Children's Home run by Changing Lives Care Group Ltd in Leicestershire

Inspection report children's home: 2490999 1 Registered provider: Changing Lives Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager. The manager has been in post since April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on the 13 and 14 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2490999 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2490999 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the home is registered to care for up to three children, leaders and managers are currently choosing to care for only one child. This is because the child is not yet ready to live with other children. Staff provide a warm and nurturing environment that is helping the child to develop social skills and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While there is one child living at the home, the manager and staff have cared for four other children since the assurance visit. Where possible, the children move to other homes run by the same provider to maintain consistency of care for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who has recently moved in has been warmly welcomed and has settled well. The child has already developed strong bonds with the manager and staff. She is relaxed in their company and can talk about her feelings. This prevents the child becoming frustrated and overwhelmed by her emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child says she feels well cared for. She has a personalised care plan that is written in a child-friendly way. This enables the child to contribute to and understand the plan. The accessible way that the care plan is written also helps the child to understand the objectives of the placement and set goals for herself.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had not been in education for some time prior to moving to the home. However, the manager and staff have worked effectively to secure an education provision, which is about to start. The staff have used creative approaches to provide the child with structured learning opportunities in the interim. The child has also settled into a routine that reflects a school day. Having a routine will be a good foundation to help her adjust to her return to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are attentive to children’s emotional and physical health. The child is supported to attend health appointments. The child has a healthy and varied diet, and she is encouraged to take regular exercise. This helps the child learn the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and enables her to begin to take responsibility for her own health.

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

The manager and staff understand the risks posed to the child. This comes from their in-depth knowledge of the child’s history, behaviours and presenting risk issues. They frequently discuss risks with the children they care for to assist them in developing strategies to manage risk better.

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

The child is currently subject to a court order that restricts her liberty. The manager and staff manage this well. There have been incidents where staff have intervened effectively to protect the child. The staff help the child to understand why the Inspection report for children's home: 2490999 4 restrictions are in place and encourage her to accept their boundaries. Their compassionate approach is working and, gradually, the child is learning to manage the situation.

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

The child is not currently going missing from the home; however, some children who have previously lived at the home have. The responses to these incidents have been robust. The manager and staff work tirelessly to ensure that children are kept safe. One child refused to return to the home for a sustained period while staying with family. During this time, the manager ensured that staff undertook daily visits to the child to provide essential support. The commitment to the child and communication with other agencies during this time were excellent.

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

Staff are experienced and manage behaviours well. There has been a significant reduction in incidents. The staff have not had to physically intervene to prevent incidents for a considerable period. As a result, the home is calm, and children are helped to resolve their difficulties through discussion, negotiation and compromise.

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

Leaders and managers demonstrate transparency in their safeguarding practices. Allegations and complaints are investigated thoroughly. There is good communication with relevant agencies and concerns are addressed in a timely way. As a result, children are protected from increased risk of harm.

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

Staff recruitment is carried out in accordance with safer recruitment protocols. This means that all staff, including agency staff, are subject to rigorous vetting processes. This prevents unsafe adults from caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the home well. She commenced her role in April 2021 after a considerable period working as a deputy manager. The manager has made a strong start and she has gained the trust of the children and staff. The manager has good support from experienced colleagues, who she can go to for advice and guidance. As a result, she has begun to develop a confident and assured leadership style.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have close oversight of the care provided. The manager offers good direction for staff in respect of care planning and risk management. Senior managers undertake routine audits of the home. Through this process, strengths and weaknesses are identified. A useful feature of the audits is carrying out ‘spot-checks’ with staff. For example, leaders and managers talk to staff about important issues, such as safeguarding or whistle-blowing, in an unstructured way. This process helps to minimise potential shortfalls in safeguarding practice before they occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have considerable skills and experience. They are suitably qualified for their roles. The staff work well together with a unified approach. When new staff join the team, they are well supported with a thorough induction. Leaders and managers value the staff. They are rewarded for their hard work and achievements. This helps to maintain motivation and consistency in the team. Inspection report for children's home: 2490999 5 The manager has strong relationships with external colleagues. She has developed a good reputation because of her proactive approach. The manager instigates meetings with professionals when required and ensures that outcomes are followed through. Professionals have confidence in the manager and the team.

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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: 2490999 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Changing Lives Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 7, 35-37 Ludgate Hill, London EC4M 7JN

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2490999 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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