Children's Home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC472325 Inspector Rachel Ruth Britten Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Aspireone Care Limited Registered person address Bradwell House 16-18 King Street Newcastle Under Lyme Staffordshire ST5 1EJ Responsible individual Kalvinder Bains Registered manager Rachel Louise Harris / POST VACANT Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 6 Inspection date 19/08/2014

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Previous inspection N/A Enforcement action since last inspection None.

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This inspection

This is the first inspection following registration. At this interim inspection the home was ‘not judged’ .

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This inspection

The home has only provided care to one young person since its registration on 25 January 2014. It has been closed to young people since 4 April 2014 while a suitable new manager and staff team were sought. This inspection focuses on whether the children’s home meets its statutory requirements in order to maintain its registration and is ready to accept placements. No children were present; therefore no judgement about effectiveness is made.

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This inspection

The home took its first placement within a few days of registration and within a week, a serious concern was received about the care practice of one member of staff. Despite robust recruitment practice, previous disciplinary concerns about the member of staff were not disclosed or discovered. There was however, good safeguarding practice by the Registered Manager. This included liaison with the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and investigative and disciplinary processes which ensured that the member of staff was first suspended and then dismissed. The safety of young people was therefore assured. However, records of the action taken and written notification to Ofsted of the outcome of the allegation were not completed. In addition, records of other complaints that young people made were not recorded. Neither were there sufficient staff available to provide good quality care. Lone working and threatening, damaging behaviour by young

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This inspection

people resulted in staff and the manager feeling unsafe.

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This inspection

Records of incidents and measures of control do not adequately show either young people's own views or any evaluation of the effectiveness of the measures. Young people were poorly engaged and behaviour management was often ineffective during the early weeks of the home opening. Young people placed during February and March have not enjoyed good outcomes. They did not enjoy positive relationships or engage with the home enough to make progress. They wanted to return to their home areas. They were frequently missing 3 of 6 and used all the funds they could raise by any means, to do this. An attempt by staff to break the cycle of going missing and establish positive relationships through an outward bound weekend was unsuccessful. The placement was brought to an end following a lengthy period of being missing.

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This inspection

The leadership and management of the home was inadequately prepared for taking placements and operating effectively. The Registered Manager told the home's monthly visitor in March that she did not receive adequate support from the organisation. In addition, the manager felt vulnerable when working alone with young people. As a result, the manager resigned rather than taking planned maternity leave. A replacement manager also left after a few weeks, deciding that the leadership within the organisation was too weak. The Registered Individual has learnt lessons from this. Development plans in May and July 2014 confirm a decision to keep the home empty until an experienced, manager could be identified and a complete staff team established. In addition, the home will operate with two adults on duty at all times, certainly for the first month of every placement. In order to better support the manager, the Registered Manager of the organisations other

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This inspection

home has been appointed as a head of care. He provides support and supervisory responsibilities to the manager of this home and ensures that systems for recording, staff training and support are in line with those that are working effectively in his home.

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This inspection

The home is now ready to accept placements. A new manager has been in post for a few weeks and a new staff team recruited. Most staff are qualified, experienced and familiar with working for the new manager or within the organisation. The new manager is recommended for registration by Ofsted following an interview immediately prior to this inspection. She has recently left a Registered Manager post which she successfully held for some five years. She is up to date with current legislation and guidance and has an energetic, insightful approach to managing a children's home. She says she feels well supported by the head of care and together they demonstrate competence with the organisation's systems. Her first priorities have been to ensure that the health, safety and environmental risks are known and minimised; that recruitment and vetting is robust; and that referrals for placements are appropriately matched to the environment of the home.

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This inspection

The new manager and the head of care demonstrate an ability to continually improve their effectiveness in meeting national minimum standards and Regulations. For example, they have devised a clear, detailed format for monitoring the home and are using this to identify priorities and plan developments. However, the effectiveness of their monitoring remains limited while no young people are in placement. For example, the views of young people and those of stakeholders cannot be evaluated and the requirements and recommendations of Ofsted inspections cannot be implemented in practice. 4 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is the second of two homes run by a limited company. It is registered to provide care for up to two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that written records are kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect, and of the action taken in response (Regulation 16 (2)(d)) 21/09/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that any notification made in accordance with this regulation which is given orally shall be confirmed in writing (Regulation 30 (3)) 21/09/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) ensure that written records of the use of measures of control include the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure and confirmation that the young person concerned and the person using the measure have been spoken to about it (Regulation 17B (3)(f) and (3)(h)) 21/09/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation. (Regulation 24 (5)) 21/09/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 extend the effectiveness of monitoring procedures, so that immediate action c be taken to address any issues raised by this monitoring. This specifically includes summarising the actions and messages identified within Regulation 3 5 of 6 monitoring reports; evaluating the content of feedback received from all parties; and ensuring that Ofsted inspection requirements and actions are both addressed and revisited as part of monitoring activity. (NMS 21.2) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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