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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 1 Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three young people who have a learning disability. The home is operated by a national, private organisation.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager left this home on 23 August 2021 and a new manager started employment on 27 August 2021. This manager is in the process of submitting his Ofsted registration application.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021. We last visited this setting on 21 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit and previously on 4 August 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The reports are published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent and trusting relationships with the staff. All three children have continued to live in the home since the previous Ofsted visit and have made very good progress emotionally and socially. They regularly attend school or college and this is a significant improvement since they moved to the home. Children are supported to see their families and maintain good relationships and links with their previous home geographical locations. One child said: ‘This is the best home by far that I have ever lived in.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities such as football, fishing and go-karting. They are encouraged to carry out tasks that help them learn to become independent, such as helping to prepare meals and phoning the go-karting organisation to book a session. The use of timetables and predictable routines help the children feel safe and make the most of their days. They enjoy planned home-cooked meals, often together. While staff take photographs and record children’s experiences, this memorabilia has not been compiled into books or a format for children to look back on to help them remember.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are of an age when planning for moving into adulthood is at a crucial point. They are supported with this, in conjunction with help from social workers. Social workers were unanimously positive about the home and parents shared the same enthusiasm.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have not raised any formal complaints, but any issues children raise are transparently recorded, including a description of how the issue was resolved.

p.3

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

Children’s lives have improved significantly because staff understand and manage risks well. Self-harming for one child has reduced considerably and he is now able to reflect on potential triggers that might cause self-harming to happen. Another child struggled to contain his anxiety, which resulted in very regular incidents and a need for staff to use physical intervention to keep him safe. These incidents rarely happen now.

p.3

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

Although incidents have reduced, the manager has identified that further work needs to be done to ensure that risk management plans are up to date and provide clear instruction so that staff give a consistent response to children.

p.3

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

One child’s medication use has been reviewed and reduced because of the progress he has made. Staff understand clearly what medication children take and why, and, in turn, they help children to understand this and participate in their medication reviews. Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 4

p.3

good

COVID-19 restrictions prevented children from enjoying regular activities and, while they still saw their families, arrangements had to be modified during this period. Some of the children made greater use of the internet, which had an effect on their physical health. However, the team managed the restrictions well to limit any negative impact of the restrictions as much as possible. The children have now resumed their normal activities, and are doing more now than they did previously.

p.4

good

A new manager, who has been registered with Ofsted as a manager previously, has been in post for just under three months. At this stage, he is still getting to know the children and the home, and understanding what the key issues are for the children, so he can advocate on their behalf. Children, parents, staff and social workers stated that they have confidence in the new manager, communication is good and that they feel well supported. Social workers and parents have started to receive weekly update reports in recent weeks, which they find helpful. One child said that they feel ‘listened to’.

p.4

good

Leadership and management oversight still requires improvement. There are areas to develop, for example ensuring that recordings of incidents are sufficiently in- depth and are rigorously reviewed, and that recordings demonstrate that the designated person has had a conversation with the child after incidents. However, the manager is starting to make improvements. In particular, this includes helping children develop and meet their targets through directly involving them in this planning.

p.4

good

Three events have occurred that were not notified to Ofsted in accordance with regulation. On these occasions, this lack of oversight did not have any serious repercussions and the issues were appropriately managed.

p.4

good

While a safer recruitment policy is in place, examination of a recruitment file showed that follow-up checks had not been rigorously completed. Additionally, a resulting risk assessment did not contain the necessary information to demonstrate that leaders had assured themselves that sufficient safeguards are in place. The responsible individual has taken on board this concern fully.

p.4

good

Staff feel supported and enjoy working in the home. Supervision sessions show that they are challenged as well as supported, and the new manager has now introduced regular face-to-face team meetings that cover the necessary topics.

p.4

good

The home is well furnished, decorated and is homely. It has plenty of space for the children to enjoy time together and apart. Due to the age of the building, there are some damp issues which affect the walls in two of the children’s bedrooms, but managers have arranged for this to be investigated so that it can be resolved. The manager has plans to develop the extensive garden areas further so that the children can use this more, for example setting up a trampoline. Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 5

p.4

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.

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.5

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

p.5

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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

p.5

Requirement Due date

 Ensure that children are given the opportunity to talk about incidents after they have happened, including, but not only, physical intervention, and that their views are recorded.  Ensure that the recording of incidents are sufficiently in- depth to enable the manager to review incidents and inform care planning. 13 December Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 6 The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children have memorabilia of their time in the home, such as photographs and information, that are organised for them to have so they can look back at past experiences. 30 December

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.6

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)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 29 November Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 7 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.7

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

p.7

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 29 November

p.7

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 for children’s home: 1271467 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Priory Education Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Priory Group, Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London, Middlesex W14 8UD

p.8

Inspector

Sarah Canto, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1271467 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9