Transforming Lives Company Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 1 Transforming Lives Company Ltd Registered provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation provider registered with Ofsted on 2 October 2023. The nominated individual registered as the service manager at the same time.

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provider

The provider can accommodate up to 46 children across 8 ring-fenced homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, 15 children aged 16 and 17 were being supported and 6 of them were unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

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Inspection dates: 29 June to 2 July 2026

The inspection was announced 29 June 2026 and started that day. The inspectors were on site 1 and 2 July 2026.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

The key strength of the leaders, managers and staff is their commitment to supporting children to develop their independence through a supportive and structured programme.

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Summary of findings

Staff build positive relationships with children that enables them to feel safe and nurtured.

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Summary of findings

Children’s case files are clear and well documented. However, staff practice in how to respond, for example, when children are routinely going missing is limited. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children feel well supported by staff and one child said, ‘I am getting enough support and if I need anything extra my support staff will provide this.’ Staff provide an environment that is safe and nurturing for children. The interactions between children and staff demonstrate mutual respect. This stems from staff efforts in building strong relationships with children. A personal advisor said the providers are ‘p roviding a caring service that prioritises the needs of children’. This enables children to build a sense of belonging and feelings of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff actively encourage children to participate in their support planning. This means that children’s voices are heard and their views taken into consideration. One child expressed an interest in gaining a certificate in construction by doing online studies. Staff advocated for this child with external services and were able to secure funding approval.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children are in education, and other children seek employment and apprenticeship opportunities. Staff are ambitious for the children’s futures and support them in their efforts to access education via college, in-house tutoring, or evening classes by supporting the application and preparation process. One child said they wants to be a painter and decorator and has progressed in their first year of college studies and will be moving on to the second year in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff enable children to participate in personalising their home, for example painting the hallways and bedrooms in a colour chosen by the children. This enables children to contribute to making where they live feel like their home, and that their voices matter. One staff said that it is important to show children ‘that they matter...’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The premises are of a good standard, comfortable and well maintained. The leaders and managers have installed gyms and table tennis facilities within the homes, which are actively in use. Children are involved in gardening, barbecue events and staff support children to celebrate religious events, such as EID, Easter, Christmas. This ensures that children are developing understanding of cultural differences and encourages camaraderie among the children and with staff. Staff respond well to the cultural and religious needs of children by supporting them and going with them, initially, to access local places of worship, such as mosques and churches. They offer the children items to help them practice their faith, for example the Bible, Qur’an and prayer mats.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

The children easily access their social networks in the community. When they move in, the staff introduce them to the local services, such as gym, library, local shops, transport services. The children participate in activities that enhance their social interactions in the community with activities, like bowling, going to the park, gym, and cinemas. One child was really pleased they had learned how to swim. All children are registered with a doctor, dentist and optician, which helps them to maintain good personal health. Children can successfully navigate immigration Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 3 processes because of the support they receive from staff to attend appointments and engage with solicitors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children make good progress in developing a range of life skills in preparation for adulthood. Children say they learn how to cook, clean their home, go shopping at places, where they can meet their cultural dietary needs, and to manage their money. One child referred to staff as always helpful.

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How well children are helped and protected

Overall, staff manage the safety of children appropriately. There is prompt communication with external services, such as the local authority, police or youth offending services. Children say they feel safe in their home and in the local community. One personal advisor said they are ‘kept informed of key updates or concerns and staff are responsive to contact made’.

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How well children are helped and protected

The staff offer a structured programme of support to help the children navigate the challenges they face day to day. Nonetheless, some children do go missing. The staff are proactive in consistently reporting when the children go missing. They complete welfare calls and make efforts to try to engage with children while missing. However, staff practice when children return from being away, does not go far enough to encourage children to change their behaviour and so the frequency of children being missing is not reducing.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff recording practices are to a good standard and they appropriately include any information identified from referral documentation in risk assessments and support plans. Plans are well written and identify clear actions to be taken by staff to support children, such as minimising episodes when children go missing, however, the implementation of this in practice does not always occur.

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How well children are helped and protected

The processes used by managers and leaders to recruit staff safely are not implemented consistently. The registered service manager appropriately requests previous employer references. However, staff begin working in the service, before the references are verified or gaps in employment history are clarified. This can lead to unsuitable staff working with children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Most fire exits can be appropriately used in the event of the need to exit a premises in an emergency. However, one of the premises uses a side gate as a fire exit that is opened by using a padlock code. This was installed because of items going missing from the garden area of the house. This locking system has a health and safety risk in the event of a need for emergency exiting from this premises.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 4 The leaders’ and managers’ strength are in supporting children towards independence. However, their effectiveness in monitoring and addressing the frequency of children going missing and supporting staff to reduce children’s missing behaviour is limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The leaders and managers review records and provide feedback to staff, yet their knowledge of safeguarding practice and the role of the local authority designated officer is limited, and this means the overall approach to safeguarding is narrow.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The leaders and managers encourage staff development through a programme of training and mentoring. This results in staff becoming team leaders and means reliable staff retention, providing continuity for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The required quality of support review includes the views of children but does not address all the required matters, such as feedback from each child’s accommodating authority. There is extensive use of surveillance cameras inside the properties between bedrooms and bathrooms, which is not proportionate in relation to maintaining children’s privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

On occasions, the registered service manager has accepted children without seeking further relevant information from the local authority and so opportunities are missed to provide support appropriately. The leaders and managers have not notified Ofsted of all safeguarding incidents, such as police call outs, self-harming matters. While other agencies have been suitably informed, the lack of notifying Ofsted impedes regulatory oversight. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 5

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that the individual is of integrity and good character,

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 1. (Regulation 17 (1) (3)(d) 09 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(b)(f)) 02 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain a system for monitoring and improving the quality of support provided by the supported accommodation undertaking by completing a review (“a quality of support review”) at least once every six months, which must take into account—

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Requirement Due date

the views of children, including any feedback and complaints received;

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Requirement Due date

feedback from individual children on the impact the supported accommodation has had on the child’s life, especially regarding how well prepared the child felt for transition into supported accommodation and how well prepared the child feels for transition out of supported accommodation; 09 October 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 6 feedback from each child’s accommodating authority, staff and any relevant persons;

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Requirement Due date

any relevant research and developments in relation to the way in which the needs of children are best met.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should challenge any accommodating authority that asks them to accept a young person in the absence of complete and current information about the young person and their needs in the form of relevant plans, as it would not normally be acceptable to expect that a placement/accommodation arrangement of a young person without the necessary information would go ahead in circumstances other than an emergency, whereby this information should be shared with urgency. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations including Quality Standards’, Page 17)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that any service using CCTV or other monitoring equipment in a setting must only do so in communal areas and this must only be to support the safeguarding, protection and wellbeing of young people. Any use of CCTV must be no more intrusive than is needed and should respect the privacy of young people. (‘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: Transforming Lives Company Ltd 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Transforming Lives Company Ltd

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: admin@tlcsocialcare.co.uk

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Inspectors

Phyllis Dyer, Social Care Inspector Ann Adesoye, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Transforming Lives Company 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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