Real Life Care Ltd

Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 1 Real Life Care Ltd Real Life Care Ltd 12 Marmion Avenue, London E4 8EP Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This privately owned residential family centre provides continuing assessment, monitoring and support for up to 6 families who are stepping down from other residential family centres.

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Information about this residential family centre

The centre and the manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025. The registered manager notified Ofsted of an extended period of absence and was not present for this inspection.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this inspection, there were 2 families living in the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

The residential family centre provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the residential family centre contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

The centre provides a homely, welcoming and nurturing environment. The physical environment is decorated and furnished to a high standard. One of the key strengths of this family centre is the positive relationships staff build with families. Families receive excellent individualised care and support that are tailored to meet their needs. Parents said that they feel safe in the centre and described the environment as ‘welcoming’ and ‘supportive’. Staff demonstrate warmth, compassion and empathy, alongside a strong understanding of families’ lived experiences. One parent said, ‘The staff are understanding, non-judgemental, kind, funny, real; they’re amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Staff are well qualified, professional and skilled in offering bespoke support to parents. Parents report that staff deliver guidance and support clearly and respectfully. They said that tools such as the ‘traffic light’ system help them to easily understand expectations and measure their progress. Staff are solution focused and are committed to supporting and advocating for parents, whether through providing letters of support to housing authorities or accompanying parents to important appointments. Advocacy is a strength that parents and professionals consistently and positively reported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents receive excellent support from staff when they are leaving the centre and planning for the future. One social worker said that staff supported one parent well to move to a different local authority on leaving the centre, ensuring that the parent had consistent support from local mental health services until new professional relationships were established in her new area. The social worker stated that this work and the ‘staff’s meaningful daily interaction and day-to-day relational work’ directly contributed to a comprehensive care plan agreed by the courts, which meant that mother and child were reunited. Another former resident who left the centre to return to the community with their baby spoke positively about the comprehensive planning, including support with housing and coordinating links with universal services, as well as maintaining established links with specialist services. The parent said, ‘Staff made sure I had that in place before I left, as I haven’t got a

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

big support network.’ This reflects the centre’s exceptional commitment to sustained outcomes for children, ensuring that families leave with strong, realistic support networks in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Assessments are of very high quality. They are considered, balanced and comprehensively evaluate the parents’ ability to meet their children’s needs safely. Assessments are informed by relevant research and theoretical hypotheses. The assessment recommendations arise from observations, key-work sessions, specific parenting tasks and the triangulation of historic and known information. Cultural factors such as class, age, gender and ethnicity are well considered in parenting assessments that lead to realistic, inclusive and specific recommendations. Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 3 Assessments are analytical and highlight parents’ strengths as well as areas of concern that always relate back to the impact on children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Parents and children are offered a wide range of activities in the centre and the community, including pamper nights, baby activities and trips out, which promote positive relationships and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Managers and staff work hard to ensure that the centre meets the diverse needs of all parents and children. Cultural and religious festivities are celebrated. For example, at the suggestion of one parent, Indian Independence Day was celebrated. This also helped other parents to learn about different cultures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Staff have a good understanding of parents’ additional needs. They adapt their communication style to ensure that parents can fully engage and understand when working with staff. This includes the use of interpreters, translation services and visual prompts. This ensures that parents are meaningfully supported and able to participate fully while at the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Staff and managers demonstrate excellent practice in relation to cultural awareness and inclusion. Cultural needs are respected, explored and embedded in care planning and parenting assessments. The use of the cultural questionnaire as part of a family’s introduction to the centre is an example of this and helps build meaningful engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: outstanding

Staff are creative and responsive, providing resources to meet cultural needs while maintaining safeguarding, for example by the provision of appropriate cooking equipment.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Safeguarding practice at the centre is exceptionally robust and embedded across all aspects of the service with excellent management oversight in place. Placement planning, risk assessments and family plans are comprehensive, dynamic and regularly reviewed. Staff work closely with parents and social workers to regularly review individual monitoring and support plans, ensuring that levels of monitoring in place for families are proportionate, balancing privacy alongside any identified risk and ensuring that the child’s safety is foremost.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Interventions and direct work are bespoke and agreed with parents. There is clarity of expectations and a shared understanding of risk, enabling children to be kept safe.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Risk assessments are child focused and of very good quality. They are reviewed and updated regularly, which ensures that children’s safety remains paramount.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Parents are supported to access appropriate specialist and universal services that significantly enhance learning, personal development and their capacity to keep themselves and their children safe. Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 4 Incidents and complaints are managed exceptionally well, with swift, proportionate and reflective responses from managers. Professional feedback demonstrates a high level of confidence in how staff and managers manage incidents, complaints and safeguarding concerns. Managers’ and staff’s excellent partnership working and close collaboration with the professional network add further weight to the strength of safeguarding practice at the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: outstanding

Staff maintain clear, consistent and appropriate professional boundaries, supported by regular safeguarding training and supervision. Staff demonstrate excellent understanding of safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Interim management arrangements are in place at the centre, and the deputy manager is acting up as the interim manager. A senior team leader and a qualified senior social work consultant support her. Other senior managers in the organisation are also available for extra support. This arrangement is working very well and has provided stability and consistency for families and staff at the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The interim manager is highly skilled, organised, empathic and dedicated. She demonstrates excellent leadership and strong advocacy for families and children. She knows parents and children exceptionally well, and her caring approach helps to shape the nurturing and calm environment of the centre and supports the child- centred practice the service offers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is stable, and staff retention is good. Staff report feeling valued by the management team and the organisation. One staff member commented, ‘The management team are approachable, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in staff wellbeing as well as professional development, which makes a real difference in such a demanding area of work.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff and the interim manager receive regular and good-quality supervision. Communication between staff is highly effective, ensuring that there is a shared understanding of families’ needs, expectations of staff, care planning and safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have developed a clear and valued culture of learning from feedback. Parent feedback, questionnaires and regulatory reports are used effectively to identify areas for improvement and to drive service development. Service development plans are ambitious but realistic, with several initiatives already in place to strengthen the offer further, such as the development alongside specialists of a new support group for male survivors of domestic abuse.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection. Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 5

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents 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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 6

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Residential family centre details

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

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Residential family centre details

Responsible individual: Mehnaaz Chaudhary

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Real Life Care Ltd 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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