Jun 3, 2026
Discover How an Award Winning Photographer Became a Care Home Owner with Carmel Saulbrey, the owner of Niche Care Homes and founder of The Kindness Code. Carmel won Most Inspiring Businesswoman at the Best Business Women Awards back in 2019. However, she sold her award-winning school photography company, tired of the photographer's life. What did she do next? She took on two children's residential care homes in what she describes as one of the most challenging years of her life.
Carmel shares how stepping into an unfamiliar industry with fresh eyes turned out to be a real advantage, leading her to create the Kindness Code, an AI-powered training app that helps care staff practise handling difficult situations before they face them on shift. Early results are already showing fewer incidents and more confident teams.
They also talk about her plans to roll the app out more widely, a brand new podcast, and why she's convinced that therapeutic kindness makes better leaders too.
About Carmel
Carmel Jane Saulbrey is a London-based entrepreneur, business leader, and award-winning founder known for building purpose-driven companies that combine commercial success with real social impact. A former winner of Most Inspirational Businesswoman of the Year, Carmel is the founder of a growing children’s residential care group operating across South East England. The group is built around the KIND Framework, a therapeutic, relationship-led model helping trauma-affected children feel safe and empowered. Further expansion is underway in 2026.
Carmel champions the idea that kindness and high performance are complementary, not competing. She is also host of the Kindness Code podcast and founder of a forthcoming SaaS platform to raise standards across the residential care sector. She speaks openly on leadership, culture, and resilience.
{2:08} Why Carmel decided to buy a care homes business.
{3:38} The kids cared for in the homes.
{4:05} The transition from photography to care homes.
{7:30} The Kindness Code.
{9:39} Developing the app.
{11:07} Bringing fresh insights to the care sector.
{12:44} Listening to the kids, valuing the team, to deliver lasting change.
{14:40} Plans for the app.
{15:57} Carmel's observations of the care sector.
{17:57} The size of homes today and how they operate.
{20:30} Falling out of love with photography.
{21:39} How awards strengthened the Carmel Jane brand to sell the business.
{22:25} Thinking about awards for the new venture.
{22:52} Inheriting staff in the new business.
{26:00} Carmel's future plans.
{26:47} Her forthcoming podcast and proposed book.
{28:35} Building a speaking career.
{29:30} Carmel's advice for transitioning from one sector to another.
Connect with Debbie at: https://thebusinessawardsshow.co.uk
Connect with Carmel: https://www.niche-care.co.uk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmel-jane-saulbrey-256a9526/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicheCareHomes
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niche_care_homes/
The Kindness Code: https://thekindnesscode.co.uk/
The Kindness Code Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0dwsVwW54FatuqGECXIASK