Children's home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: SC476570 1 SC476570 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home, which is run by a private company, provides care for up to five children. The home seeks to provide a safe and understanding environment in which children can be helped to address their behaviour and to take responsibility for their own actions.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since April 2021. An interim manager is now in post and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: 25 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC476570 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2020 Full Outstanding 16/07/2018 Full Outstanding 04/07/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living at the home at the time of inspection. One child has moved into the home and two have moved out since the last inspection. The manager, deputy manager and senior manager all left at the same time in April 2021. Despite this potential instability, the responsible individual and an experienced interim manager have supported the staff to provide good-quality care to the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An in-house therapist, along with the staff, delivers a therapeutic programme to enable the children to recover from past trauma and develop risk-reduction strategies. Following weekly therapy sessions, the therapist guides the staff to undertake related workshops with the children. This is an opportunity for the children to express their feelings and receive positive challenge on emerging issues. Consequently, the children are provided with the support to work through their feelings and learn how to regulate their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff recognise the importance of education and creating learning experiences for the children. The staff work closely with teachers to identify areas of additional learning and support. Since new management has been in place, the children have been empowered to travel to school independently and meet with their friends in the local community. This has built their independence and confidence and motivated them to make progress in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children’s family homes are far away from the home. The staff forward plan family visits to ensure that arrangements are prioritised. For one child, the regular visits have reduced his anxieties and helped him to settle at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide good-quality personalised care. They respond to the children’s individual needs and interests. The staff have found drama, rock climbing and skating clubs for the children to join. They arrange days out for the children to enjoy national and local leisure attractions. Consequently, the children have developed Inspection report children's home: SC476570 3 strong trusting relationships with the staff. The children said that they feel safe and happy in the staff’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is situated on a farm. The children benefit from the vast open spaces to play in and enjoy. The house is light and spacious. A large dining table is a central point of the home. The children and staff eat dinner together every evening. These positive family routines support the children to gain a sense of belonging and feeling valued. This is also reflected in the living room, where pictures of the children with the staff are proudly on display. However, this contrasts with the first floor of the home, where the long corridor with bare walls does not give the same homely and welcoming atmosphere.

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

Impact risk assessments are detailed and consider the group dynamics of all the children. The manager recognises the importance of well-planned transitions and support for both the child moving in and the children already living at the home. This has meant that, despite a child initially struggling to settle in, all the children and staff have understood how best to support him.

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

The children are helped to reflect on their level of risks and vulnerabilities. They are included in creating and reviewing their plans to understand their triggers and how to keep themselves safe. This collaborative approach encourages the children to take responsibility and make safer choices.

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

When serious incidents occur, it is the positive relationships between the staff and children that underpin the successful use of de-escalation and distraction techniques. Consequently, physical interventions have not been used.

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

There is an over-reliance on restricting children’s use of electronic devices as a sanction for poor behaviour. These sanctions have not always been proportionate. The previous manager has not provided the staff with alternative options to help the children to positively change unhelpful behaviours. This means that children are not always given the opportunity to understand why their behaviour was negative and how they could have behaved differently.

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

There are good safeguarding systems in place. The manager has undertaken thorough and comprehensive safeguarding investigations in accordance with local procedures. When children go missing from the home, the staff take swift and effective action. They ensure that there is a joined up multi-agency response. These actions promote the children’s safety.

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

The manager has not always complied with safer recruitment policies. For one employee returning to work at the home, the reference obtained did not fully explore suitability and reason for leaving his previous role. In addition, no interview or follow up with the manager was recorded. The lack of due diligence by the manager means that not all possible safety checks had been made. Inspection report children's home: SC476570 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual is aware of the shortfalls identified at this inspection and has prioritised establishing a new management team at the home. Working with the interim manager and deputy manager, she has devised a comprehensive development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have responded well to the changes that the new management team has made. The staff said that they feel more supported than they had previously and are motivated to continue with the improvement plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are encouraged to develop their unique skills and strengths through added responsibilities. One staff member has created fun activities with the children and staff to educate them about mental health awareness month. At the time of the inspection, this staff member was organising a ‘pride party’ to support the children’s understanding of diversity. This helps children to broaden their knowledge and tolerance of different identities and lifestyle choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from parents and professionals has recognised how the change in management has allowed the children to take more calculated risks. The children have been supported with mobile phones. This has opened up the children’s lives as they can communicate and integrate with their peers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken timely responses to complaints. She has ensured that there is a full summary of her actions and outcomes. This has created learning opportunities for understanding how the outcomes can inform future practice. In response to one complaint, the manager organised additional monthly meetings with a parent and social worker to ensure that information is shared and that there is a forum for joint decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some of the records, such as consequences logs and daily communications, are handwritten. Some of these records are not clear and at times illegible. This makes it difficult for the manager to confirm the accuracy of what has been written and give further direction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has undertaken a care review and shared this with Ofsted. However, she has failed to ensure that views from other professionals have informed service direction or provided a clear action plan. This limits the report’s usefulness as a performance management tool for driving improvements. Inspection report children's home: SC476570 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that children receive consequences that are proportionate, restorative and personalised to their needs. 29 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 29 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC476570 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children. In particular, review the decor of the upstairs corridor to ensure that it feels warm, welcoming and homely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Specifically, ensure that all recording is legible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care and capture them in a written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home

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Recommendations

and how those actions will be addressed. Specifically, consider feedback from parents and professionals and implement required actions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC476570 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care 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

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC476570 8 to 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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