Children's home run by Achieving Aspirations Community Interest Company

Inspection report children's home: 2613488 1 Registered provider: Achieving Aspirations Community Interest Company Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide short-break care and support for up to three children who may have learning disabilities or sensory impairments. This is one of a small number of short-break children’s services operated by this private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The experienced and suitably qualified manager has been in post since the home registered in November 2020.

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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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2613488 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2613488 3

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improvement to be good

Some shortfalls in safeguarding and leadership and management mean that, despite the individualised care and attention that the children receive, the home requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

Parents described their children’s excitement on arrival for their stays. As a result, parents are confident that the children feel safe and enjoy their short breaks. The children have built trusting relationships with the staff. One parent described how their child’s face ‘lit up’ when they saw their favourite staff.

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improvement to be good

The staff receive suitable training which equips them to manage the children’s complex health needs. The children enjoy the opportunity to try new foods and choose between their regular favourites.

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improvement to be good

The children have fun and are occupied with activities which they enjoy. Some children enjoy relaxing by watching films and having their nails painted, while others prefer long walks to the beach or the local park.

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improvement to be good

The house is a small, well-maintained and homely building which has suitable aids and adaptations to meet the children’s needs. However, one bedroom has large patio doors which do not provide privacy. This bedroom is next to public open ground which means that there is the potential for the children to be observed. This remains a concern and was originally discussed with the provider at the point of the home’s registration.

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improvement to be good

The building is not suitable to accommodate three children in wheelchairs at the same time. The manager has ensured that the children who use the short-break service are well matched not only in relation to their mobility but also their personalities and interests.

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improvement to be good

Sometimes, the staff use video monitors and environmental restraints. There is no information to suggest that these have been used inappropriately. However, their use and written permission for their use are not consistently clearly documented in the children’s care plans. Furthermore, for one child, there were no written medication administration consents held on file.

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improvement to be good

Parents and professionals have confidence that the staff keep the children safe. Significant incidents are rare and there are no serious concerns regarding the safety and well-being of children. However, wider safeguarding arrangements are not sufficiently embedded. Inspection report children's home: 2613488 4 During the inspection, a garden shed, which contains a variety of hazardous tools and materials, was unlocked and accessible to children. Pull cords on the window blinds in two bedrooms were left hanging down, presenting a potential hazard. The children were fully supervised, therefore the risk of harm was reduced.

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improvement to be good

The children have individual behaviour support plans. However, these plans are not always helpful and accurate in the guidance provided. For example, one child had moved from another short-break home operated by the organisation but their behaviour plan had not been updated. The behaviour support plan continued to guide staff to use the sensory room as a space for the child to calm despite this home not having a sensory room.

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improvement to be good

On occasion, sleep-in staff are rostered to work at night rather than waking-night staff. These changes have not been formally assessed to understand whether the arrangements are suitable for children with complex needs. At times, sleep-in staff have been rostered despite the child’s care plan specifying night-time care needs. This did not pose a direct risk to the child but did mean that the specified required observations could not take place.

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improvement to be good

The building is safe and there are suitable arrangements for fire prevention, such as regular servicing of fire equipment. However, the fire risk assessment does not always reflect care practice at the home. Furthermore, staff have not practised how to evacuate the home in different situations, such as night-time drills when one or more staff are asleep on site. This has the potential to undermine staff’s ability to help children to safely and speedily exit in an emergency.

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improvement to be good

The staff understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and know how to report concerns. However, staff have not received suitable training in the additional vulnerabilities and complexities of safeguarding disabled children.

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improvement to be good

On occasion, safer recruitment processes have not been followed and sufficient professional curiosity has not been shown. The provider has not ensured that gaps in employment are consistently explored or that references and relevant qualifications are always verified.

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good

Management monitoring is not always effective. As a result, shortfalls have been identified at this inspection.

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good

Record-keeping does not consistently provide the required clarity and accuracy of information. Some staff induction records are missing and supervision records do not fully evidence the levels of support that the staff describe receiving. Children’s care plans and risk assessments do not always contain accurate and up-to-date information or the required parental consent forms. The staff rota is not a clear and reliable record of who has worked at the home on a particular day. Inspection report children's home: 2613488 5 The register of children receiving a short break does not meet the minimum regulatory requirements. The register does not contain the required information about each child or detail clearly when each child came into and left the home.

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good

The statement of purpose does not contain details of the staff’s experience and qualifications or staffing arrangements at night. The children’s guide does not give a sense of the short-break service, what children can reasonably expect when they stay or provide details of how to complain. These shortfalls mean that children, parents and placing authorities do not have access to the full range of information about the service.

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good

The staff work well as a team and feel well supported by the experienced manager.

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good

The consistent and stable staff team knows and understands the children’s individual needs. The caring staff have developed positive partnerships with professionals and children’s families. Inspection report children's home: 2613488 6

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that pull cords are appropriately secured and unsafe areas such as the garden shed are always secured.

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Requirement Due date

Also, provide staff and children with suitable instruction and practice on how to safely evacuate the building in a variety of scenarios; ensure that the fire risk assessment reflects practice at the home; ensure that risk assessments are in place when only sleep-in staff are rostered; ensure that children’s risk assessments are kept up to date; provide staff with suitable training in safeguarding disabled children. 27 September

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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— 27 September Inspection report children's home: 2613488 7 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records are available and accurate and evidence the support that the children receive, and that appropriate written consents are in place for the administration of medication and use of any restrictive or monitoring equipment.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the statement of purpose includes the details of the experience and qualifications of staff. 18 October 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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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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. 13 September Inspection report children's home: 2613488 8 (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that gaps in employment are explored and that qualifications and references are verified.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the admission and discharge register contains all the required information. 13 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a well- maintained, homely and domestic environment with suitable arrangements to promote children’s privacy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children’s individual behaviour management plans are sufficiently detailed to guide staff’s understanding of potential triggers for behaviours and how to observe, notice and respond to these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand: the day-to-day routines of the home; the statement of purpose of the home (the care that they can expect to receive while living there); how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure; how they can

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Recommendations

access advocacy support or independent advocacy if eligible; and how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22) Inspection report children's home: 2613488 9

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Achieving Aspirations Community Interest Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suffolk House, 7 Hydra Orion Court, Addison Way, Great Blakenham, Ipswich IP6 0LW

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Inspector

Joanna Heller, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2613488 10 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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