Children's home run by Aspire House Partnership in Harrow

Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 1 SC467004 Registered provider: Aspire House Partnership

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this children’s home providing care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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: 21 December 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are positive about living at the home. A child said, ‘I loved my time at the home.’  Staff support children to achieve some good outcomes. Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 2  Staff promote children’s safety. Incidents of children going missing have improved significantly.  Staff promote children’s education. A professional said, ‘They challenge key partners to ensure there is no drift or delay in sourcing a suitable education provision.’  Children experience stability in the leadership and management of the home with few staff changes.  A parent said, ‘I couldn’t fault the home. There was a lovely atmosphere, always willing to help with any concerns I had. A brilliant place for my child.’  A member of staff commented, ‘I enjoy the calmness of the home and how we as a team communicate and work together to provide consistency for the children.’

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 30/08/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 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 registered person must— (a) keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and (b) notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (5) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. Specifically, the statement of purpose must make clear that this is not a therapeutic home and that staff are not qualified therapists. Also, the complaints policy must make clear what is meant by ‘informal’ and ‘formal’ complaints. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)(5)) 30/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (2) The registered person may only— (a) employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or (b) if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). (3) The requirements are that— (c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(c)) 30/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 30/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 4

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have made significant progress while living at the home, which has improved their outcomes. For example, some children have improved their behaviour at school and have received an award for attendance and engagement. Improved behaviour has led to greater stability in some children’s lives, for example with their returning to live with their foster families. Other children have lived in the home only for a short time so have had limited opportunity to experience what the home has to offer and, thus, to make progress. A few children have continued to struggle to regulate their behaviour and emotions and this has led to placement breakdown, despite good progress in other areas of their lives. Education is a high priority. The manager and staff challenge local authorities to provide a suitable education for children. For example, some children rejected home tuition because they wanted to go out to school each day and have opportunities to learn with

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

other children. The staff identified suitable schools and worked effectively with other professionals to make this happen. A professional stated, ‘Staff strongly advocate for the well-being and education of children placed in their care. They understand that social, emotional and behavioural issues can at times be a barrier to successful life chances for children in their care.’ At times, children have gone missing from the home. In one case, this was for long periods and placed the child at high risk. Missing episodes have now significantly decreased, the child’s safety has greatly improved and their school attendance is now excellent. This is a very good outcome. A social worker reports that a child made ‘significant progress since first moving to the placement, particularly in terms of no longer having regular missing episodes and in attending education’. There is an improved admissions process, including risk assessments on the likely effect

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

of a new admission on other residents. For planned admissions, children have the chance to visit the home and meet the staff. This helps them decide if they wish to live in the home and invest in the placement. Staff help children to understand why they are looked after. Those who have moved on to live semi-independently have gained useful life skills, such as preparing meals and budgeting, and are supported to find suitable training and employment. Children keep in touch with staff. Staff respect children as individuals. Their achievements are celebrated. Mentors have helped those children who are in need of extra support at difficult times in their lives. Staff help children to build positive relationships with family members where this is possible, for example by inviting family members to share meals in the home for Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 5 significant events such as Mother’s Day. Children are encouraged to bring their friends to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the home. New care plans very clearly represent the voice of each child. Health outcomes vary. Children receive support to seek the medical and psychological help that they need. Despite encouragement, some children are not yet ready to address those habits which may be harmful to their health, such as drugs misuse and smoking, although there has been some engagement with a drug support agency. Staff make home-cooked meals that include fruit and vegetables. Children are encouraged to eat a healthy diet; however, for some, entrenched patterns of eating are hard to change and their nutrition intake is poor.

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

Staff are focused on keeping children safe, realising that this is central to everything. In a survey, a parent said, ‘It’s a safe house.’ In surveys, children described feeling safe inside the home and the area ‘most’ or ‘all of the time’. A social worker said a child developed ‘good relationships with the staff’, ‘turning to them for help when he found himself in trouble’. At times, going missing has been an issue for some children who have lived in the home. Staff work closely with the police and follow the home’s missing person’s policy. Staff have been successful in significantly reducing the missing episodes when a child was at high risk. Staff build positive relationships with children. The strength of relationships supports behaviour management in the home. Staff set boundaries and help children address behaviour by talking to them, for example in key-work sessions. Restraint is not used. Staff thought highly of their safeguarding training in preventing child sexual exploitation

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

and radicalisation. A member of staff said, ‘A great deal of knowledge was shared and the team became more aware of how much these issues are affecting some of the children we work with.’ These issues do not currently affect any child in the home. Staff give attention to maintaining the building and to fire safety. Regular fire drills ensure that children know what to do in an emergency. The fire risk assessment helps minimise risk of fire. Staff are subject to checks before starting to work with children to ensure that they are safe and suitable. For example, the manager obtains references and makes checks made with the Disclosure and Barring Service. The registered manager states that he discusses the applicant’s health at interview. However, there is no written evidence that people are physically and mentally fit for the work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager leads this home well. Staff receive appropriate support and training to work with the children. This includes regular team meetings, supervision and annual appraisal. A member of staff said of their support, ‘It looks at the care which is being provided to the child as well as training needed and staff development to improve the service we provide.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 6 The staff work effectively as a team. They show passion and commitment for the children in their care. Some members of staff bring very relevant experiences and training to working with children who are looked after, providing positive role models. A professional said, ‘I was very impressed with the staff. Everyone makes the environment feel very relaxed for the child, which really helps reduce trauma. One child’s room was very much personalised.’ Staff represent children’s views in planning for their futures. Children contribute to day-

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to-day matters in the home, such as meal planning, activities and ideas for holidays. The manager plans to introduce 360-degree appraisals for staff next year, which will include children’s views. Children’s and professionals’ views of the service are not yet included in the reviews of the service. An independent person visits the home each month, making a robust assessment of the quality of care and children’s safety. Their findings have helped the registered manager develop the service. The manager keeps the regulator informed about current issues in the home, supplying regular reports by the independent person. The statement of purpose does not contain clear information about the home’s purpose. As a result, stakeholders may be confused about what to expect. The statement of purpose suggests that this is a therapeutic home. A professional commented, ‘I am aware the placement is considered therapeutic; however, I would like to receive more

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

evidence of what this looks like in practice.’ However, the home is not therapeutic and staff are not trained therapists. The home has not received any complaints this year. However, the complaints policy describes ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ complaints which may also confuse anyone considering making a complaint.

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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.

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Information about this inspection

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 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: SC467004 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Headstone Lane, Harrow, Middlesex HA2 6JJ

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Inspectors

Jacqueline Graves, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC467004 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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