Children's Home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 1 SC472325 Registered provider: Aspireone Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two young people irrespective of gender who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private company owns and operates the home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2017

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have warm and caring relationships with young people. This means that young people improve their relationships with others. Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 2  Young people are made to feel welcome when they arrive at the home. They experience a planned transition and receive a welcome pack. This helps young people to feel settled.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people receive personalised care that reflects their needs and vulnerabilities. This means that young people make good progress.  Staff protect young people from harm.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff work in close partnership with local authorities and other professionals. This means that young people’s progress is regularly monitored.  Staff motivate young people to take part in new activities, to participate in themed nights and to cook together. This means that young people improve their social skills and have fun.  Young people are prepared for adulthood effectively.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are some areas for development. These include making sure that young people have access to all appropriate areas of the home, repairing some damage caused by damp, and the manager ensuring that local authority placement plans are signed.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Good 02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 3

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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, 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2) (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, tackle the damp on the downstairs bathroom walls and lower ground floor areas including the lounge, hallway and dining room. 01/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must co-operate with the child’s placing authority in agreeing and signing the child’s placement plan. (Regulation 17 (2)) 03/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 18/08/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in all areas of their development because of the trusting and open relationships that they have with staff. Young people receive good- Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 4 quality care from well-trained and consistent staff. Staff work in close partnership with local police officers and education professionals. These strong working relationships mean that staff are able to manage young people’s risk-taking behaviours and their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to make young people feel wanted. All placements are well planned, with introductory visits and a welcome pack. The young person’s guide is well written and user friendly. This means that young people are made to feel at ease. This helps them settle into their new home. Young people receive effective, structured and meaningful key-work sessions, which they participate in. As a result, young people improve their behaviours. One young person told the inspector, ‘Yeah it’s great. I love living here and want to stay.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a very good standard and generally has a warm and homely feel. Young people have decorated some of the walls with posters and photographs of their choice. However, the downstairs toilet, kitchen, hallway and dining areas need some repair because of damp on the walls. This shortfall means that the home presents as uncared for in some areas. This could also have an impact on young people’s health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s files are heavily focused on young people’s positive attributes as well as their needs. Internal care plans are well written, with clear targets for young people. This means that young people are provided with a consistent level of care that improves their experiences of living in the home. However, the designated person or young people’s parents do not always sign local authority placement plans. As a result, the longer-term aims for the young person may not always be clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people routinely share their views about the good quality of care that they receive. The manager makes sure that young people participate in house meetings, receive one-to-one sessions and have the opportunity to raise concerns. Consequently, young people feel confident about raising any issues and are able to contribute to decisions that affect them. For example, young people have a choice about the food that they eat, decide on the home’s decoration and select the activities that they wish to do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with young people’s families, previous foster carers and friends. Young people receive appropriate support to help them to stay in touch with the people who are important to them. This means that young people maintain their family links, which adds to their sense of identity and their emotional stability. Staff also keep in contact with family members when young people go missing from the home. Staff members and parents work in partnership to locate young people. This ensures that young people are kept safe and that their well-being is promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work tirelessly with education professionals to maintain education placements for young people. Staff provide additional support and guidance when young people face challenges in their education. This helps young people to maintain a consistent routine and to improve their life experiences. The staff team encourage young people to develop their hobbies and interests, including art and singing. Staff praise young people for their individual talents and creativity. As a result, young people’s self-esteem and emotional Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 5 stability improves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager provides young people with a thorough independence plan. Young people work with staff to develop their skills in cooking, cleaning and budgeting. Because of this, young people are well prepared for their transition to adulthood. Young people have weekly access to an art therapist provided by the home. This means that young people are supported to develop strategies that help them to manage past experiences and abuse.

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

Managers ensure that safeguarding processes are in place and that staff understand them. This means that any concerns relating to the safety of young people are promptly responded to. Staff share information with the police and social workers and seek advice in an emergency, prioritising young people’s needs. Detailed risk assessments enable staff to manage young people’s risk-taking behaviours and to minimise the level of harm that they are exposed to. This means that young people are well protected and risks are minimised. Staff ensure that young people are reported to the police when they go missing. Staff follow young people to enable their safe return, and missing from home interviews are repeatedly offered. These measures help to support young people.

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

There have been no incidents of physical restraint and no complaints from young people since the last inspection. Staff ensure that young people are listened to and are given time to calm down when they are angry. Staff are skilled at ensuring that episodes of challenging behaviour are de-escalated to minimise the potential harm to young people. As a result, young people’s relationships with others improve.

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

Staff provide consistent guidance and boundaries with proportionate sanctions for poor behaviour. Young people receive rewards and positive praise to acknowledge progress in positive behaviours. This encourages young people to demonstrate more socially acceptable behaviours and helps them to manage their emotions better. The home environment is very nurturing. Young people take part in the shopping, menu planning and cooking. Staff encourage young people to enjoy meals together and talk openly about issues that matter to them. This means that young people have a sense of belonging and feel secure within their home.

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

Staff encourage young people to take care of their home and to take pride in its appearance. Young people are involved in decorating their own bedrooms and can choose the furniture that they would like. This means that young people feel at home. However, some practices within the home are restrictive and appear to have become customary. For example, the kitchen and lounge doors are locked at night. During this inspection, the lounge door was also found to be locked. This is to prevent young people from leaving the home at night. However, door alarms are fitted to young people’s bedrooms and the front door to minimise the potential risk of young people absconding. Risk assessments do not adequately explain why the doors need to be locked and young people’s movements restricted. Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been managing the provision since August 2014. She has extensive experience and the necessary qualifications for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment processes are robust. Managers verify references and ensure that all necessary paperwork and disclosure and barring checks are in place. This means that young people receive care from appropriately vetted adults. New staff receive a well- planned and thorough induction. New staff are supported by colleagues, and all staff receive regular supervision. The staff team members respect, and spoke positively about, their managers and the responsible individual. Consequently, young people are cared for by appropriately qualified and well-supported staff. This enables young people to receive a high quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose sufficiently reflects the aims and objectives of the service. Feedback from professionals about the care that young people receive is very positive. A police community support officer told the inspector, ‘Young people definitely make progress. Young people make improvements when living here. They receive education and have good free time and access good activities. Staff are managing the young people here really well. They do a grand job.’ An education professional told the inspector, ‘I have no issues at all with the staff, they are easy to communicate with and they update me if there are any issues. They have a good relationship with the young person.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people are kept safe and make good progress because of the clear vision and guidance of the manager. The manager ensures that staff are able to maintain a good standard of care for young people that promotes their welfare and improves their experiences. The manager ensures that regular feedback is sought from other professionals and young people and monitors effectively the quality of care that young people receive.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC472325 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 14-16 Bradwell House, King Street, Newcastle ST5 1EJ

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Inspector

Anna Rudge, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 9 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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