Care home · Rochester
The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive
Illustrative photo, not of The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive- Address
- 52a River Drive, Strood, Rochester, ME2 3JR
- Run by
- The Kent Autistic Trust (6 services)
- Service
- Residential care home
- Beds
- 6 (registered with CQC)
- Registered with CQC
- January 2011 (15 years)
- Registered manager
- Emma Jayne Laker
- Company check
- Active, trading since 1989 (37 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 02404983)
- Last CQC check
- 4 Mar 2025
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,400–£1,710 a week for residential care. Estimate only, from published local rates. How we estimate
Licensed by CQC for: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
Read the full CQC inspection report · CQC location ID 1-120785236
The service in brief
The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive in Rochester is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a residential care home, run by The Kent Autistic Trust. Its registered specialisms include learning disabilities.
CQC rated it Good overall (March 2025). It is one of 20 CQC-registered care homes in and around Rochester; 11 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led
- Safe75% score40 of 60 in Medway
- Effective79% score49 of 60 in Medway
- Caring75% score51 of 60 in Medway
- Responsive79% score51 of 60 in Medway
- Well-led75% score39 of 60 in Medway
From CQC's latest report, published 4 March 2025. Under each rating: how many care homes in Medway share it.
What the ratings tell you
All five areas CQC looks at are rated Good for The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive: no single area stands out above or below the rest.
For leadership (Well-led), it shares its Good rating with 38 of the 59 other care homes in Medway that CQC has rated.
Under CQC's newer scoring, its strongest area is Effective at 79% and its lowest is Well-led at 75%, averaging 77% overall.
How long it has been running
CQC registration dates from January 2011, so the service has been operating for around 15 years under its current registration.
CQC has published 4 overall ratings for it (2015–2025), starting at Good and staying Good every time.
Reports on record: 5, with the most recent dated 23 March 2022.
Ownership and company checks
The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive is run by The Kent Autistic Trust (company 02404983), incorporated in 1989, 21 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 8 active directors and there is no insolvency history.
The Kent Autistic Trust runs 6 CQC-registered services across 2 council areas; 6 of the 6 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (100%), against 84% for the same mix of services across England.
3 of its services are in Medway.
Scores behind the rating
Each area below is made up of several quality statements, each scored 1 to 4 by CQC; the percentage combines those scores for the area. Averaged across the five areas, The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive scores 77%.
Safe 75%
- Learning culture3 · Good
- Safe systems, pathways and transitions3 · Good
- Safeguarding3 · Good
- Involving people to manage risks3 · Good
- Safe environments3 · Good
- Safe and effective staffing3 · Good
- Infection prevention and control3 · Good
- Medicines optimisation3 · Good
Effective 79%
- Assessing needs3 · Good
- Delivering evidence-based care and treatment3 · Good
- How staff, teams and services work together3 · Good
- Supporting people to live healthier lives3 · Good
- Monitoring and improving outcomes4 · Exceptional
- Consent to care and treatment3 · Good
Caring 75%
- Kindness, compassion and dignity3 · Good
- Treating people as individuals3 · Good
- Independence, choice and control3 · Good
- Responding to people’s immediate needs3 · Good
- Workforce wellbeing and enablement3 · Good
Responsive 79%
- Person-centred Care3 · Good
- Care provision, Integration and continuity4 · Exceptional
- Providing Information3 · Good
- Listening to and involving people3 · Good
- Equity in access3 · Good
- Equity in experiences and outcomes4 · Exceptional
- Planning for the future2 · Some shortfalls
Well-led 75%
- Shared direction and culture3 · Good
- Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders3 · Good
- Freedom to speak up3 · Good
- Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion3 · Good
- Governance, management and sustainability3 · Good
- Partnerships and communities3 · Good
- Learning, improvement and innovation3 · Good
How to read the numbers: 4 exceptional, 3 good, 2 some shortfalls, 1 significant shortfalls. Published by CQC, assessed 3 February 2025, published 4 March 2025 under the Open Government Licence; a blank score means the statement was carried over unchanged.
Past CQC ratings
- Dec 2015
- Jun 2018
- Mar 2022
- Mar 2025
- Today Rating 1 year old
The location's rating record from CQC, from first to latest. The latest rating is an improvement on the one before.
CQC documents
- CQC inspection report 23 March 2022
- CQC inspection report 16 June 2018
- CQC inspection report 7 December 2015
- Inspection report 26 June 2013
- Inspection report 24 November 2012
Food hygiene
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from an inspection on 23 January 2026 by Medway. On a visit, ask to see this week's menu and how residents choose what they eat.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "The Kent Autistic Trust"). Open Government Licence.
Where it is
- Ward
- Strood West
- Council
- Medway Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- Rochester and Strood
- Integrated care board
- NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
- Type of area
- Urban, nearer to a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 40% most deprived areas in England
- Postcode district
- Care homes in ME2 (13)
Bigger map · Directions · Base map © OpenStreetMap
Ward, NHS area and deprivation from ONS and NHS postcode data (postcodes.io, Open Government Licence).
Registered specialisms
Taken from its CQC registration.
The local picture
Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 14 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is Jersey Road, under 0.5 miles away.
8 of the 24 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Strood West ward, classed by ONS as urban (nearer to a major town or city), among the 40% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Kent and Medway ICB.
What CQC's inspectors reported
- We completed the assessment between 4 February 2025 and 10 February 2025.
- We found end of life care plans were not in place, however the manager had a plan to address this.
- People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse; people’s health risks were well managed, and staff had the skills and competence to support people safely.
- Relatives and people’s advocates fed back positively about the service.
Inspected 22 February 2022; report published 23 March 2022. Taken from CQC's own findings (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.
What it may cost
We estimate The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive at £1,400–£1,710 a week for residential care, based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £73k–£89k.
Check what the weekly fee leaves out; hairdressing, chiropody, trips and newspapers are common extras.
Council help is possible below £23,250 in savings: ask Medway Council for a free care needs assessment.
Family reviews
Nobody has reviewed The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive here yet. Have you used it? A short, honest review helps the next family decide.
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The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive against its area
- Rated Good. Across Medway, 70% of the 60 rated care homes are Good or Outstanding and 0 are Outstanding.
- Its rating (March 2025) is more recent than 63% of care home ratings in Medway.
- With 6 beds it is smaller than 73% of care homes in Medway, where the typical home has 20.
- Registered with CQC in 2011: it has been registered longer than 83% of care homes in the area.
- It lists 1 specialisms with CQC; the typical care home in Medway lists 3.
Comparison set: every registered care home in Medway, CQC data for Oct 2026.
Also nearby
Guides for families
Newer ratings near Rochester
- Frindsbury HouseAug 2026
- The Kent Autistic Trust - 11a Curlew CrescentApr 2026
The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive: common questions
- How recent is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive's CQC rating?
- Its current CQC rating dates from 4 March 2025, 1 year ago. Ratings can be several years old; ask what has changed since, such as a new manager.
- Does The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive support people with dementia?
- Dementia is not listed among the specialisms on its CQC registration. Ask the provider directly if this matters to you.
- What services is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive registered for?
- The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive is registered for residential homes. Ask which of these it provides at the moment.
- Is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive registered with CQC?
- Yes. The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a care home (location ID 1-120785236) and was rated Good overall in March 2025.
- Where is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive based?
- It is at 52a River Drive, Strood, Rochester, ME2 3JR.
- How is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive rated for safety and leadership?
- CQC rates five key questions. For The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive: Safe: Good; Effective: Good; Caring: Good; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Good. Start with Safe and Well-led when reading the report.
- How much does care from The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive cost?
- The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive hasn't shared a price list with us. Residential care home typically costs £1,450 a week (average 2026 self-funder fees in South East). Ask for written prices covering weekends, bank holidays and any travel or set-up charges.
- Which provider runs The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive?
- The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive is run by The Kent Autistic Trust, the registered provider on the CQC register.
- How big is The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive?
- The Kent Autistic Trust - 52a River Drive is registered for up to 6 residents. Ask about current vacancies and whether rooms have en-suite facilities.
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