Children's Home run by Ownlife Limited in Lewisham

Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in May 2025 and is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. They make positive progress in their physical well-being, emotional health and educational attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are carefully planned to help them settle and feel comfortable. Children are given the opportunity to visit the home before moving in and to choose their bedrooms. This thoughtful and inclusive approach has helped to reduce any anxieties about their moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has successfully completed their GCSEs, marking a significant achievement. The other child has shown notable improvements in their attendance and academic attainment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in meaningful conversations with staff to help them understand and process their experiences. These discussions also explore ways to support the child effectively. While the records of these conversations are detailed, they do not consistently capture the child’s own views and perspectives, resulting in a missed opportunity to reflect on their learning and progress from their point of view.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has struggled to form a trusting relationship with staff. Staff report that the child is highly independent, which has contributed to gaps in understanding their family relationships and insight into their behaviours. This has limited the staff’s ability to fully support the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage in a wide range of activities. One child attends a football group regularly, which they really enjoy. Activities are also provided in the home, including opportunities for children to help with the cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote cultural awareness by ensuring the menu includes a diverse range of foods from various cultures. This not only encourages curiosity but also provides meaningful opportunities for children to learn about and to appreciate different cultural traditions and backgrounds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a homely, comfortable and inviting environment. The home is clean, tidy and well maintained throughout. Each child’s bedroom is attractively decorated and individually personalised, helping them to feel settled and valued. The quality of the decor and furnishings creates a positive atmosphere where children feel comfortable and proud of their surroundings. Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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

Both children feel safe at the home. One child described it as ‘joyful’, and a professional commented that living at the home ‘had been life changing for the child’.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of safeguarding protocols and follow established procedures if a child goes missing from the home. They maintain a robust missing-from- care process, keeping a daily missing-from-home log and staying in contact with the child’s network. Children are warmly welcomed back to the home, and staff review their welfare to ensure their safety and well-being.

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

Risk assessments are completed and regularly updated to reflect children’s changing needs and risks. However, assessments are not dynamic, which limits the ability to identify emerging risks promptly, record planned actions or evaluate the impact of interventions on children’s safety.

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

Staff do not have access to the local authority care plans for either child, which limits clarity about how the home is meeting their needs in line with statutory requirements. Despite this, the home maintains a positive and proactive working relationship with the local authority, ensuring that there is regular communication to support the children’s welfare and safety.

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

Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint, although it has not been necessary to use it. Instead, staff describe a range of alternative interventions that effectively prevent situations from escalating to the point where restraint is required. Additionally, goal setting and incentive schemes are implemented in the home to support positive behaviour and demonstrate children’s progress.

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

The organisation has a robust safer recruitment practice established. This ensures that only individuals deemed suitable are employed to work with children, promoting their safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A highly motivated leadership team, supported by an experienced registered manager, provide good oversight of the home. The responsible individual and senior team members draw on their in-depth knowledge of the home to support both children and staff effectively, fostering a culture of care, consistency and continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported and demonstrate dedication to the children and the home. The manager has established processes to ensure that training is consistently attended by the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff development is a priority. All staff receive annual appraisals, which include planning for future personal and professional development. They also receive regular supervision Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

sessions, providing opportunities to reflect on their practice and discuss their welfare and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work closely together to meet the needs of the children and to ensure that relevant professionals are kept up to date with their progress. One professional described communication from staff at the home as ‘excellent’, reflecting the effectiveness of these partnerships. Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s risk assessment should be kept up to date to reflect any changes in risks and vulnerabilities. 5 December 2025

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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

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

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (f)) 5 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (case records) for each child which— 5 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have a copy of the placing local authority care plan for the child.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. In particular, these should include care plans to show the child’s needs, experiences and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff encourage children to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’, supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.9)

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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: 2816103 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Legion House, 75 Lower Road, Kenley CR8 5NH

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Inspectors

Richard Wyper, Social Care Inspector Zafer Yilkan, His Majesty Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2816103 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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