Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Southampton

Inspection report children's home: SC407783 1 SC407783 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a national, private organisation and provides accommodation linked to an associated education provision. Its statement of purpose specifies that it will provide care and accommodation for up to five young people, aged nine to 18, who have complex needs which may include autism spectrum disorder and associated difficulties, such as learning disabilities, attachment disorder, Asperger syndrome, mental health problems and/or troubled family relationships.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since 2013.

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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 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC407783 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2017 Full Good 30/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Good 05/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC407783 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 compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement of purpose (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16, schedule 1)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the range of needs that the home can accommodate is bespoke to this home, that the contact details for the Children‟s Commissioner are correct and the frequency of Ofsted inspections is updated to correctly reflect changes from 2017. 30/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every six months.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care report is completed. (Regulation 45(4)(a)) 30/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home. (Regulation 14(1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that impact risk assessments are detailed and include the impact that each proposed admission may have on young people already placed at the home, and visa versa. Use this to inform placement decision-making. 30/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 30/10/2018 Inspection report children's home: SC407783 4 In particular, make sure that all staff receive regular supervision.

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Recommendations

 „Managing medicines in care homes (March 2014)‟ is a guideline that applies across both health and social care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations, including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.17) This relates to giving consideration to introducing competency testing for staff on medication administration, including assessing staff‟s knowledge of why specific medication has been prescribed. Inspection report children's home: SC407783 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive a good quality of care provided by a suitably trained and experienced staff team. The home offers placements of between 38 and 52 weeks. The different lengths of time that young people stay are managed well to minimise the impact on each other. The records of the comprehensive assessments carried out by leaders and managers do not include all the issues that they have considered. In particular, the impact that an admission may have on other young people already at the home is not fully recorded. This may limit the staff‟s understanding of the risks posed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people can maintain family contacts and relationships while the stay is giving the families a respite from their challenging behaviours. In addition, the staff are successful in re-engaging young people in education. For some, previously poor or non-school attendance engagement is reversed and the young people make very good educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to follow independent life skills programmes and, as a result, they successfully learn new skills that they will require in the future. The caring and safe environment enables the young people to make mistakes and learn from them, for example how to manage money and the safe use of social media. The staff team gives good and sensible advice so that young people can keep themselves safe when out in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team knows the young people well. The staff have a good level of knowledge about each young person, whether they live there termly or full time. They successfully identify triggers so that strategies can be put in place to minimise incidents. The staff have a good understanding of each young person‟s likes and dislikes. The staff ensure that all young people‟s rights and entitlements are met. There is a range of ways in which young people can voice their views, wishes and opinions. The staff take these seriously and act upon them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people say that they are treated with dignity and respect. They say that they experience care and help that are sensitive and responsive to their identity, including ethnicity, faith, gender, gender identity, language and sexual orientation. As a result, young people develop a positive self-view and increase their resilience and sense of their own identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families confirm that they have good contact with the registered manager and her staff team. They are very complimentary about the support provided to them and their children. Parents describe the positive difference that the home is having on the young people. In addition, the staff work well with the young people‟s placing authorities to ensure that the young people continue to make progress and that the local authorities provide support at the moving-on stage. Inspection report children's home: SC407783 6

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

The staff team provides a safe environment in which young people are protected. Strong safeguarding practices ensure that any cause for concern or allegation is managed well. The registered manager is trained and experienced to undertake a senior role in safeguarding, and has good contact with local authority safeguarding agencies. She has good oversight of all records and, together with the staff team, is competent in assessing risks and putting in strategies to lessen the risks. Young people are helped to understand the risks and how to stay safe. At the same time, the staff team is very aware of the need to allow young people to be independent and to take appropriate risks. Over time, young people make the right choices.

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

The staff use key-worker sessions to help young people to understand how to keep themselves safe. The staff are aware of the risks to young people in the local and wider community.

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

The registered manager and her staff team provide common-sense advice to young people, and follow clear and sensible strategies. As a result, there have been very low numbers of incidents of young people going missing or being restrained, or of other serious incidents or matters requiring safeguarding referrals to other agencies.

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

The staff understand the risks that the use of the internet and social media may pose to the young people. The manager continues to develop strategies to keep the young people safe and to support them in learning how to keep themselves safe. The home‟s location risk assessment is detailed and shows the depth of knowledge that the staff have about the surrounding area.

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

The young people are protected by careful recruitment procedures, and regular monitoring of staff also minimises the risk of unsuitable people being employed.

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

Robust and regular health and safety checks ensure that the physical environment of the home is safe and secure and protects young people from harm, or the risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is clear in her commitment to provide a high standard of care, improving outcomes for young people and developing her staff. She knows her home, the staff team and young people very well. She can identify the home‟s strengths and areas for development. A strong development plan focuses on appropriate areas for development. The manager completes a six-monthly quality of care review. However, it has not been submitted to Ofsted within the 28-day timescale specified in the Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is supportive of the registered manager and enjoys its work. The manager deploys her staff to make the best use of their individual strengths. She promotes staff development and has recently introduced safeguarding competency Inspection report children's home: SC407783 7 testing to evaluate the effectiveness training and assess individual skills and gaps in knowledge. Consideration of the introduction of medication competency testing is needed. The staff are strong advocates for the young people. They successfully advocate on young people‟s behalf and challenge other agencies if they have not acted in the young people‟s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home‟s statement of purpose needs reviewing, as it is too wide ranging and generic, and is not bespoke to this home. It also contains incorrect contact details for the Children‟s Rights Director, now the Children‟s Commissioner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the staff team are suitably qualified to work in the home. Staff are extremely well supported through training. However, supervision for some staff is not taking place as regularly as it should.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager‟s and the staff‟s commitment to the young people and their willingness to support each other have resulted in a strong team supporting the young people effectively. Inspection report children's home: SC407783 8

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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 difference 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: SC407783 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Group, 80 Hammersmith Road, London, Middlesex W14 8UD

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Inspector

Liz Driver, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC407783 10 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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