A safe place to land, live and fly.
Nest & Rise is a specialist single-placement children's home, built around one child at a time. We provide a calm, therapeutic, family-style home in Kent for young people with complex trauma and SEMH needs — the children other homes find hardest to hold.
Every child, no matter what they have experienced, deserves a home that holds them — not just a placement that houses them.
We are a specialist single-placement children's home for young people aged 8–16 with complex trauma, social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, and behavioural challenges rooted in early adverse experience. Nest & Rise brings together deep expertise in property, therapeutic practice, regulation and leadership — because the children who are hardest to place deserve a home built specifically for them.
“Our home is their home. Every child who crosses our threshold becomes part of something — a place where they are known, where their history does not define their ceiling, and where the people around them believe in what they are becoming.”
N Nest — Safety, Warmth, A Place to Land
Nest speaks to what every child we welcome needs first: safety, warmth, and a place to land. A nest is not permanent — but it is essential. It is where strength is built before flight.
R Rise — Growth, Confidence, Flight
Rise speaks to what we believe is possible for every child, however unlikely it may seem on arrival. The quiet process of a child beginning to trust themselves — to discover what they are capable of.
What we do, and how we do it
Safety & healing first
A calm, unconditionally accepting environment — a home that does not change, people who do not leave.
Therapeutic depth
An evidence-based framework with embedded clinical partnerships and clinical supervision, where behaviour is understood as communication.
Independence & self-belief
Daily opportunities to build skills, confidence, and a sense of self-worth — celebrating every step forward.
Connection & belonging
Active support for family contact where safe, community links, education, and health — so a child belongs somewhere.
RISE — the commitments we hold in the hardest moments
Our values are not words chosen to sound good. They are the commitments we hold in the hardest moments — when a child is in crisis, when a referral is commercially attractive but clinically wrong, when the easy choice and the right choice are different things.
Recognition
We see each child as a whole person, not a file, a diagnosis, or a behaviour. Recognition means “I am seen. I am known. I matter here.”
Independence
We build the confidence and capability each young person needs to live the life they choose — grown, not given.
Support
We show up — consistently, unconditionally, and without limit on the hard days — and hold the relationship even when it feels thankless.
Empathy
We lead with curiosity about a child’s experience, not judgement about their behaviour — understanding the fear behind the withdrawal.
A value only counts if it costs you something. We will only accept a referral when we are confident it is right for that child — that is a standard we hold ourselves to, not a promise we make for effect.
A home built for the children other placements say no to.
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1The right locationBased in Kent, South East England — an area with a well-documented gap between demand and locally available, well-matched residential provision.
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2The right childA specialist single placement for children aged 8–16 with complex developmental trauma, SEMH needs and behavioural difficulties — those most in need of unregistered or out-of-area provision.
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3Clinical partnership at the coreA named psychologist and therapist working with all staff, with formulation-led care plans — not an add-on.
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4Outcomes we can evidenceValidated outcome measurement tools built into care planning from day one, with progress measured and shared, not assumed.
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5A team that staysInvestment in pay, supervision and progression, because continuity of relationship protects the child.
Talk to us about a placement or referral
We are currently completing our registration process and engaging directly with Kent County Council and neighbouring authorities to understand specific local need. If you are a placing authority commissioning team, we would welcome an early conversation.
Email the TeamResidential childcare is, at its core, an exercise in risk management and governance.
The quality of care we deliver is built on the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Nine Quality Standards that accompany them. These are not minimum standards to be met at inspection — they are the framework within which we operate, every day.
Quality & Purpose of Care
Bespoke, formulation-led care plans developed before and reviewed continuously throughout placement.
Views, Wishes & Feelings
Structured, trauma-informed ways for every child to express their views in all matters affecting them.
Education
Named education lead in our staff team, working with schools and Virtual Schools to track and support progress.
Enjoyment & Achievement
Resourced and staffed to promote physical, intellectual, creative and social development.
Health & Wellbeing
Embedded clinical psychology, with mental health support and health assessments completed safely and promptly.
Positive Relationships
Relationship-building as the therapeutic mechanism, with consistent staffing and low turnover.
Protection of Children
Robust, enhanced safer recruitment, safeguarding training, and clear, immediate escalation procedures.
Leadership & Management
Stable leadership from a registered manager holding the Level 5 Diploma, with a culture of psychological safety.
Care Planning
Every child’s care plan co-produced with the child, placing authority, clinical partners and family, reviewed regularly.
Where we are today: Nest & Rise Ltd (company number 17436261) is currently preparing for registration with Ofsted under the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. We are finalising our Statement of Purpose and policy framework, and engaging directly with local authorities ahead of opening.
Built by two people who bring genuinely complementary expertise
Nest & Rise was founded by two people covering every dimension of what this business requires: property intelligence, financial rigour, strategic vision, and personal conviction.
Sam Russell
Leadership, Strategy & Transformation, Regulation & OperationsSam has spent over 25 years in senior leadership roles in financial services, building a career defined by transforming complex organisations, delivering exceptional customer outcomes, managing operational risk at scale, and leading teams. His experience includes an executive role at a national ombudsman service, where he held responsibility for oversight, fairness, and public accountability — a background that shapes the conviction that where a child starts should never determine where they end up.
Tracy Roman
Property & OperationsTracy spent 23 years as a Senior Project Manager in investment banking, developing the commercial rigour, governance instincts, and programme management skills that define how Nest & Rise will be built and run. Alongside her corporate career, she grew and managed a £4m property portfolio across BTL, HMOs, commercial-to-residential conversions, flips, and supported living. She is a qualified letting agent and brings the property intelligence and financial discipline to find the right home and structure the business correctly from day one.
We’d welcome a conversation — whether you’re a local authority, a professional partner, or simply curious about what we’re building.
Nest & Rise Ltd is a private limited company registered in England & Wales, based in Kent, South East England.