Children's home run by Changing Lives Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2733149 1 Registered provider: Changing Lives Care Group Ltd

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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 operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Since the last inspection, the same child has remained living at the home and was spoken to by the inspector.

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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 outstanding

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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: 2733149 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2025 Full Good 30/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2733149 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives bespoke and personalised care. The child's plans are informed by the home's psychotherapist, ensuring that their needs, diagnoses and past experiences are well considered. This helps staff to deliver care that is trauma informed, and the child feels seen and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to do well in education despite their starting point from when they moved to the home. When the child is unable to attend school, staff are creative and effective in engaging them in home learning. The manager and staff are tenacious advocates for the child, ensuring that concerns are appropriately escalated when children's educational needs are not being met. The child has also been supported to make their own complaint with the support of an advocate. This helps the child to feel valued, heard and empowered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child's health needs are well met by staff. Staff teach the child how to be healthy, helping them to overcome their anxieties and fear of health professionals. For example, the child now attends routine health appointments, such as the dentist, and is being supported to manage dental braces.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular and meaningful discussions with the child. This helps the child to process their feelings and emotions. Weekly play therapy sessions with the home's in- house play therapist further support the child's emotional and mental health. Staff support the child to recognise and articulate their emotions. The child is learning to actively seek support when they need it. This improves the child's emotional and mental wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is helped to maintain relationships with those people who are important to them. Where certain relationships have been fractured, staff have helped the child to repair and strengthen these. This has enabled the child's relationship with their family to improve.

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

Staff keep the child safe. Staff know the risks that the child can be exposed to. Safety plans are created in collaboration with other professionals, such as social workers, and are reviewed regularly. When additional safety measures are put in place that might feel restrictive to the child, the manager proactively aims to reduce these as soon as it is safe to do so.

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

Staff are good as responding to behaviours that are difficult to manage, such as physical and verbal aggression. Staff implement firm behavioural boundaries with understanding and empathy. The child is supported to use their own bespoke 'emotional toolkit', which contains effective strategies to help calm them when they are feeling anxious or Inspection report for children's home: 2733149 4 distressed. These include a punch bag, sensory toys, mood ball, music and sour sweets. As a result, incidents rarely occur and the child feels well supported.

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

On one occasion, staff used physical intervention as a last resort to keep the child and others safe. The least force was used, and the child and staff were spoken to afterwards. The manager identifies learning to improve practice in this area. However, the recording of the event lacked sufficient detail and is therefore an area for development.

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

Staff respond well to the child when they are missing from the home. Staff go looking for the child and liaise with the relevant agencies, such as parents, police and social workers. Return interviews are undertaken and the child is well supported when they return. Reasons for them going missing are carefully considered, and plans are put in place to better support the child and prevent further incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is an inspirational leader. She is child focused and has high aspirations for the child. She is a steadfast advocate for the child to ensure that their needs are met. For example, she escalated concerns about the child's need for a school place to the wider system and her local member of Parliament. She has also provided an advocate for the child to support them in making their own complaint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel extremely well supported and admire the manager's leadership. The manager leads by example and provides a high level of support to staff in the home and when supporting out of hours. She is warm and nurturing and skilled at developing staff's knowledge and practice. One staff member said, 'Our manager is truly the best manager I have worked with.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has robust oversight and quality assurance systems in place. She knows what is happening in the home daily. Internal and external audits are undertaken, and learning is used proactively to improve the service. Incidents and behaviours are closely monitored and tracked for patterns. Children's progress is also collated and analysed, informing the manager's review of the service. Research and theories are used as a framework for reflective practice discussions, helping the team to meaningfully reflect and draw learning from each incident, which is then put into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When there are changes in the staff team, the manager earnestly considers how to reduce the impact for the child and promotes positive endings. For example, the child said that they would miss a staff member's hugs when they leave. The staff member used paint to make a hug print of their arms on a t-shirt that the child was wearing. This was captured in a photograph, which is displayed in the home, and the child has the 'hug t-shirt' as a keepsake.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are competent and skilled. Staff receive training in relation to the child's needs, such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Staff are further supported by the home's psychotherapist who provides high-quality, tailor-made training to upskill them in meeting the child's specific needs and diagnosis using a Inspection report for children's home: 2733149 5 trauma-informed approach. Staff have also received specialist missing-from-care training from the local police officer. Inspection report for children's home: 2733149 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept and that these enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 2733149 7

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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: 2733149 8 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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