Real Life Care Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 1 Real Life Care Ltd Registered provider: Real Life Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and managed by a private provider. The service registered with Ofsted on 12 October 2023. The nominated individual is also the director.

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provider

The service manager has been in post since March 2025. They were registered with Ofsted on 18 October 2025.

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provider

The service can accommodate up to 16 children in three shared or group-living homes that are limited to supporting looked-after children and care leavers. The provider currently operates in London.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, this service was providing supported accommodation for eight children aged 16 or 17 across two premises.

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Inspection dates: 10 to 13 November 2025

The inspection was announced on 10 November 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 12 and 13 November 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

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Summary of findings

Children receive consistent support, so their progress is noticeable, and develop the skills that they need for adulthood.

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Summary of findings

Children feel at home. They speak highly about the homes that they live in and the quality of support that they receive from staff. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 2 Leaders and managers motivate staff to develop trusting relationships with children, and maintain effective oversight of the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children settle well into their home. Children say that staff offer reassurance and welcome them to their new home. The staff’s approach and positive attitude help children to feel a sense of belonging and to feel comfortable as soon as they arrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children speak positively about their home environment and how well the staff support them. Children say that they have no complaints and that they want to stay living where they are for as long as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children feel valued because staff listen to them and treat them with respect. Children’s voices are heard; they make suggestions to improve how the shared accommodation is run. Children are invested in the running of the service. They are encouraged to attend regular house meetings, where they share ideas about improvements that can be made in their homes. Leaders and managers have listened to this and have made changes within the premises.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The staff manage children’s moves carefully. Children are helped to find their own accommodation when this is possible, and staff advocate for any additional support that the children may need. Due to the positive relationships that children have with the staff, they often remain in contact after they move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children make good progress in developing their independence skills. Staff tailor the support that they offer to each child based on their individual needs. The staff’s support has helped the children to learn to cook, tidy up after themselves, wash their clothes, budget and make plans for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Most children are in education. Staff encourage children to attend education, and this leads to improved attendance and commitment from children to engage in learning. When children cannot attend college or need support to return, tutors come to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported to find, and are successful in finding, work experience and employment. Staff explore the children’s interests and strengths with them and help them to apply for jobs, write CVs and consider their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children experience stability and are helped to identify and manage their emotional responses. For some children, the progress that they make is noticeable within weeks of them moving into their accommodation. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 3 Children like their bedrooms. However, they are unable to keep their precious belongings secure as they do not have access to lockable drawers or a safe in their room.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff receive good-quality training to help them to keep children safe. The staff use their training, and their understanding of the children’s support needs, to help children learn how to keep themselves safe. Children are supported to make better choices and to reflect on their behaviour and its consequences. They develop essential skills in good decision-making.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children are supported by staff who have been vetted appropriately. Safer recruitment practice helps to protect children from those adults who may present the risk of harm.

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How well children are helped and protected

Managers carefully evaluate children’s individual behaviours and needs at the point of the child’s referral. The managers ensure that the children’s needs and behaviours are compatible with those of children who already live in the premises. This careful and well-planned approach creates a safe environment in the home for all children and promotes stability for all.

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How well children are helped and protected

Risks for children reduce as children take ownership of their choices and make safer decisions. Children are proactively involved in updating their support plans. The work that is completed with children is reflective. This encourages children to recognise their risks and vulnerabilities, as well as the progress that they make.

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How well children are helped and protected

The provider has developed its own work programme to help children identify what independence looks like and what the steps are to achieve it. Staff are creative and engage the children well so that they can complete this. This helps children to develop their independence skills, alongside any other areas that the child needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

All children are helped to recognise their feelings and know how to seek staff’s support when they need to. One child said that the staff have helped them to better manage their mental health, and that they have not experienced emotional outbursts since they have moved into their new home. For one child, there has been a reduction in their self-harming behaviour as their emotional well-being has improved dramatically.

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How well children are helped and protected

The risk of radicalisation is reducing. Children find positive role models in staff members. They rebuild safe relationships with their family, create positive friendships in the community and find value in diversity.

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How well children are helped and protected

The provider uses a restorative approach to help children to develop accountability and to learn about the consequences of their actions in a safe and planned way. This minimises the risk of children being criminalised. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 4 Children are supported to develop healthy relationships and to reflect on past offending behaviours. Staff address issues of consent and respect with children, which helps them to form a consistent view of expectations in non-abusive relationships and prevent reoffending behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual leads a cohesive management structure and has effective oversight across each of the premises. Some staff work across the provider’s supported accommodation service and its children’s homes. This ensures that those children who have been cared for in the provider’s children’s homes maintain a sense of familiarity when they move into their supported accommodation premises.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual and the manager ensure that the ethos described in the service’s statement of purpose is delivered and embedded across the homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers and leaders reinforce the provider’s shared values. This, alongside staff’s dedication, promotes independence and good outcomes for children. Children say that they can engage with the staff, and that they feel valued because the managers choose ‘the right people’, who treat them like family to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers and staff promote a non-judgemental culture that creates a safe space for children. Children share their experiences, and reflect on their behaviours and choices, with the staff. This has led to children becoming safer and their outcomes improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are supported well to develop within the organisation. They receive a suitable induction programme and are trained well for their roles. Leaders and managers identify staff’s skills and promotion opportunities are provided. Support workers who show leadership potential have access to further training to develop into supervisory roles. The registered service manager spoke fondly of the support that they received to prepare them for their step into their current position.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff receive good support, so children continue to make progress. Staff said that they never feel isolated, as there is a real sense of family in the service. Regular supervision sessions and annual appraisals support staff’s morale and well-being. Regular discussions about the needs of the children and the service help the managers to identify and address any issues and to recognise the progress that is being made across the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There is a diverse and inclusive workforce that also reflects the children’s backgrounds. Leaders and managers promote children’s identities and try to match support workers to the needs of individual children. The progress that children make with their individual independence programme is recorded in folders that the children can take with them. This helps children to see Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 5 what they have achieved and to take the advice and guidance discussed with them when they move on. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers, to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including quality standards’, page 30)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 46 The Ridgeway, North Harrow, Harrow HA2 7QN

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Winsome Esson Tomlinson

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Inspector

Daniela Ferrario, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Real Life Care Ltd 8 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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