Children's home run by Aspris Homes Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 1 SC413085 Registered provider: Castle Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have complex difficulties. It is owned by a large private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2010.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 30 April to 1 May 2019

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2018 Full Good 13/12/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(e)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, regular individual supervision should be provided by the responsible individual for the registered manager. 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

 Children’s reasonable preferences in relation to day-to-day arrangements should be met with consideration given to safeguarding, particularly in relation to the use of technology. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21) In particular, a written agreement should be completed with children so that they know staff will keep them safe in regard to appropriate mobile phone use.

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in the home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not in school the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 Decisions about overnight stays with friends should be delegated to children’s Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 4 homes staff by the placing authority for looked-after children. The level of delegated authority should be recorded in the placement plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff, who identify realistic goals for the children to work towards. The children have made significant improvements since moving into the home. One child has matured and is now able to better manage his emotions and anxiety levels. A social worker for another child reported, ‘The family have noticed improvements in the child. This placement will be life changing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s views are valued and taken into account. Children fill in questionnaires and attend house meetings and management consultation where they can express their views and have input into the running of the home. Regular one-to-one discussion is used to educate them about important issues and explore subjects that are of interest to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s educational attainment. One child, who did not previously attend school, now has 100% attendance at school and work experience. He proudly told the inspector about the qualification he is working towards. Another child is being supported to attend school by staff. They act as escorts in school transport to ensure that he is able to attend school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The practice educator and staff are advocating for one child who is not currently attending school to identify a suitable placement. They are liaising closely with education professionals to achieve this. Staff encourage him to attend tutoring and educational activities. However, this is not currently effective enough, and he is disengaging from regular tutoring and activities. There is no recording system in place to clearly identify the staff’s attempts to engage him in meaningful activities which can be reviewed and evaluated for their effectiveness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the home is the use of a clinical psychologist’s consultations to help staff to manage one child’s complex behaviours. Managers and staff work together with the clinical psychologist and school to find ways to communicate effectively with him. Previously, incidents were very severe, resulting in injuries to staff. However, these incidents have reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and develop children’s relationships with those who are important to them. Children who previously didn’t have contact with their parents now do. Two children are now able to have unsupervised overnight contact with their families. Another child is being supported to re-establish his relationship with a family member. Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 5

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

Leaders and managers train staff in safeguarding policies and procedures. Managers discuss safeguarding scenarios and review staff’s areas of strength and any areas to work on. Safeguarding messages are reiterated in team meetings. There was an incident when staff did not follow the organisation’s policy. The manager undertook a responsive supervision with staff to address this issue.

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

Managers respond appropriately to allegations made by children and consult with external professionals to agree actions to safeguard children. If it is agreed that a staff member can work at another of the organisation’s homes during investigations, a risk assessment is carried out to ensure the well-being of the children.

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

High staff ratios and close supervision of children mean that they receive the level of attention and support that they need. Children do not go missing from home. One child who previously put himself at risk in the community and frequently went missing has not displayed this behaviour since moving here.

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

Positive messages and reparation are used rather than sanctions. A reward system encourages good behaviour. This helps the children to improve their self-care and social skills.

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

Staff clearly understand safe internet use policies. They provide the children with education about risks in the cyberworld. Measures such as using software to restrict access to risky sites and time-limited Wi-Fi access are agreed with the children. However, there is no written agreement in place to formalise the rules and responsibilities for the use of mobile telephones. This does not ensure that children understand the consequences of misuse and agreed safety measures that the staff can take.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong, experienced manager who is child focused and skilled at managing the staff group. She is greatly appreciated by staff. She works closely with the deputy manager to make continued improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses monitoring systems effectively, to identify trends in children’s progress and behaviour, and to review strategies used. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and uses quality assurance systems to make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have good working relationships with other professionals and parents. Staff are good advocates for the children. They escalate concerns that they have about children’s education. A social worker said, ‘They facilitate the professional partnership and give regular feedback. I have nothing negative to say.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 6 Supervisions are now more regular. Team meetings and team-building days are successful in helping to ensure that staff morale remains high. Staff are motivated to offer a good standard of care. However, the manager has not had sufficient formal, individual supervision. An opportunity to support the manager during a difficult period has been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care plans and risk assessments are thorough and reflect any changes of circumstances. One staff member, who usually works at another home within the organisation, was given a risk assessment to read prior to working with the children. However, it was not the most recent version. This shows an inconsistency in the information available.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Agreements made with the local authority and parents in regard to who can make day- to–day decisions for the children are in place for one child. These agreements are subject to review if the child’s circumstances change when he prepares to reintegrate with his family. Such agreements have not been completed for all the children. For these children, there is a lack of clarity in regard to responsibility for decision making.

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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: SC413085 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Suzy Lemmy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC413085 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 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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