Children's home run by Changing Lives Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 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 three children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home and two children have moved in. One child moved out for a short time before returning to live at the home. At the point of inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager overseeing the home who has applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2023 Full Good 22/09/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy meaningful relationships with staff. Staff show children emotional warmth and compassion. Children feel able to confide in staff and like to spend time with them. Staff create a family environment where children and staff enjoy cooking and eating meals together. Children feel loved and have a strong sense of belonging. One child said, ‘It’s not just a house; it’s my home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good health. Staff receive additional training in relation to children’s health needs, such as epilepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Staff proactively seek support from relevant agencies, such as substance misuse counsellors and mental health services. As a result, children’s overall health and well-being improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education considering their starting points. Staff have high expectations for children to learn and achieve. Staff understand the barriers to learning and help children to overcome them. Children learn to believe in themselves and engage well. Staff have supported one child to return to school after a long period of home tuition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Great consideration is given to supporting children to maintain close relationships with family members who live far away from the home. For example, staff support one child to see their family abroad. Staff work hard to ensure it is a safe and positive experience for the child. This helps to strengthen important relationships. It also helps to reduce children’s feelings of loss and promotes their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests, such as fishing and recording music. Staff celebrate children’s strengths and achievements with incentives, rewards and positive praise. Over time, children’s confidence and self- esteem improve.

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

Staff know the risks children are facing. Staff assess and review any risk associated with each child. Staff make decisions regarding risk in collaboration with other professionals, such as social workers, the police and the home’s psychologist. Risks are well balanced between keeping children safe and allowing them to take age- appropriate risks. This ensures an effective approach to safeguarding.

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

Staff are well trained in their role. They receive training in relation to children’s needs, such as knife crime prevention, substance abuse and county lines. Staff use a trauma-informed model of care. This focuses on building trusting and meaningful relationships with children. Staff implement firm boundaries with warmth and empathy, helping children to feel safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 4 Staff respond well to children who go missing from the home. They make every effort to find children and support them when they return. Staff liaise with relevant agencies, such as social workers and the police. Staff try to understand why children go missing so they can provide them with the relevant support and safety plans. For one child, this has helped to reduce the number of times they go missing.

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

The manager and staff competently manage the risk of exploitation. They proactively gather and share pertinent information with police and social workers. Where risks of exploitation arise, staff implement appropriate safeguards. Staff have daily discussions with children to support them to stay safe. This approach to safeguarding helps reduce the risks children are exposed to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and knowledgeable. She is passionate about leading a home where child-focused practice is at the centre of everything they do. The manager is supported by a stable and committed staff team that admires and respects her leadership. Staff have access to the home’s psychologist and psychotherapist, who provide both professional and personal support. As a result, staff feel well equipped and supported in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home. They have positive relationships with each other, creating a harmonious family environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with external agencies such as tutors, social workers and the police. They work in collaboration and are proactive in their communication. Feedback from external stakeholders is unanimously positive. One local authority team manager said, ‘The communication is really good; we get notified straight away, and they deal with missing incidents expeditiously.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has robust oversight and quality assurance processes in place. The manager is aware of what is going on in the home daily and has good oversight of the children’s care. Learning from incidents and placement endings is used to improve the service. This helps to ensure and maintain good standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Important topics, such as safeguarding are discussed. However, they do not enable staff to engage in reflective discussions around how their own feelings and behaviour are affected in their day-to-day role with children. This is an area for development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: 2593071 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

Emma Dacres, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2593071 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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