Like many people who work in children's homes, Craig's route into the profession goes back to his own childhood.
His mother managed a children's home in Ealing while he was growing up, so he saw residential care up close long before he worked in it. He went from volunteering at a local youth centre to managing a community centre in the middle of one of west London's biggest estates when he was 19.
"Our centre was in the heart of the community, right in the middle of the estate, which meant that the people we provided services for, not just the kids, but the families, they all felt like they had a bit of a stake involved."
That experience taught Craig the value of a service that sits inside the community it serves, and the idea has shaped how he approaches residential care.
For more than ten years, Craig was assistant team manager in Sutton's targeted youth support service, working with some of the most vulnerable young people in the borough. He's proud of what the team achieved and has stayed in touch with many of the young people it supported, but for the children most in need he became increasingly aware of the limits of what that model of support could do.
"It very much felt like, particularly for our most vulnerable, where there were high level concerns around the care provided to the children, you were really swimming against the tide."
Moving into residential care changed what he believed was possible, because taking on the daily care of children gave him more time to build relationships and more scope to influence how young people develop.
"In residential, you become the primary caregiver. When you consider the role of children's residential care, we are probably the most important factor in achieving change for our children and their families."
He's also keen to stress the importance of working with family networks, since the influence of good residential practice often reaches the people around a child as well as the child.
"A lot of the work for some of our most successful cases have been with mum, have been with dad, have been with nan, have been with aunts and uncles, people that are important to the children, as well as providing that direct and primary care for the child, where you see that everybody's improved."
Understanding progress
Craig is realistic about how change happens in residential care. It rarely arrives as one dramatic turning point, and he's careful to set expectations accordingly.
"So being clear what progress looks like for children, recognising that that timeline is not always going to be your timeline. It's about how you walk alongside that child, how you utilise the strength of that relationship to help them make long term positive decisions."
He sees resilience and persistence as essential in children's homes, because they sit behind many of the breakthroughs that make the job worth doing.
"You need to be able to find space for when a child is not successful. Like all of us, they'll make mistakes, learn, and keep making mistakes. It's not linear. You've got to be robust enough to make sure they're able to manage those journeys. It's significantly challenging when you're in the midst of it, but I talk really fondly about those moments."
A council that backs its own ideas
Craig has worked for Sutton for more than sixteen years and lives in the borough, where he trains and coaches as a martial artist and is vice chair of a local primary school's academy committee. He sees that closeness to the community as part of the job.
"I think that having a really good understanding of what the resources are available, what the culture is, what the temperature is, what the feel of the environment is, I think that matters. I've got a stake in our service doing really well. I live here. My son goes to school here."
The culture in Sutton's residential service has grown with the service itself, which started with a single home. When the council couldn't find a placement anywhere in the country able to meet one child's needs, it decided to create the right home itself rather than keep searching. That home went on to become one of the first local authority run children's homes of its kind in London.
"It really does speak to the ethos here in Sutton, that we weren't satisfied with what was available so we did it ourselves. There are challenges for every local authority, but we always want to do what's right, for the right reasons."
Craig has also represented staff for ten years as chair of Unison's local government branch in Sutton.
"I've got a long history as a trade unionist. I chair our local government branch. So I'm a big believer in making sure staff get a good and fair deal."
Getting started
For anyone considering residential care, Craig points to bank work as a good way to find out whether the work suits you.
"I think that bank work's a great entry point, where you can pick shifts and get to know the team, get to understand what the culture looks like, get to understand the expectations."
He's clear that the level of regulation sets residential care apart from many other roles with children, and he sees it as a sign of how seriously the work is taken rather than a burden.
"Children's residential homes are inspected annually, which is more than any other area of provision."
Every practitioner has to complete the Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare within two years of starting. Craig would rather new staff treat it as a real chance to develop, working out what they're already good at and where they want to grow, than as something to get out of the way because the regulations require it.
"This is a highly skilled area. I think often the approach to training can be very much about getting it done. If you really engage with the opportunities and how they can develop your practice, you really start to develop those skills."
Keeping what's right for the child at the centre
Craig has spent more than six years building the kind of residential service in Sutton that he believes children deserve, and his new role keeps him working in the same part of London. The authority's child-centred approach is a big part of why the work has stayed rewarding for him as well as challenging.
"My experience of this local authority has been that at the heart of our practice is what's right, what's best for the kids. I can work with that every day."
From youth work to regional leadership
Craig spent the first part of his career managing youth work teams, first in the voluntary sector at Dalgarno Neighbourhood Trust and Coram's Fields, and then in Sutton's targeted youth support service. When he became Registered Manager of Willow Rise in 2020, he moved straight into leading a children's home, and the years he'd spent managing staff and working closely with families carried directly into the role. The service grew from one home to three while he led it, and it is now registered with Ofsted as a single multi-building children's home with a large staff team and a Good rating.
He's now taking on a brand new post as South London Regional Development Manager for Residential with the London Regional Care Cooperative (RCC), on an 18-month secondment. He'll work with partners and local authorities to scope what residential care could look like across the region, starting in South London. Regional development work of this kind is one of the senior leadership routes beyond registered management that our career pathways set out, and Craig comes to it with six years of running homes day to day.
Craig is candid that the sector needs more skilled managers coming through, which is part of why he has always taken the development of his own staff seriously. He's equally clear about what his own post offers the person who steps into it.
"It's a great opportunity for someone to take a high performing service to the next level."
Lead Willow Rise for 18 months
Sutton is recruiting a Registered Manager to lead Willow Rise while Craig is on secondment.
The service provides local placements for up to six children with emotional and behavioural difficulties across three homes in the borough.
You'll need management experience in a children's residential setting, at least two years working in a children's home within the last five, and either a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare or a willingness to complete one, along with a willingness to go through Ofsted registration. The salary is £60,393 to £69,807 a year, including the recently agreed 3.3% pay award, with an unconsolidated maximum of £72,294 available through performance related progression. The package also includes the Local Government Pension Scheme and 26 to 32 days' annual leave plus bank holidays, depending on service and grade.