Children's home run by Living Life (UK) Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 1 SC481844

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Registered provider: Living Life (UK) Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who may have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is currently on extended leave and was not present for the inspection. An interim manager is in post.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/03/2024 Full Good 28/02/2023 Full Good 21/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 3

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improvement to be good

The presentation of the home has undergone significant improvement. Required repairs to the fabric of the building have been completed. Children’s communal areas and bedrooms have been refreshed, in line with their individual wishes. Redecoration and improvements to other areas of the home are continuing.

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improvement to be good

Staff remain focused on the educational achievement of children. Staff have been proactive in completing educational tasks in the home where there are shortfalls in agreed provisions for children. One child has an educational provision identified after a significant period of being off-roll, and reintegration planning has commenced. One child has a tailored daily plan developed between the manager and school which staff support, to allow the child to participate in education. This means that, despite challenges, children are making educational progress at a crucial point in their childhood.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with local health provisions. Staff ensure that children attend required appointments and liaise with the wider professional network for guidance and support if this is required.

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improvement to be good

Children do not yet have established opportunities to develop their hobbies and interests by participating in activities. Recommendations and guidance from family members and statutory partners has not been acted on in a timely manner. This means that children do not have the opportunity to try new things and have experiences that they will remember.

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improvement to be good

Opportunities for children to voice their opinions, wishes and feelings have been strengthened. Children are spoken to regularly to seek their views and to support participation in their care plans and day-to-day lives. The manager provides consistent oversight of the recordings. However, feedback to and outcomes for children following their wishes and views being sought are not yet consistently provided.

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improvement to be good

The use of physical intervention is only employed when necessary to protect children and others. Such incidents are proportionate to the situation. All incidents are reviewed by the manager and reflection informs staff practice through debrief discussions. The child is spoken to following an incident and their views are sought.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding procedures have been strengthened. Since the last inspection, there have been three allegations made against staff. The incidents are clearly recorded. Information has been shared with safeguarding professionals in a timely manner. Internal investigations have been carried out. However, some lack detail in the Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 4 recordings. On one occasion, the child was not informed of the action taken or the outcome of the investigation. This means that children may not feel that their voice was heard.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and care plans are not regularly reviewed and updated. The manager advised that records are being migrated to an online system. This means that vital documents are stored in either paper or online format, and this creates a risk that staff are not following the most up-to-date plans and assessments. Despite this, staff are aware of the risk posed to each child and are familiar with the agreed risk management plan.

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improvement to be good

Of significance for one child is the risk of self-injurious behaviours. Staff are provided with a basic training event. However, most of the staff team have not received additional training in this specific area. Leaders and managers have recognised this shortfall and have taken steps to source appropriate training to meet this need.

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improvement to be good

An increased number of missing-from-home incidents have been well managed. Staff actively look for children and work well within a multi-agency team when reporting these incidents. Staff can access support from partner agencies to minimise this risk. Partner agencies consistently complete return home interviews, which gives staff a better understanding of why the children go missing. This allows plans to be developed with safeguarding partners to reduce the risks.

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improvement to be good

Thorough recruitment procedures are in place to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. The manager has effective systems in place to monitor and review their continued suitability. Staff are from diverse backgrounds and bring different skills and experience to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been further changes to the management team. The previous interim manager stepped down. A new interim manager has been in post for three weeks. Following a senior management restructure, the responsible individual previously identified, has withdrawn from the post. A senior manager, who was already supporting the home, is now recruited to this post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager is striving to establish clear expectations for staff. She is ambitious for the development of the home and has identified several key areas for improvement. This includes the strengthening of staff recording and management evaluation. This is not yet embedded and therefore does not yet provide staff with consistent opportunities to reflect and develop their care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are visible and regularly work with the children directly. This allows managers to not only build relationships with children, but to model their styles and strategies to support staff in their learning and development. Staff say that they feel well supported by the new interim manager. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 5 Managers have developed strong links with the local authority and key external agencies. This contributes to a network of support for the children. Managers attend and contribute to safeguarding meetings in respect of children in order to ensure collaborative working to keep the children as safe as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not receive regular professional supervision. Alongside this, safeguarding is not routinely discussed within supervision discussions. This limits the impact of reflection and learning outcomes for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff who are in their probation period are not having any formal review of their practice. This means that leaders and managers are not ensuring that training is being understood and incorporated into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been no quality of care report in this inspection period. Leaders and managers, therefore, do not yet have a sufficient auditing system embedded whereby the quality of care can be reviewed for children who live here. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that staff have the appropriate training to meet the individual needs of each child, and this specifically refers to staff receiving training in ligature risk.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff read, understand and follow risk assessments and behaviour management plans to understand the action to take when children are upset or at risk of harm. 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 7 The registered person must ensure that staff understand and subscribe to a safeguarding culture.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff know what constitutes safeguarding matters and that these are dealt with in line with policy.

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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 (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the registered person, through monitoring, ensuring that leaders and managers provide effective and rigorous oversight of allegations made by children against adults working in the home and that evidence of this is available. 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 8 The registered person must ensure that leaders and managers act quickly on advice provided by safeguarding partners, for example carrying out internal investigations, and that records of these investigations are made and are available.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children are made aware that leaders and managers are taking action, that children are kept updated, that restorative work between children and staff takes place and that records of this work are completed and are available.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff receive regular supervision and probation reviews in line with the home’s statement of purpose, and ensure that supervision allows staff to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care.

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make positive contribution to the home and wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that children are provided with activities in line with their wishes and feelings and also in consultation with family members and partner agencies. 25 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 9 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

a person other than the registered person carries on or manages the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered provider is an organisation—

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Requirement Due date

any change in the identity of the responsible individual.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 49 (a)(e)(iii)) 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 10

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all parts of the home where any work is required to improve the presentation is carried out in a reasonable time frame. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: SC481844 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Living Life (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 212 Ballards Lane, London N3 2LX

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481844 12 regulates and inspects 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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