Children's Home run by Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 1 Registered provider: Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 3 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2026.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 01/05/2024 Full Good 05/02/2024 Full Inadequate 10/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive a good quality of care, and consequently they have made significant progress. The members of the staff team have a sound understanding of children’s individual needs and provide them with consistent support. Children are helped to learn about their own vulnerabilities and helped to understand how to stay safe. Changes in the management team have been sensitively handled to reduce the impact on the welfare of children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality, individualised care and make good progress from their starting points. Senior leaders are sharply focused on providing placement stability for children. One child moved into this home from another of the organisation’s homes because leaders realised the move would be in the child’s best interests. The child has made significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to ensuring children’s welfare and giving them positive experiences. Staff have a sound understanding of children’s histories and their emotional and developmental needs. They are proactive at supporting children in a consistent and thoughtful manner. This leads to strong relationships and children feeling cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children make good progress in developing their independence, social skills and emotional regulation. The social worker for one child said the child being able to travel independently using public transport was beyond their expectations. A family member of one child said that their child now likes school and attends daily, which is a significant milestone for them. Children are helped to learn to cook and keep their rooms well organised and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and views and gathered regularly and acted on. Children’s bedrooms reflect on their characters and interests. The child who has moved in was consulted about the transition to this home. The child was able to pause the move to prevent them from feeling overwhelmed. They visited the home numerous times and formed relationships with children and staff before moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are a similar age, and this helps them to have shared interests and form close friendships. Disagreements between children are rare, but when they do occur, staff support each child to understand each other’s point of view.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of family time is well understood by staff. Children are prepared and supported to have positive times with people who are important to them. This allows children to maintain strong relationships with significant people in their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and are committed to helping children to stay safe. Strong relationships between children and staff also support children’s progress in relation to reducing behaviours that could place children at risk of harm. Staff proactively educate children about their own risk and the risks associated with social media.

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

Managers take appropriate actions when safeguarding concerns arise and allegations about staff are reported to them. They work closely with children’s placing social workers and local designated safeguarding officers. Managers ensure that staff working arrangements are safe while investigations are carried out. Investigations are completed in a thorough manner, and the outcomes are clearly recorded. However, safeguarding records do not fully demonstrate that children are always informed about the outcome of concerns and allegations.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been only one incident of physical restraint, and it was for the shortest time possible. This highlights that staff use their strong relationships with children and support children in a preventative manner. Managers ensure that, after every incident, there is in-depth reflection with children and staff. The positive practice of staff writing social stories to children has been developed further. Some children now write their own social stories after incidents.

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

The frequency of missing-from-home incidents has been steadily decreasing. This is because the managers work closely with relevant professionals and invite the local police community support officer to help children to understand how to be safe. Furthermore, managers are not risk averse when they agree strategies to reduce the frequency of missing episodes. For instance, instead of decreasing independent time, one child has been allowed to take responsibility for using it safely. This positively impacts on relationships with staff, and the child is less inclined to go missing.

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

Recruitment of new staff is carried out with a good level of scrutiny. The required checks are carried out before new staff start their employment. This reduces the risk of unsafe people gaining access to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change in the members of the leadership team. Senior leaders are dedicated to children’s wellbeing. They have ensured that the changes have been sensitively managed so that children are not adversely affected and continue to make positive progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new registered manager is ambitious about what children can achieve and has high expectations of staff. The registered manager forms strong relationships with children and is proud of their progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 5 The registered manager uses various monitoring tools and ensures good-quality assurance and oversight. This includes monitoring of children’s welfare and progress, staff development, any need for additional staff training and identification of further ways to develop the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision at a frequency that is in line with the organisation’s policy. Some staff are supported to have in-depth reflections about their practice and therapeutic thinking. However, newly employed staff do not always receive timely, clear guidance on internal whistleblowing procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 6

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Recommendations

 Staff should be made familiar with the home’s internal whistleblowing procedures through the induction process. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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Recommendations

 Staff should encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Records of any concerns should include details of the feedback children receive. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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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: 1244108 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay Tree House (Gravesend) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Charles Lake House, Claire Causeway, Crossways Business Park, Dartford, Kent DA2 6QA

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Inspector

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244108 8 regulates and inspects 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 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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