The Banyan Tree

Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC396186 Registered provider: Living Life (UK) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home, and the inspector sought their views.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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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: SC396186 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good 01/04/2025 Full Inadequate 22/10/2024 Full Good 23/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children experience a warm and welcoming environment where they develop positive relationships with staff. They are making progress from their starting points, and staff understand the risks associated with their individual needs. Allegations and complaints are managed effectively, and appropriate action is taken to safeguard children. Strong management oversight ensures that staff feel well supported in their roles and can deliver a good standard of care. However, there are shortfalls in how promptly emerging needs are identified and addressed. Despite this, children receive nurturing care that promotes their safety, wellbeing and progress overall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 5 children have moved into the home, and 4 children have moved out. Two of these moves were unplanned and took place at short notice. On both occasions, leaders and managers, alongside safeguarding partners, acted decisively in the children’s best interests. These decisions ensured that children’s needs were prioritised and that their individual needs were met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm and welcoming environment that is decorated to a high standard. They are supported to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their individual tastes. The manager has adapted previously underused areas of the home to provide additional facilities for children and has further plans to adapt other spaces to create different living areas that meet children’s preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive and meaningful relationships with staff. Staff show warmth and interest in children, and interactions are characterised by fun and laughter. Two children have recently moved into the home, resulting in some instability within the peer group. Staff have managed the changes effectively and have prioritised building positive relationships with children. This helps children to form trusting relationships with staff and to enjoy the company of other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education and are supported to engage with their learning. One child has settled well into their education placement and is making good progress, demonstrating increased confidence and a positive attitude towards learning. Staff work closely with education professionals, sharing relevant information to ensure that children’s needs are understood and that support remains responsive. Two children have identified provisions in place for the upcoming school year. This promotes learning and ensures that children are supported to achieve their individual potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on promoting and maintaining children’s relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff recognise the positive impact that this has on children’s wellbeing. When concerns arise, arrangements are adjusted to help Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

children maintain these relationships safely. This supports children to maintain positive connections.

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

Staff understand the risks that children may face. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect children’s changing needs. Relevant information is shared with staff, who follow these plans consistently. For one child, staff understand the risks associated with child sexual exploitation and take appropriate action to manage them. However, progress in delivering the agreed direct work to help the child understand exploitation, recognise unsafe situations and strengthen their ability to keep themselves safe has been slow.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are managed well. Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual risks and follow agreed protocols when a child is missing from home. This response, alongside the support provided to children following incidents and increased staffing ratios, has contributed to a recent reduction in the number of missing- from-home incidents. However, the manager has not sufficiently challenged the lack of return home interviews with each child’s local authority. This has limited opportunities to identify important information shared by children about their experiences while missing and to ensure that learning from incidents is used effectively to further reduce risk.

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

Children know how to raise concerns and make complaints when they are unhappy with their experiences. Staff listen to them and take their concerns seriously. The manager carries out thorough investigations and liaises appropriately with the local authority designated officer. Complaints are resolved effectively and within appropriate time frames. However, on one occasion, staff incorrectly recorded an allegation made by a child. As a result, the manager did not identify and respond to the concern swiftly. The manager has since taken steps to address this shortfall.

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

Staff use physical restraint only as a last resort to keep children and others safe. The manager reviews every incident, and consistent debrief discussions help to inform staff practice. Children are always spoken to following an incident. Staff use a restorative approach after incidents, which enables relationships to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed manager who is well supported by a proactive senior leadership team. The manager and deputy manager work directly with children, enabling them to build positive relationships and model their styles to support staff in their learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported and enjoy their roles. This is achieved through regular reflective supervision, team meetings and training opportunities. One staff member said, ‘Management is really good. We have consistency with [names of managers]; they support us and are very open.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective quality assurance and oversight processes in place. She reviews all incidents and maintains oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. The manager provides detailed evaluations, and any learning identified is shared with the staff team. She values advice and guidance from external professionals and takes prompt action to address any identified shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established effective communication with partner agencies, ensuring that relevant information is shared promptly. This supports a coordinated approach to safeguarding and care planning, with professionals kept fully informed of incidents, changes in children’s circumstances and emerging concerns. As a result, safeguarding partners are able to respond effectively and contribute to decision-making. One professional said, ‘Communication has been amazing; this is one of the really good ones.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all risks to children are identified and responded to promptly, in line with their care plans. 19 November 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that all allegations made by children are appropriately recorded, reported and acted on.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or absent without permission, the responsible local authority provides them with the opportunity to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should request these interviews promptly and escalate any failure to undertake them. The home should consider the information obtained through such interviews when assessing risks and implementing measures to safeguard children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: SC396186 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Living Life (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 212 Ballards Lane, London N3 2LX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Denise Springett

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Inspector

Caroline Coop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC396186 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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