Children's home run by Aspire House Partnership in Harrow

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judge that it has Sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has made positive progress in addressing the requirements and recommendations set at the last inspection. In particular, he has improved the safe care of young people by improving safeguarding and risk management. New admissions are managed by ensuring there are effective risk assessments in place. These consider the impact on others in the home ensuring stability and a safe environment for all. The registered manager maintains regular monitoring of the home to aid in his six monthly reviews of the quality of care provided. He uses this information effectively within the home to assist in improving the care of the young people. In particular, he has been highly innovative in addressing instances of missing and absent from care. He has worked closely and effectively with police and the local authority, to analyse information creatively gathered by staff. This has allowed staff to track young people and identify where they have been. Staff use this

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

information to engage with families and others to reduce unauthorised absences. This has a major impact on the safe care of young people in the home. However, when young people from one placing authority return from periods of missing the local authority have rarely supplied independent return interviews, despite repeated requests from the home. The home and police do afford young people the opportunity to discuss their absences when they return. Not all placing authorities are providing suitable safeguards for young people who go missing from care. The registered manager has notified HMCI of any significant events in a timely manner. Where other actions are required the home has ensured young people’s safety by engaging positively with the local safeguarding children board, the police and the local authority designated officer. Where potential conflicts of interest have occurred the home has acted promptly to notify all relevant parties and ensure an

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

impartial investigation takes place. Staff enhance young people’s safe care by the rigour and speed of these investigations. The recruitment of new staff is in line with safer recruitment guidelines. The registered manager rigorously scrutinises all applications and diligently applies all required checks on potential appointees. In particular, he ensures that where staff have previously worked with children or vulnerable adults, he makes suitable efforts to determine the reason the employment finished. However, he has not completed these checks on all staff previously employed by the home undermining the rigour of the safeguarding procedures for children. The registered manager has improved care plans, risk assessments and behavioural support plans. These are in place for all children from the commencement of their placements, enhancing their safe care. Plans are suitably detailed and regularly reviewed, showing evidence of progress in a wide range of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

areas identified in the local authority care plans. However, staff do not always fully record the evidence linked to the progress or all dates for review making it more difficult to track effective interventions over long periods of time. The registered manager has devised and partially implemented a simplified recording system to aid effective recording. Young people’s files show reduction in offending; improved health; reducing or eradicated missing from care; and reductions in drug abuse. The staff provide good support to young people to aid their attendance in school, college or work schemes. They work well with educational settings and with the virtual school. A representative of the virtual school praised their communication with a college in the absence of an allocated social worker for one young person. However, despite the high level of support from the home some of the young people have poor attendance or engagement in education. The staff are persistent

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and creative in their efforts to engage young people in education and ensure that recreational activities include cultural and religious activities to support their development. The registered manager has created a comprehensive workforce development plan for the home. This provides a good overview of the induction, training and supervision of staff. The helpful supervision planner allows for easy tracking of the successful provision of ongoing supervision to all staff. The independent visitor no longer provides supervision to the management team enhancing the integrity of her reporting. The workforce development plan does not fully explain the processes for managing and improving poor performance but does indicate where this information is located. The plan provides a good structure for the effective development of staff skills and competencies in the care of young people. Young people frequently show acceptable behaviour in the home. There have been

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

no restraints since the last inspection and few sanctions. Where sanctions are used young people work with staff to devise them and co-write agreements, which often underpin them. This empower the young people and increases the potential impact of the interventions. In addition, the home use behaviour rewards linked to the achievement of targets. Staff monitor progress and achievement of these behavioural targets reinforcing the desired outcomes. Young people are learning appropriate behaviours with this support. Staff encourage young people to engage in healthy eating and exercise. Individual young people have health targets and staff aid them with regular checks of these and linked targets. Placement plans incorporate health care targets and where appropriate relevant cultural or religious issues. Staff are knowledgeable about individual young people’s cultural and religious requirements and choices and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

provide suitable support to them to maintain these.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately owned children's home registered to care for up to four young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that when a child returns after being missing from care or away from the home without permission the responsible authority provides an opportunity for them to have an independent return home interview.(The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them, in particular for currently employed staff, who had previously worked with children or vulnerable adults, ensure that you seek verification of why the employment or position ended. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph13.1)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff are familiar with the homes policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful objective and clear recording. In particular that evidence of meeting care plans targets and desired outcomes is consistently completed. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This 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 Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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