Children's Home run by Full Circle Living Ltd in Kent

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 1 Registered provider: Full Circle Living Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted on 21 June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Inspection date: 26 November 2025

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 26 November 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers are not effective in their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children, and they do not prioritise safeguarding responses. This has resulted in significant delays in sharing concerns with children’s social workers, the local authority designated officer and the regulator following serious incidents.

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Findings from the inspection

Managers did not identify allegations made by children in a timely manner or respond to them appropriately. On one occasion, a staff member remained working in the home for a significant period following an allegation, without any clear rationale or amendment to their duties. Furthermore, the manager did not identify any learning from these incidents to inform staff practice. These shortcomings increase the risk of harm to children living in the home and represent missed opportunities for learning and improvement.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have not fully considered the needs of children or the skills of staff when accepting children into the home. Plans for moving children into the home are poorly developed and do not consider the effect on children already living in the home. Staff lack confidence and clear guidance in helping children who are distressed, which has led to an overreliance on police intervention during incidents.

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Findings from the inspection

Care planning lacks clarity and staff practice fails to adequately address key risks for children. One child has continued to offend and has received further charges since living in the home. Planned staff conversations with children are not aligned with identified risks, resulting in further missed opportunities to reduce harm to children. Leaders and managers have not taken appropriate action to ensure that the risks of harm to children have been reduced.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff are not promoting children’s health effectively. Children are often reluctant to attend health appointments, and there is no clear strategy in place to support or encourage their engagement with these important services.

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Findings from the inspection

Monitoring systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers lack sufficient oversight of the home, resulting in shortfalls going unidentified. Staffing gaps are frequently covered by the registered manager and the responsible individual, which further limits their capacity to manage the home effectively. The quality of care is not adequately reviewed, and findings do not improve staff practice. Consequently, children’s care and experiences are not improving.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff supervision is ineffective. Although staff receive regular supervision, these sessions are not fully documented, and some take place in locations that do not adequately ensure confidentiality. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 3 Some aspects of children’s care are positive. Staff support children in maintaining relationships with people who are important to them and are working to re-engage children in education. In addition, recent improvements to the decor have created a more homely and welcoming environment.

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Findings from the inspection

Requirements from the last inspection have not been met and consequently have been restated. Recommendations set at the last inspection have not been fully considered as part of this visit and are therefore also restated. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/06/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 5

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 30 January 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 6 *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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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h)) 30 January 2026

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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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 30 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. 30 January 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 7 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The home should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which details the necessary management and staffing structure, the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s statement of purpose. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed

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Recommendations

by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose reflects the care and assessments provided by the home. This is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and the placing authority, that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 8 will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Full Circle Living Ltd

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Inspector

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2777900 10 to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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