Children's Home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Unique reference number SC472325 Inspector Rachel Ruth Britten Type of inspection Full 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 Date of last inspection 19/08/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 13/01/2015

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Previous inspection not judged Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Young people make good progress in relation to their starting points. Their physical, social, emotional and behavioural progress is marked, despite only a few months in placement. The staff provide effective, high quality support and their individualised, skilled practice clearly underpins young people's progress. However, staff have not capitalised on opportunities to engage young people in gathering memorabilia of their time here.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safe yet nurturing practice. This means that young people feel safe, settled and their risk taking behaviour is hugely reduced. Young people feel safe and they know that unsafe behaviour is well managed by staff. The boundaries and expectations of group living are consistently followed, but risk assessments for lone working are too general to best inform staff how to safeguard themselves and young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Leadership and management arrangements are now strong. The current registered manager is experienced and effective at securing and sustaining improvement. As a result, the home is running well. Suitable placements have been taken only when the staff group are prepared and the systems are well understood. Positive professional relationships with stakeholders are established, but managers have not yet secured the education and CAMHS provision required in one young person's 3 of 9 placement plan. 4 of 9

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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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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 and speed up the support and encouragement given to young people to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in placement and make a record of significant life events (NMS 22.6)  ensure that the requirements of the placement plans are implemented in the day to day care of each young person. This is particularly in relation to education and CAMHS involvement (NMS 25.2)  improve the risk assessment for circumstances where only one member of staff is on duty. This is so that likely risks relating specifically to the young person and minimising allegations through safe care practices, are included. (NMS 17.9) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good progress in developing positive relationships and becoming more emotionally resilient. They benefit from good quality adult role models of both sexes and have enjoyed the consistency of the same six staff around them throughout their placement. Young people's social confidence and self-confidence have improved. They are able to talk about their feelings and are able to act appropriately to maintain and/or improve relationships both with family members and others. For example, young people were helped to make a Christmas card and visit a former teacher whom they missed. A social worker for one young person said: 'X is a completely different young person since he moved in and he is happy and relaxed here.'

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have made excellent progress with their physical and emotional health. They are eating regular healthy meals and a much wider variety of foods. They have given up routine smoking and are not buying cigarettes. They have been enjoying country walks and finding an interest in photography. They have attended medical and optical appointments cooperatively and are wearing prescribed glasses. Since placement, unhealthy uses of drugs and alcohol have not been an issue. Equally, young people are engaging weekly with an art psychotherapist and are willing to discuss some of their feelings.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are developing their independence skills and taking good levels of responsibility. They are completing home study and attending meetings relating to their educational and training needs, so that these can be re-established. They are taking responsibility to look after two pet gerbils and are cleaning their room weekly prior to receiving pocket money. They have returned from day and overnight visits to friends in the community and have welcomed friends into the home on a planned basis. They are regularly shopping and cooking and acquiring budgeting skills. Overall, incidents of risk taking and anti-social behaviour have almost disappeared since placement here and young people are becoming more confident about their readiness for adult life.

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Quality of care good

Young people know that the small staff group of six, including the manager, are consistently concerned with their welfare. Young people know who is on duty and have positive relationships with them all. The day's events revolve around including young people in all activities and necessary household routines. For example, young people are shopping, cooking, and seeing prospective new members of staff alongside staff they feel comfortable with. In this way, staff ensure that they spend 6 of 9 as much time as possible with young people, making the most of all opportunities to nurture and teach them. However, young people's interest in photography is not yet being used as a way to engage them in collecting and presenting memories of their time here and this work has not yet started after two months in placement. Nevertheless, photos are being saved and daily reports are always written directly to young people. This making the reports an engaging, helpful and confidence-building

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Quality of care good

'diary' which young people can keep. Overall, young people progress very well and most days the daily report ends with a comment such as, 'thanks for a really good day.'

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Quality of care good

Staff make a high quality contribution to young people's individual placement plans. For example, they work hard to compensate for the current absence of education and CAMHS therapy in young people's routines. They support young people with work sent from their previous school and take opportunities to extend their thinking and understanding about current affairs and different countries of the world. Staff have supported young people to develop their interests and career ideas and then present them at placement review and education meetings. Staff also provide active and outdoor opportunities for young people to practise life skills and improve their emotional health. This has all had a significantly stabilising effect on young people's behaviour. Young people have not always wanted to continue with some activities they have tried, such as rugby and rock climbing. However, they are enjoying quality

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Quality of care good

time socialising with staff and weekly sessions with an art psychotherapist whom they trust. As a result, young people can express their feelings and know that staff will take prompt action, whatever their concern is. One young person's family support worker said: 'the difference between the young person on arrival and now is massive. It is to the credit of the staff that he has come such a long way in such a short time.'

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe here. Since being placed here, their behaviour is considerably safer. Incidents of unsafe behaviour in a previous children's home and prior to that within the family home, are not re-occurring. This is because young people have chosen to move here and have made considerable progress thanks to the skill and care of staff. Staff and managers have clearly identified the risks and protective factors for individual young people and have already been able to review and reduce some of the protective measures that were initially in place. For example, young people are able to go out unsupervised with money to buy food items and they no longer always have two staff on duty to one young person.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The frequency with which children are unauthorised absent from the home is successfully minimised and there have been no missing incidents. This is a very significant progress for young people. Staff encourage peer and family relationships and assist young people both practically and emotionally to spend good quality time with those who are important to them. They show an interest in their friends and talk with their parents and carers to check that arrangements are safe and consented to. 7 of 9 Staff have helped young people to develop a much improved understanding of how to conduct social relationships safely and responsibly, for example, by inviting peers to the home and transporting them here to have a meal together. As a result, young people's self-esteem has improved significantly and they feel very at home. Young people are therefore choosing not to have involvement in drug or alcohol misuse or

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Keeping children and young people safe good

any inappropriate or offending behaviours.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Sanctions are rarely used and there have been no physical interventions used in the home since the last inspection. This is because positive, proactive, sensitive, supportive relationships exist between staff and young people. Young people have therefore been able to express their feelings and views safely. They have not lost control or become frustrated and angry. No damage has been caused to people or property. The boundaries of group living are consistently followed and explained. Young people feel that this is fair and it does not lead to any institutional or risk averse feel in the home. Indeed a social worker commented, 'this really feels like a home'.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff are securely vetted before working with young people and are introduced to young people carefully. Staff are trained in safeguarding and child protection. They understand the importance of working with police and safeguarding teams if there are allegations or child protection concerns noted via staff, young people or peers. Staff have acted cooperatively and sensitively when allegations have been made against young people by peers. As a result, young people's confidence in adults around them has become stronger. The fact that the home's lone working risk assessment is too general and does not consider allegations and safe care practices has not resulted in any compromise to the good quality safeguarding practice evidenced in the home.

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Leadership and management good

The recently appointed manager of the home has the level five diploma in leadership for health and social care and young people's services. She has over five years' experience as a home manager within a small organisation. She has been able to organise and lead the home skilfully since the last inspection in August 2014. This includes effectively addressing weaknesses identified in the practice and management of the home prior to her appointment. Good systems and effective practice in the home exist because she insisted on establishing these and the staff group before any admissions took place. Similarly, she is taking considerable time and care to ensure that a second admission to the home is both timely and appropriate for the young person already here. While there is parity between the systems and training used in both of the organisation's homes, each home now has its own staff group. As a result, consistency of care and good outcomes has been

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Leadership and management good

achieved for the young person admitted in November 2014.

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Leadership and management good

Staff are well supported in the home, with good quality supervision and training. This 8 of 9 means that they bring to bear their individual strengths, yet work safely and consistently, with shared values and high expectations of what young people can achieve. Staff meet together fortnightly and review both practice and policy issues, such as children's homes regulations and minimum standards. They also enjoy opportunities to train as a group which cements consistency and respectful professional relationships between them. As a result, the home operates coherently and to a good standard, with able and competent staff.

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Leadership and management good

Leaders and managers wish to continuously improve and to do this in a planned way. They monitor the home well and act on the messages arising from this and all the consultation that they do. They utilise the advice of the home's independent monthly visitor and have constructed a useful location assessment which is used to consider the appropriateness of referrals for placement. They have development plans in place and have forged effective relationships with stakeholders and other agencies, all of whom provide good feedback about the home. The manager is able to clearly demonstrate the difference that the home has made to young people through good quality care and management. However, managers have not used consultation with stakeholders to fullest effect to challenge and overcome barriers to services required as part of young people's initial placement plan. Despite regular contact and efforts, young people still have no education in school and are not receiving CAMHS support.

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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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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