Children's Home run by Evolve Therapeutic Residential Services Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 1 Registered provider: Evolve Therapeutic Residential Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns and manages this home. It provides care for up to four children who have difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since February 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in October 2024. This is the home’s first inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 2 Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 3

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improvement to be good

Support is not being provided to children in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This is especially noticeable regarding the therapeutic model the home reports to endorse. Although staff have received training in therapeutic approaches, this training has not effectively influenced the care provided to the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always maintained clear boundaries. Some partnering professionals have expressed concern about staff ‘placating’ children. While this issue seems to have improved since the new manager has been in post, the children, staff and external professionals all share a similar account regarding the lack of rules in place before this time. One child said: ‘There were no rules, but there are now. I even asked for rules.’

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improvement to be good

Moves in and on from the home are not well considered. Although some thought is given to the needs of the children before they move into the home, the manager does not consider whether the staff have the knowledge and skills needed to sufficiently support the children. Since the home opened, one child has left the home, a decision influenced by the current instability at the home and recognition by the new management team that staff were not equipped to meet the child’s needs. This resulted in a further move for a child who had already experienced multiple moves.

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improvement to be good

Recent progress has been made in enhancing the children’s participation. This improvement includes the introduction of weekly children’s meetings, where the children are encouraged to share their ideas for meal and activity planning. Additionally, the manager and responsible individual are looking into ways to involve the children in the recruitment of new staff. However, this has yet to be put into practice.

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improvement to be good

Children say they have positive relationships with staff and feel understood and valued. They feel comfortable approaching staff with any concerns, confident that their well- being is prioritised and that their opinions are respected.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress from their starting points, particularly in education. Initially, neither of the children were accessing education when they first moved to the home. However, both the children are now enrolled in specialist education services and are engaging in tuition.

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improvement to be good

Children attend a range of activities in the community, such as trampolining, go-karting and bike rides with staff. The children are encouraged to stay active, and the new manager has been proactive in implementing more structure to the children’s days. Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 4

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improvement to be good

Not all staff have sufficient understanding of the children’s backgrounds. Staff said that before the new manager started, they did not see admission paperwork or risk assessments for the children. As a result, staff had initially been unclear on the agreed strategies to both support the children and reduce risk. The children now have individualised risk assessments in place, which staff have been encouraged to review and keep in mind in the care they provide.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not manage safeguarding incidents well. There have been occasions when staff have not had the guidance needed to support them when managing a crisis. Although some professionals raised concern as to how situations have been managed by staff in the past, they have not questioned the staff’s ability to keep the children safe, a view that the children also share.

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improvement to be good

Management oversight of physical intervention does not always identify ineffective practice. This led to lessons going unlearned, such as staff not ensuring medical attention or supportive discussions being provided to the children following a physical intervention. Although physical interventions have been safely undertaken by trained staff, and have been proportionate, some could have been avoided through a better understanding of the child’s needs and earlier attempts to de-escalate situations.

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improvement to be good

Information shared by a child’s social worker indicated that a child who has moved on from the home made two allegations against staff while living there. Although the social worker was confident that neither had been substantiated, there was no record of these allegations, or a rationale as to why they were not investigated. In addition, neither the local authority designated officer nor Ofsted had been notified of any allegation made.

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improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home. The children say they are happy where they live. One child who has a history of being missing from home said they had not gone missing as they wanted to remain living there. Despite this not being a current issue, staff are still mindful of the possibility of the children going missing and are clear on actions to take should this happen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a change in manager and responsible individual since the home began operating in October 2024. Both the previous registered manager and responsible individual left in short succession. The home has been without a registered manager since 12 February 2025. A new manager has since been employed by the organisation but has yet to make an application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In addition to the change in management, there has also been significant change in the staff team. This instability has caused a lack of continuity in the support provided to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 5 Management monitoring and scrutiny of the home have been ineffective. This means managers have not identified and addressed shortfalls in a timely manner. The members of the senior management team recognise the areas for improvement and are addressing these. To support this, they have commissioned an independent review to look at what lessons can be learned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff’s work with professionals is poor. External professionals have regular communication with the staff. However, one professional is doubtful of the reliability of the information provided. While they recognised the accountability and improvements made since the change in management, they nevertheless expressed disappointment regarding the effect this had for one child and the time it took for concerns to be identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some staff had no previous experience of working in a residential setting. Managers have not recognised this and have not provided a comprehensive induction. In addition, supervision has not been consistently provided to staff in line with the home’s policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff repeatedly detail a ‘before and after’ period when describing their experience of management support. Although staff now feel well supported, they say that this has not always been the case. The lack of guidance available to staff before the new manager’s appointment had a negative effect on staff confidence in managing situations, which ultimately affected staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A disorganised system of record-keeping has led to important information and documents being missing from the children’s records. The staff struggle to navigate and access the current systems in place. The new manager has already identified this as an area for improvement and has taken steps to transfer over to a new data management system. Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 2 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 7 The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a) (5)) 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(e)(i)) 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 8 The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 25 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 18 April 2025

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The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 9 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(e)(f)(h))

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ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 30 May 2025

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The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that information and plans relating to the child’s history and care are up to date and kept on the child’s file. 27 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 10

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Evolve Therapeutic Residential Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Kreston Reeves Llp, Innovation House, Innovation Way, Discovery Park, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9FF

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Inspector

Kerry Howarth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 12 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: 2802269 13

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