Children's home run by Aspris Children’s Service in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children's home: SC407787 1 SC407787 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 18 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC407787 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/05/2019 Full Good 15/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC407787 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. A committed staff team ensures that children’s learning does not stop in the classroom. As well as full attendance at school, children have spent time learning about global events and social issues. Children are encouraged to consider those who are in less fortunate circumstances. Children sent a relief package to victims of the ‘La Soufriere’ volcano eruption and supported a local homeless charity through lockdown. Staff help the children to think about and work towards becoming the adults they aspire to be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff in the home ensure that children are at the forefront of their practice. This can be seen from the unique colour schemes used in the home to the activities children participate in. One child has recently learned to swim, another older child has made significant progress in their independence skills. During a period of COVID-19 restrictions, one child was away from the home. Through regular video calls, staff and children in the home remained in contact so the child felt less isolated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s histories are well documented and available for them to cherish. All children participated in creating COVID-19 time capsules and one child proudly shared with the inspector some of their experiences and activities during lockdown. Children are given personalised progress reports to update them on their achievements. When they leave the home, these are transferred to ‘my moving on plans’ which celebrate their journey in the home. The progress in these plans links to children’s statutory documents, giving children a clear picture of how they have grown and adding to their life story.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home can explore their identity safely. Staff make effective use of their location to access community events such as Pride and resources for children of different cultures. This has enabled one child to explore their Caribbean culture, which they had previously ignored. This has motivated the child to aspire to visit the Caribbean in future and further their understanding of their heritage.

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

There has been a significant decrease in behavioural incidents recently. This is due to one child moving from the home, access to more community resources and well- established relationships between staff and children. Incidents of restraint are brief and at an appropriate level to allow children to calm when expressing their emotions. Children are offered significant support after incidents, which are reviewed swiftly by managers in the home. However, improved monitoring from managers would help to identify patterns and trends. This will help prevent incidents occurring in the future.

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

Children’s risks are considered and staff benefit from research to further their understanding of children’s safety. Risk assessments address known risks in the Inspection report children's home: SC407787 4 home and community, and staff have a clear understanding of these plans. This has resulted in children not going missing from the home. When a child with additional needs moved to the home, staff accessed research to inform their practice. The child was able to benefit from the approach of staff and has recently moved to live with their family. The home has now built a ‘lifelong links’ for this child and their family.

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

Positive behaviour is constantly promoted in the home. This has led to a reduction of negative behaviours displayed by children. Children’s use of expletives has reduced, they feel better settled at bedtime and they build stronger relationships with staff. As a result, children’s participation in education has improved and they are growing in maturity. Staff ensure that positive behaviour is rewarded and that sanctions are meaningful and restorative.

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

There are high aspirations for children in the home. This focus is championed by a passionate management team and staff follow their lead to ensure lessons are learned from incidents when they occur. Issues that arise around children’s safety are responded to promptly. When, rarely, allegations are made against staff or complaints or safeguarding concerns arise, the manager ensures processes are followed and potential risks of further harm are addressed. Appropriate challenge is made to agencies to promote the best interests and safety of children.

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

The manager ensures that safe recruitment processes are followed in the home. All checks undertaken are verified in a timely manner. This means that children benefit from being cared for by staff who are suitably experienced and of suitable character.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her home, her children and her staff team. Her dedication and commitment to ensuring that the children receive the best care is evident in everything that she and the team do. The manager ensures that all staff are well trained and are provided with regular supervision. Staff are encouraged to develop their interests; this enables children to benefit from staff’s developing skills and knowledge and their enthusiasm for the work they do. Staff feel they are ‘like a family’ and this ethos is present in all aspects of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the care their children receive and attribute their progress to the management of the home. When asked about the progress a child had made, the response was, ‘I can only put it down to [manager] and [deputy]’ for the way the home is run’. Communication between the home and professionals takes place daily and those involved in the child’s life are regularly updated on their progress. This enables children to have continuity of care, not just in the home but across their wider network.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Excellent monitoring systems mean that the manager has good oversight of the quality of care provided. This includes knowing what works well and areas of practice that need developing. For example, children’s targets in health and education are realistic and achievable. The manager has broken these into bite-sized Inspection report children's home: SC407787 5 chunks with children and supported them to achieve goals set for them. Children’s achievements are celebrated, which has led to them building on their independence, improving areas such as their handwriting and building their confidence to try new things. Inspection report children's home: SC407787 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that incident reports are reviewed, to identify patterns and trends in behaviours. 15 September

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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: SC407787 7

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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 W14 8UD

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Inspector

Matt Nicholls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC407787 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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