Children's home run by Evoke Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 1 Registered provider: Evoke Care Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in November 2023. The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, children who have lived at the home have made positive progress from their individual starting points. One child has successfully moved on to independent living and employment. Their positive relationships with the staff team have been maintained and they returned to the home to share their achievements. Staff recognised and celebrated this progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are planned with care, promoting long-term stability. One child has lived at the home for almost 2 years, benefiting from sustained stability. Another child has recently moved into the home; their move was carefully planned and completed with empathy, helping them to have a positive initial experience of the home and to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional needs are being met and children continue to progress. One child has engaged with support services for the first time, with staff providing consistent care to ensure that the experience has been as positive and beneficial as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making educational progress in line with their individual needs. One child attends college and is exploring progression into higher education. The other child has re-engaged with learning through online tuition after a considerable gap, benefiting from their recent stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have established caring, trusting relationships with staff. This enables them to have meaningful conversations that help them to make sense of their lived experiences. Staff support the children to identify what they need and to take positive steps to continue making progress. As a result, children feel listened to and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in activities that are individual to them and in line with their needs, including basketball and baking. These activities promote routine, stability and a sense of fun, enhancing the quality of children’s day-to-day experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are prepared for their futures in a timely and thoughtful way. Staff support children to develop the skills and confidence that they need for adulthood, including budgeting and personal care skills. As a result, children’s next steps are well supported and positive outcomes are promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a comfortable and welcoming home. They feel confident inviting their friends to visit, which strengthens their sense of belonging and pride in where they live. Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children said that they feel safe living in the home. A child who previously lived there also shared this view.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments set out the actions staff need to take to support children and to reduce the risk of harm. Staff involve children in this work, and children contribute to and sign their risk assessments. This helps the children to understand the risks and the support that is being put in place.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When children are missing from the home, staff manage this well. They act promptly and follow the required procedures; this reduces risk and supports children’s safety.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in the safe and appropriate use of physical intervention. Physical restraint has been used recently with one child. Following these incidents, staff complete debriefs and offer debriefs to both the child and the staff member to support their welfare. However, records do not consistently detail where physical contact was made during restraint incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children know how to make a complaint and understand the process. No allegations have been made against staff since the last inspection. When children raise complaints, staff respond appropriately, take action and share outcomes with the children. This helps the children to feel listened to and taken seriously.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed. They are caring and they provide effective leadership and oversight, together with the experienced responsible individual and the staff team. Managers have acted on previous recommendations, resulting in improved safeguarding practice; they have also improved the quality of care and the outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation has recently recruited several new staff members. Staff understand the home’s whistleblowing policy. The organisation applies safer recruitment procedures to ensure that staff appointed to work with children are suitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team provides induction and support to new staff; however, there are inconsistencies in how staff update children’s files. Leaders have implemented training, but staff do not consistently apply it in practice to ensure that records are detailed and clearly reflect each child as an individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have implemented effective systems to monitor and review the care that children receive. This monitoring enables them to maintain a good level of oversight of children’s progress and how better to support them in their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 5 Leaders and managers are enthusiastic about providing high-quality care for children. They work closely with external professionals. Social workers praised the manager for their committed support to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This supports reflective practice and helps staff consider how best to meet children’s individual support needs. Staff complete training that is centred on the needs of the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their individual voice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept, and, in particular, the review should include a detailed description of how the restraint took place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2628734 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Evoke Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Wellesley Court Road, Croydon CR0 1LE

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Inspector

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2628734 8 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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