Children's home run by Life Change Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 1 Registered provider: Life Change Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home that provides care for up to three children. Children living in this home may have a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 26 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2022 Full Good 15/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently two children living at the home. The manager ensures that good planning takes place before children move in to the home. They are provided with opportunities to visit and meet staff. This helps to ease any anxieties that children may have. As part of their introduction to the home, children are given a welcome pack.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and have built positive relationships with them. The children are comfortable and relaxed in their home. When children experience difficult feelings, staff were available to offer reassurance. Children can explore their identity in a safe, nurturing environment. This improves their sense of self and increases their self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy and benefit from incentives. Children participate in deciding the areas that they would like to improve each week. Staff hold discussions with children at the end of the week about achievements and struggles. This encourages children to speak openly about how they are feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Routine and daily planners are centred around the children’s abilities, interests, and emotional well-being. This promotes children’s confidence and results in them making significant progress in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children participate in a variety of interests and hobbies. From these, they have formed friendships and learned new skills. One professional said, ‘There’s a good balance of paid and unpaid activities.’ This supports realistic expectations of children returning home to their families.

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

Children are kept safe from harm. Staff follow safety plans. These are informed by discussions with professionals and conversations with the children. Staff follow safeguarding procedures to protect children from harm, and use reflective discussions and relationship building to support and educate future actions and decision-making.

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

Staff give children information on how to make a complaint, using the sparkle box. The manager takes complaints seriously and ensures that they are acted on in a timely manner. Debriefs for staff and children support a safe space to reflect and learn.

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

Staff receive training to build their skills and knowledge, particularly around safeguarding, so that they can keep children safe. The manager acknowledges that staff would benefit from further behaviour support training. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 4 The manager has implemented a surveillance and monitoring system in the home. Staff use this system to manage and reduce risk during the night-time. The manager has consulted with professionals and family, and regularly reviews these systems with the children. One child who struggles during the night said, ‘It makes me feel safe because staff know when I need them.’

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good

The manager is ambitious, passionate and child focused. She has high expectations for children and what they can achieve. She leads by example and is enthusiastic about the staff team’s development. However, the manager does not have effective monitoring systems in place. This makes it difficult for her to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the service or to take swift action to address any shortfalls as they arise.

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good

The staff and manager have regular supervision, including clinical supervision. Supervision sessions include reflection on staff practice and well-being. As a result, staff feel supported. The manager is new to her role and is reflective of her own areas of required development.

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good

Serious incident records lack clear information of staff whereabouts and responses to children when they are struggling. The manager has completed learning sessions with staff. This will support reflective learning and management evaluation.

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good

The manager and staff know the children’s risks and understand them. Together, they identify and appropriately assess new risks. The manager ensures that risk management plans are individualised and up to date. However, the registered manager should ensure that when reviewing or implementing risk assessments they reflect the current risks and avoid them becoming a chronology of events. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (2) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (a)(b) (2)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there are effective monitoring and evaluating systems that support a consistent response from staff to children’s behavioural needs. 9 October 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when reviewing or implementing risk assessments they reflect current risk. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2543640 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Life Change Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pennine View, Off Trafalgar Street, Burnley, Lancashire BB11 1TQ

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Inspector

Sally Hallwood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2543640 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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