Rated Care Homes

Orchard House

RI

Requires improvement

Rated on

Rating from the Care Quality Commission.

At a glance

  • 4 ratings

    Its last inspection moved it down from Good to Requires improvement.

  • 14 months

    since the latest rating was published.

  • 89 of 445

    rated care homes in Kent are rated Requires improvement, like this one.

Orchard House: inspection record

Care home, 10 beds, Kent

Rated Requires improvement in August 2025, down from Good.

Orchard House: inspection record: inspection ratings by year, 2015 to 2026
201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Overall
Safe
Effective
Caring
Responsive
Well-led

Ratings published by the Care Quality Commission.

Compare nearby

Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Park View Care Centre (Good, 0.2 miles away) and Southfields (Good, 0.8 miles away).

Nearest care homes:

  1. G
    Park View Care Centre Good, 0.2 miles away
  2. G
    Southfields Good, 0.8 miles away
  3. O
    The Kent Autistic Trust - 118 Beaver Lane Outstanding, 1.1 miles away
  4. G
    The Kent Autistic Trust - 165 Jemmett Road Good, 1.2 miles away
  5. G
    Singleton Nursing & Residential Home Limited Good, 1.5 miles away

See all care homes in Kent

See all care homes in South Ashford

What inspectors found

From the Care Quality Commission's assessment published 27 August 2025 (assessment visit 18 June 2025). Quoted under the Open Government Licence.

Date of assessment: 02 to 11 July 2025. Orchard House is a residential care service providing accommodation and personal care support to people living with a learning or physical disability. At the time of this assessment there were 10 people receiving care and support in the service. The service provided accommodation in 2 separate buildings supporting 4 and 6 people respectively.

  • Safe Inadequate
  • Effective No rating
  • Caring No rating
  • Responsive Good
  • Well-led No rating
Read the rest of CQC's summary

The service was last assessed in February 2018 and rated “Good”. We conducted this assessment due to the age of the previous rating.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We identified that risks to people living at the service had not always been managed safely. Where people had conditions such as constipation, epilepsy or reduced mobility staff were not always knowledgeable about these risks or trained to be able to respond in a safe and timely manner. Staff were not consistently aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm or abuse. We could not be assured that all restrictions put in place had been made in people’s best interests, or that people’s representatives had been appropriately involved in these decisions and their care. Governance systems in place had failed to identify areas where the service was not operating safely and exposing people to a risk of harm. Infection control risks for people were not always well managed over an extended period.

However, we noted that staff worked closely with people to enable them to achieve what mattered to them, and made appropriate adjustments to ensure people were able to participate in daily life.

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment, assessing the risk of, and preventing, detecting and controlling the spread of, infections, dignity and respect, person centred care, good governance and staffing.

  1. Safe

    Inadequate

    Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating changed to Inadequate. This meant people were not safe and were at risk of avoidable harm.

    The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to people’s safe care and treatment, assessing the risk of, and preventing, detecting and controlling the spread of, infections, and staffing.

  2. Effective

    No rating

    Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.
    At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Requires Improvement. This meant the effectiveness of people’s care, treatment and support did not always achieve good outcomes or was inconsistent.

    The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to people’s safe care and treatment.

  3. Caring

    No rating

    Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Requires Improvement. This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

    The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to dignity and respect.

  4. Responsive

    Good

    Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

    The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to person centred care

  5. Well-led

    No rating

    Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Requires Improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

    The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to good governance

Questions to ask when you visit

  1. Safe was rated Inadequate on 27 August 2025. Ask how medicines are managed, how staffing levels are decided and how incidents are reviewed.
  2. Effective was rated Requires improvement on 27 August 2025. Ask about staff training and how health appointments are arranged.
  3. Caring was rated Requires improvement on 27 August 2025. Ask how staff protect dignity and how residents are involved in decisions about their care.
  4. Well-led was rated Requires improvement on 27 August 2025. Ask about changes in management and what has changed since the report.

Registration details

Registered manager
Tsitsi Maketo
Registered with the CQC since
What it provides
Care home service without nursing
Who it supports
Learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, Physical Disability

Inspection report

Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)

5 inspection reports, latest 28 March 2018. Latest assessment published 27 August 2025; the Care Quality Commission's newer assessments are published on its website rather than as reports.

The rating is the Care Quality Commission's. We show it as published and do not change it.

Who runs it

Provider
Caretech Community Services (No.2) LimitedBrand: CareTech Community Services
Ownership type
Organisation
Companies House number
03894564 (opens Companies House)

Caretech Community Services (No.2) Limited runs 24 services in England, 11 of them in the South East. 22 are rated Good or Outstanding and 2 are rated Requires improvement or Inadequate.

Other services run by Caretech Community Services (No.2) Limited

  1. O
    The Goodwins Outstanding. Care home, Kent
  2. G
    Albert House Good. Care home, Bedford, East of England
  3. G
    Ashwood Place Good. Care home, Hertfordshire, East of England
  4. G
    Caretech Community Services (No 2) Limited - 100 Woodcote Grove Road Good. Care home, Croydon, London

See all 24 services run by Caretech Community Services (No.2) Limited

Getting help from Kent County Council

The council can assess what care someone needs and tell them what help with the cost they may get.

Checked on the council's website, November 2026.

Common questions
Does Orchard House provide nursing care?
No. The Care Quality Commission lists Orchard House as a care home without nursing.
How many beds does Orchard House have?
The Care Quality Commission's register lists 10 beds at Orchard House.
When was Orchard House last inspected?
The Care Quality Commission's latest rating for Orchard House was published on 27 August 2025.
Who runs Orchard House?
Orchard House is run by Caretech Community Services (No.2) Limited. It runs 24 services in England, 11 of them in the South East.
What is Orchard House's CQC rating?
Its overall rating from the Care Quality Commission is Requires improvement, published on 27 August 2025.

Contact

Phone
01233 664906
Address
Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, TN23 3ED Map (opens Google Maps)
Read the full inspection report (opens the Care Quality Commission website)

Compare nearby

Nearest rated Good or Outstanding: Park View Care Centre (Good, 0.2 miles away) and Southfields (Good, 0.8 miles away).

Nearest care homes:

  1. G
    Park View Care Centre Good, 0.2 miles away
  2. G
    Southfields Good, 0.8 miles away
  3. O
    The Kent Autistic Trust - 118 Beaver Lane Outstanding, 1.1 miles away
  4. G
    The Kent Autistic Trust - 165 Jemmett Road Good, 1.2 miles away
  5. G
    Singleton Nursing & Residential Home Limited Good, 1.5 miles away

See all care homes in Kent

See all care homes in South Ashford