how much you should be paid or perhaps are looking to recruit talent into your organisation, get the latest salary data by accessing the reports in the links below.

Children’s Care Salary GuideLooking to hire?

Find out how we helped others

A young girl with a ponytail sits at a wooden desk writing or drawing with a blue pen on white paper. The colorful workspace features a desk lamp, pencil holders, and school supplies, with bright green and orange walls creating a cheerful study environment.

Extensive Team-build for Residential Adolescent Clinic

Compass Associates were exclusively mandated for an extensive team-build project for a newly created residential adolescent clinic.

Managing Director of Childcare & Operations – Independent Nursery Group

Compass Associates were exclusively mandated in sourcing a Managing Director of Childcare & Operations for a well-established independent nursery group.

A young blonde child in a colorful striped shirt lies on their stomach, smiling joyfully while playing with an abundance of brightly colored building blocks scattered across the floor in what appears to be a playroom or home setting.

Managing Director of Childcare & Operations – Nurseries

Compass Associates were mandated in sourcing a Managing Director of Childcare & Operations for a well-established independent nursery group.

An amazing company! Chris is fantastic at helping and guiding you to the perfect role, great communication and support through the recruitment process and beyond.

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Barnaby Walker

I cannot recommend Kane at Compass highly enough! From start to finish, the recruitment experience was absolutely seamless.

What stood out most was Kane’s exceptional communication, I was kept in the loop every single step of the way. He took the time to truly understand my requirements and career goals, ensuring that the roles we discussed were a perfect fit for my future.

Throughout the process, Kane provided complete transparency and honesty, which is so rare and refreshing. His guidance and support during the interview prep gave me a massive confidence boost, making a normally stressful situation feel completely manageable.

The level of support I received was unmatched. Thank you, Kane, for making this such a positive and successful experience!

Ultimately, I have been offered my dream job and Kane was fundamental in making that magic happen.

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Hannah Brazier

Had a great experience with Compass through initial contact for a c-suite role in healthcare through to my appointment. I dealt with Tim Fitch who was excellent in terms of negotiating on my behalf and overall communication. I highly recommend Compass Associates.

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Suzanne Corcoran

Good experience with Kane and team at Compass. He was upfront from the start of the process and kept me informed in between interview stages. Found him to be transparent and easy to speak to.

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Knight5121

Tom was fantastic through out my recruitment process as a Service Manager. He was very attentive and supportive. He was very balanced in his reporting process, giving constructive and helpful feedback between me and my employers. He made sure processes were seamless. Tom is brilliant

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Elvis Igiewe

I had such a positive experience working with Tom Fitch from start to finish. He was incredibly proactive, responsive and supportive throughout, and always made me feel kept in the loop. He took the time to understand what I was looking for and was genuinely helpful at every stage. I would happily recommend both Tom and the agency.

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Julie Walker