Children's Home run by Changing Lives Care Group Ltd in Derby

Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 1 Registered provider: Changing Lives Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home at the time of inspection. The child was spoken with as part of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/05/2025 Full Good 02/07/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 3

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Summary of findings

The home is welcoming and has a homely atmosphere. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their interests and identities. Staff speak warmly about the children and show care in their interactions. Children enjoy positive relationships with staff; as a result, they feel able to share their feelings and seek support when they need it. Staff help children to make progress in key areas of their lives, including education, friendships, activities and family relationships. When notice is given to end children’s placements, leaders have not recorded learning from their reflections. This limits opportunities to improve future transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the home is welcoming and truly feels like a family home. Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms, for example one child has pictures on their wall of people who are important to them. Children are also included in decisions about the decoration of the home. Photos of children and staff are displayed with pride throughout the home, capturing memories and achievements, which also promotes a sense of identity and homeliness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education for children and ensure that children make progress. One child had spent several years out of education and has been supported to progress from home tutoring to completion of their first year at college. This is notable progress. Staff worked closely with an education provider to emotionally support another child when they experienced difficulties attending their education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built positive, trusting relationships with children. Staff show children that they are cared for and valued, using personalised letters and a positive achievement book to celebrate their progress and strengths. These thoughtful gestures help children feel recognised and supported. One child described feeling genuinely cared for by staff and comfortable sharing their feelings with them, explaining that they would read the letters from staff to lift their mood whenever they felt down.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and maintain important relationships between children and their families or others who are important to them. This helps children to sustain family and social connections and supports their sense of identity. One child has been supported to progress from having only limited time with their family to now enjoying overnight stays in the family home. This has strengthened family relationships. However, on one occasion, changes to the child’s care plan were not shared with the parent. This had the potential to increase the child’s risk of harm and hindered the parent’s ability to provide reassurance. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 4 Children are encouraged to participate in activities that reflect their individual interests and preferences. This provides opportunities for enjoyment, a sense of achievement and positive social interaction. One child’s plan to spend time in the community was

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

adapted to enable them to attend church independently. In addition, staff attended one child’s baptism, further reinforcing the child’s sense of being valued and their identity being respected.

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

Staff know the risks that children can face. Children’s risk management plans provide clear guidance on how staff should respond to incidents. These plans are written in an age-appropriate way, helping children to understand how and why staff are working to keep them safe. However, plans and assessments have not routinely been updated to reflect incidents that have taken place away from the home when children have been in the care of their families.

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

Staff manage the risks associated with self-harm well, putting appropriate safety measures in place, such as regular welfare checks, waking night staff and room searches, to help protect children during vulnerable periods. These approaches are adapted as children’s needs and risks change. Children feel supported and are able to tell staff when they have harmed themselves, ensuring they receive both medical attention and emotional support.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take appropriate action in line with children’s missing-from-home protocols. Staff carry out searches to try to locate children and notify the police when required. Staff speak with children sensitively to explore their reasons for going missing and identify how they can be better supported to reduce the likelihood of further incidents of this nature.

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

Staff work closely with children to help them understand risks and make safer, more positive choices. This is achieved through direct key-work discussions that aim to increase their awareness of risk and promote better decision-making. One child has been able to adopt alternative strategies to self-harm following therapeutic support from a psychotherapist working with the home.

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

Staff use de-escalation and calming techniques effectively, and as a result, physical intervention is rare. However, when interventions do occur, information is recorded across multiple documents, making it difficult to clearly understand whether the hold was proportionate and necessary. During one incident, a child was physically restrained but because they were moving out of the home that day, records do not clearly show that the child was spoken with about the hold. As a result, opportunities for learning were missed on this occasion. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a manager who talks positively and with genuine care about the children, demonstrating clear aspirations for their progress. Staff report feeling well supported by the manager and are confident to raise any worries or concerns. One staff member said, ‘My manager is approachable, supportive, and maintains high expectations. She encourages continuous professional development.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision, with increased supervision and support provided to new staff during their probationary period. These sessions cover key areas such as children’s care, safeguarding and staff wellbeing. This ensures that the manager can regularly evaluate staff’s performance and their support needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place on a regular basis. Leaders and managers have implemented a trauma-informed approach to working with children that is being embedded into care practice. This enables staff to reflect on incidents and share learning from practice to make positive changes for children’s care. An in-house therapist liaises with the manager to provide further guidance to staff and any additional training needed. This ensures that staff are skilled and able to meet the evolving needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and the manager work effectively with other agencies to meet children’s needs. The psychotherapist, working with the home, challenged child and adolescent mental health services following a lack of support for one child. This resulted in a full medication review taking place for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not recorded learning from their reflections when notice has been given to end placements for children. This limits opportunities to improve future transitions. One child received immediate notice to end their time at the home following a safeguarding incident. Another child’s placing authority was given 28 days’ notice to end the child’s placement. This does not align with the child’s care plan, and there was a delay in this being communicated to key people for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept that 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. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving both practically and emotionally. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with each child; the home’s staff; each

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Recommendations

child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child, including their social worker, independent reviewing officer, teachers, clinicians and other health professionals and so on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2769987 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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Inspectors

Nile Blanchard, Social Care Inspector Susie Vere, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2769987 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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