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

Inspection report children’s home: 1236387 1 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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The home is owned and run by a national private provider. The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children aged five to 18 with learning disabilities and/or social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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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The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2017.

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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 outstanding

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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: 1236387 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2019 Full Outstanding 15/10/2018 Full Good 22/11/2017 Full Good 30/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1236387 3

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outstanding

Children make excellent progress and, for some children, this has been life changing. Among a vast range of achievements, children are now able to communicate with improved speech, access the community safely and with confidence and undertake independent tasks for themselves. Children are developing important life skills for their futures and are increasing in confidence and ability because of the high quality of the care and support provided by staff.

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outstanding

The home is a perfect space for children to grow up in. Each bedroom is personalised to reflect the likes and wishes of the child. The lounge and kitchen are well maintained and have photographs of children and the adults having fun together. This creates the feeling of a family home. The staff and children have worked together to create a fantastic room to provide space away for the older children to have some time to relax. One child is supported to care for her pet guinea pig, and the adults’ dogs, Mylo and Peaches, are also part of the home. Children enjoy this and have a real bond with animals in the home.

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outstanding

Staff support children to celebrate diversity and children enjoy developing their own core values in a safe, loving environment. Recently, they held themed events to help children explore topics such as racial bias, International Women’s Day, religious celebrations and ‘Wonderful Wierdo’s Day’ (this was an event to celebrate difference). Children have fun and gain a well-informed understanding of the world around them.

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outstanding

Children’s individual needs are fully considered and provided for. Education is consistently promoted in the home and children were supported to sustain progress during changes to routines due to periods of national lockdown.

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outstanding

Staff prioritise and promote children’s health. They support oral hygiene via ‘toothbrush parties’ and staff ensure that all health appointments are attended. Children benefit from staff’s creative approaches to help children express their emotions using the home’s ‘let’s reflect’ spaces and the ‘self-soothe box’. This helps staff stay in tune with how children are feeling at any given moment. This also means that staff can tailor their support accordingly to help children to feel safe and secure.

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outstanding

When asked about their thoughts on the home, children were happy. Children could not think of any areas that the home could improve. One child said, ‘This place is perfect.’ This positive feedback was echoed by adults in the home and by parents. One parent said, ‘I want you to know how much the staff mean to me and all they have done for my precious little girl.’ The manager has a deep understanding of the needs of the children in her home. Adults in the home show love and care towards the children and this is reciprocated. Inspection report children’s home: 1236387 4

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outstanding

Children feel valued and loved in the home. They know how to complain and raise concerns, but seldom do so. When a child did complain formally, the manager responded sensitively and promptly to the child’s concerns. There have been no allegations of harm, children have not been missing from the home and behavioural incidents have reduced in frequency. This can be attributed to the nurturing approach being used in the home which is underpinned by detailed individualised risk assessments and a dedicated staff team that knows the vulnerabilities and strengths of each child very well.

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outstanding

Staff think beyond children’s presenting behaviour to try to understand what may be causing them to be upset. In one example, staff recognised that a child was struggling to negotiate conversations due to her inability to express himself verbally. They provided dedicated support to help this child develop her speech and language. As a result, she was able to significantly reduce the number of behaviour incidents because he can now talk and negotiate, rather than act out his feelings.

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outstanding

Online safety is addressed creatively in the home. For example, one child has been supported in building independence online using a ‘friend’s list’. This is an agreement between the child and adults to understand who they can trust when they communicate with people online. This is monitored and assessed by the manager and the child. This has resulted in the child learning about the risks of social media and has helped them to make good choices in their friendships. As a result, the child who will be attending college in September does so with a close network of trusted friends.

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outstanding

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted in the home. Staff have a deep understanding for the children they care for. When negative behaviours are shown, staff support children to understand the impact of their behaviours and to learn ways to manage their feelings. The manager is thorough in their review of behaviour incidents to identify any patterns or trends. This helps staff to be mindful of the reasons why a child may be unsettled and to develop strategies that help the child make progress.

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outstanding

Adults are proactive in ensuring that children build their independence skills as safely as possible. Children have certain evenings when they cook for everyone in the home. During the inspection, one child was making a paella with an adult. One child made use of staff support and used a train independently for the first time. This was a big achievement and their parent commented on how proud they were for their child to achieve this. Inspection report children’s home: 1236387 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by an inspirational leader who empowers her team. Adults in the home have not left since the last inspection. One adult told the inspector, ‘I love it here; it’s the longest job I’ve ever had.’ Team meetings allow staff to further develop their skills by reflecting on practice and sharing ideas about how to support children to make progress. Supervision focuses on the development of adults, and staff appraisals are used to encourage adults to take additional responsibilities within the home. The manager is passionate in her drive to maintain a learning culture, and this ensures that adults are creative in their practice and that children benefit from this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is meticulous in her oversight of the home. All plans for children are updated by adults and are of high quality. On the rare occasion a recommendation is made from the independent visitor, the manager ensures this is promptly addressed. The home is beautifully presented and has no maintenance issues. This creates an environment where children can flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high standards with regard to the quality of care she expects for children and provides excellent direction and support to staff to ensure that these standards are maintained. She advocates strongly for the children in her care and ensures that all agencies are working together. For example, a school had little communication with one child’s family. The manager challenged this to ensure they were updated on their child’s progress. Adults work closely with parents to involve them in caring for their children. One parent explained, ‘They know how much it means to me to hear the little things and they keep me updated with every little achievement.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults complete all mandatory training and also benefit from access to a variety of additional training in order to develop specialist areas of knowledge and expertise. The manager plans additional training sessions during team meetings to ensure that adults’ knowledge and skills remain current and relevant to the needs of the children living in the home

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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: 1236387 6

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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, Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London, Middlesex W14 8UD

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Inspector

Matt Nicholls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1236387 7 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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