Children's Home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 1 SC472325 Registered provider: Aspireone Care 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 home provides emergency, medium- and long-term 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 is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2018 Full Outstanding 06/06/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

One young person currently lives in this home. He benefits hugely from warm and trusting relationships with exceptionally dedicated staff. He says that he loves living here and demonstrates great affection for staff in his words and actions, which staff return. He sees this calm and comfortable home as ‘his’ home and is relaxed and happy here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young person enjoys a wide range of stimulating and fun activities and experiences. Staff creatively plan activities, for example how to celebrate Chinese New Year. Staff strongly support the young person’s great interest in motor vehicles and take him to motor museums, trips on the bus and train and buy him transport-related toys. Staff join in transport games, which he creates, and encourage him to navigate journeys in the car. They share his love of music and dance along with him. All young people who move in benefit from this level of personal attention. They also enjoy holidays to the sea with staff, which are captured in photographs around the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff listen to the young person and take his concerns seriously. With the sensitive support of staff, he engages in regular young people’s meetings, key-work sessions and his review meetings. The young person communicates his views, wishes and feelings confidently and writes the minutes of the young people’s meetings himself. He has daily access to his written records, which he reads on a computer tablet provided by staff. He adds his own comments to the records and signs them. This is exceptionally effective and enables him to influence discussions and decisions about his life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Before young people move in, staff ensure that they have opportunities to visit for dinner and, if possible, a ‘sleepover’. Consequently, young people feel reassured when they arrive. Young people who have moved out since the last inspection are positive about their experiences and thank staff for the excellent care that they received. Staff support young people to stay in touch after they leave. This nurturing approach helps young people at an anxious time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people with highly complex needs benefit from consistent and individualised care. This enables them to make exceptional progress. Young people engage in school, having struggled to attend in the past. The teacher for one young person reported that since he moved in, he has ‘made enormous steps forward… [and] produces an astounding amount of high-quality work, which evidences the progress that he has made’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people respond to clear routines and boundaries which make them feel secure. They make significant and sustained progress. Their confidence improves, they make friends, their resilience increases, they manage their behaviour better, develop their independence skills and become positive role models for others. Consequently, their self- esteem improves, and they become more resilient.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff skillfully and sensitively undertake key-work sessions with young people. These sessions help young people to think about and address issues that are important and Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 4 sometimes challenging. Discussions include topics such as diversity, behaviour, relationships and sexual health. Staff have provided the current young person with a ‘worry monster’ which he keeps in his room. He can tell the monster his worries and adds written notes. The young person says that this is ‘amazing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people, who have refused to engage in any form of therapy in the past, benefit from weekly art therapy which supports their emotional well-being and enables them to identify and talk about important issues in their lives.

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

Vigilant staff keep young people safe. The young person currently living in the home engages well with staff to understand how to keep himself safe. He has become increasingly able to manage his own behaviour. Consequently, he has not required any physical interventions (something that had been a frequent occurrence in previous placements).

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

Highly trained and skilled staff continually add to their knowledge by completing training that meets the specific needs of each young person they care for. Topics include radicalisation, sexual exploitation, county lines, sexually harmful behaviour and self- harm. Their in-depth understanding of the impact of the histories and developmental needs of young people makes staff highly effective at managing behaviour. One young person who had been violent to staff in a previous placement did not exhibit any of this behaviour when she was living at the home, and incidents of young people harming themselves significantly decrease. Consistent, skilful use of the home’s model of care supports staff to develop positive relationships with young people. This is the foundation which underpins the highly effective support that young people receive to help them to manage their behaviour better.

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

Close work with other professionals, positive involvement with the local community and strong relationships with family members are strengths of the staff team. These links ensure that information is shared effectively. This benefits young people.

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

Staff access detailed, thorough impact assessments, risk assessments and behaviour support plans, which the registered manager monitors and reviews regularly. Incidents are used as learning opportunities. Staff share effective practice with each other to develop their skills further. Staff actively encourage young people to contribute to their behaviour support plans and risk assessments. They are asked how staff can help them to manage their behaviour. These strategies are then incorporated in their plans.

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

Only one young person has been missing since the last inspection. This young person was assessed as being at very high risk of exploitation. Staff were able to develop trusting relationships with her and encourage her to engage in meaningful discussions about exploitation and risk. When she went missing, staff followed her and searched for her. They followed protocols and closely monitored her. The social worker for the young person praised the dedication shown by staff to protecting her and their close collaboration with him. When, on one occasion, a member of staff chose not to follow Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 5 the young person’s risk assessments, the registered manager took immediate and decisive action to ensure that this failing was never repeated. Although this isolated incident had a negative impact on the young person, trusting relationships were rebuilt. Safeguarding practice overall in the home is otherwise outstanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and deputy manager are hardworking and passionate about the care that they provide to young people. They, and the staff, speak very warmly about young people and each other and love working here. Staff understand and promote the caring, accepting ethos of the home and provide young people with highly personalised and effective care. The focus of the registered manager and staff is always on how they can best meet the individual needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that staff are highly trained. All staff hold their level 3 diploma or are working towards this. The deputy manager and one senior member of staff are also working towards their level 5 diploma. Staff enthusiastically engage in monthly training which expands and enhances their knowledge. This provides them with the skills that they need to meet the highly complex needs of the young people. For example, staff research into autism spectrum disorder has enabled them to skilfully and effectively communicate with young people with complex communication needs, and to meet their specific sensory needs. The registered manager and deputy manager ensure that staff benefit from regular supervision. These sessions are reflective and give staff the support that they need to fulfil their roles. The registered manager knows the strengths of each of her team members and ensures that those strengths are used to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

enhance the opportunities that young people have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel highly valued by the registered manager. They actively contribute to the development of the service with ideas about the care of young people and the running of the home. They regularly attend monthly team meetings, where new ideas are considered and tested to see if they can benefit the young people. Managers and staff continually strive to develop and improve the quality of care that young people receive. The creative registered manager constantly reviews the service to look for ways to drive up standards even further. Innovations since the last inspection include revising the behaviour management plans, creating new memory books for the young people, and the purchase of football season tickets. These improvements further enhance young people’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager promotes research-based practice. She is currently involved in a multi-agency project to better understand, and develop new resources to support, the emotional well-being of young people in education and care. The registered manager is developing the role of ‘mental health first aider’ in the team. She attends workshops and disseminates her knowledge to the team. This helps staff to review their practice and make improvements. Young people benefit from the increased awareness and understanding of staff who are better equipped to recognise and respond appropriately to any concerns about a young person’s mental health. Inspection report children’s home: SC472325 6 Staff actively seek young people’s views, which are shared throughout the team and responded to positively. The registered manager knows the young people well and encourages them to express their views. Staff and the registered manager never hesitate

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

to advocate on behalf of young people. They challenge placing authorities and escalate any concerns to ensure that young people get the support and services that they need.

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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: SC472325 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspireone Care Limited

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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: SC472325 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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