Children's home run by Aspirations Care Limited in Gloucester

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires Improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection the home was 'not judged' .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has been closed for four months. The registered provider has indicated that the home will not be operational for several more weeks, to allow time to recruit a full staff team and a registered manager. Should the home decide to accept placements, they are required to inform Ofsted of their intention before they do so. In these instances, Ofsted does not make a judgement about progress. The home was rated Inadequate at its full inspection in August 2015, when major deficits in leadership and management were found. At the second full inspection on 1 December 2015, steady progress had been made in all areas, resulting in a judgement of Requires Improvement. The young person, who was approaching the age of 18 years, moved into independent accommodation a few days after that inspection. The requirement made in relation to this young person’s independence training is therefore no longer relevant, so it has not been repeated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The two full inspections in 2015 found that the home was unable to recruit sufficient staff to operate independently of its sister service, which is situated approximately one mile away. The two services had a shared staff team and interim manager. This team was too small to cover sickness absence, annual leave and other contingencies. Management time was stretched too thinly across the two homes. Since the second full inspection on 1 December 2015, the company has appointed a Senior Practice Manager. This person was present during the inspection and explained that part of her role is to support the children’s homes managers in the region. She is a specialist in recruitment and is already working hard to recruit a staff team for this home. Significant progress has been made, but her priority has had to be staffing the other home, because there is a young person in residence. At the previous inspection, only one member of the staff team held a qualification

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

equivalent to the level 3 diploma in the care of children and young people. The staff were enrolled on this training, but had not made any progress in working towards their qualifications. The home has had difficulty in meeting this requirement , because the training provider was unable to meet their side of the contract. This has meant that the company had to change training provider . The staff have , therefore , made limited progress. The Senior Practice Manager has some ideas for taking this training and development forward , s o that the staff who are currently working at the sister home achieve their awards without further delay. Five recommendations were made at the monitoring visit in October, and repeated at the second full inspection in December. Three of these recommendations are no longer relevant to this home, so they have not been repeated again. The remaining two recommendations, concerning verification of staff references

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and professional supervision for social-work qualified staff, have been repeated. This is because the home has been closed, and there has not been sufficient opportunity to demonstrate that these recommendations have been met. The home still does not have a registered manager, although some progress has been made. The present interim manager made an application to Ofsted in September 2015 to manage both this home and the sister establishment. Following a full assessment of the situation, the prospective manager and provider agreed with Ofsted that it would be appropriate for the manager to be registered solely for the sister home, because it currently has a staff team and a young person in placement. The Senior Practice Manager said that the company is preparing to submit another application for this role. For this reason and because the home is not currently open to young people, no requirement has been made.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately-owned children’s home, operated by a national organisation. It is registered for up to two children or young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home has been operated jointly with a separately registered home nearby, but it is currently closed and has no children on roll. The company has plans to register a separate manager for this home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 CH – Interim sustained effectiveness

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to continuing to work towards full staffing and ensuring that staff achieve their level 3 qualifications, the registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

(1) (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. 31/07/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

Ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, ensure that there is a robust system for undertaking and recording reference verification (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards, April 2015, paragraph 13.1).

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Recommendations

Ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional (Regulation 33 (4) and the Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards, April 2015, paragraph 13.2).

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Recommendations

Ensure that case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry, and that risk assessments are reviewed and updated when necessary (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the Quality Standards, April 2015, paragraph 14.3).

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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

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Information about this inspection

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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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