Children's home run by Aspireone Care Ltd

Inspection report children‟s home: 1276911 1 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

This newly registered, privately owned home provides placements for up to two children and young people who have come from a variety of situations and backgrounds and have a range of complex needs. The registered manager resigned in June 2019. A new manager is in post. She has submitted her application to be the registered manager.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1276911 2

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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. In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 14/09/2019

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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 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(b)) 14/09/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person living in the home has formed warm and trusting relationships with dedicated staff, having struggled to form positive relationships with staff in previous placements. The home is welcoming and beautifully furnished and maintained. The young person has personalised her room, helped staff to paint the garden fence and is growing vegetables in the garden. The calm environment enables her to focus on her own needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Highly skilled staff engage the young person in key-work sessions that address relevant and challenging issues in her life. Staff support her to develop independence skills and she is making progress. For example, she can now go shopping for food and clothes with staff. She also manages her free time well and has made significant progress in her emotional well-being and ability to form positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff responded quickly and sensitively when the young person was distressed about not being able to see her family. Staff liaised with her social worker and supported her to see a family friend. This helped the young person to maintain links with Inspection report children‟s home: 1276911 3 a person who is important to her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers listen to the young person and act in her best interest. For example, the manager challenged the placing authority when it was suggested that the young person attend an alternative education placement, which would not have met her needs. The registered manager argued strongly for the young person to attend a mainstream school. She identified potential placements and ensured that staff support was available. The young person now engages in education and is making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys fun activities with staff, including watching films, visiting museums, going to football matches and visiting a driving range. She has asked to stay in a hotel and staff are planning this for her. These activities support her physical and emotional well-being and her social development.

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

Highly trained and vigilant staff keep the young person safe. The young person has a significant history of going missing from care. Staff and managers respond well if this happens and demonstrate exceptional skills working other professionals to keep her safe. This includes successfully challenging the police to categorise the young person as high risk on one occasion. This led to her being found quickly. She has not gone missing for the past seven weeks, a highly significant achievement.

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

Staff are trained in topics including internet safety, child sexual exploitation, mental health, drugs and gangs. Their knowledge of the young person and skills in de-escalation have avoided the use of physical intervention when managing challenging behaviours.

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

Staff access weekly consultations with a clinical psychologist who supports them to develop behaviour management strategies and understand the reasons behind the young person‟s behaviour. This contributes to their ability to understand and manage risks.

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

Staff work with the young person to help her to understand safeguarding issues, including the risks involved with going missing, harmful relationships, bullying, self-harm and drug misuse. The young person has responded positively to this guidance and the nurturing environment that staff create. This has helped her to become increasingly safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager was the deputy manager when the home opened and has been closely involved in the development of the service and the staff team. She is child- focused, organised and ambitious for the service. A very experienced senior manager offers her good support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home and feel supported by the team and the manager. The manager and staff want the best for the young person. Social workers, police and child Inspection report children‟s home: 1276911 4 sexual exploitation workers are very positive about the child-focused work of the staff team and their approach to behaviour management. The manager and previous registered manager have both been proactive in requesting and attending multi-agency meetings to ensure that the needs of the young person are understood and met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has made a good start in the role and has demonstrated that she is open to discussion and ideas to improve the service. She understands the strengths and areas for development in her team. The manager provides staff with regular supportive and reflective supervision and team meetings, which help them to develop their professional practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication is effective and daily handovers ensure that staff are fully informed about the young person‟s daily needs. Management oversight is thorough and includes listening to staff and the young person. For example, the manager involves them when considering new admissions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager admitted a second young person to the home in March 2019. Information received from the local authority at the time did not highlight all of the considerable risks that this young person may pose. Consequently, staff were unprepared and lacked the skills that they required to meet his needs. The young person left the home after only a few days. The new manager acknowledges that the home should not have admitted the young person. She has learned from this incident and has put strategies in place to reduce the likelihood of this shortfall reoccurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a formal review of the service but has not recorded feedback that she has received from the young person and staff in this document. However, this has had minimal impact on the young person.

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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: 1276911 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Lyme Drive, Lyme Vale Court, Parklands, Stoke-on- Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Louise Whittle, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1276911 6 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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