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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 1 SC481209 Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to seven children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2018 and holds the appropriate qualifications.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not judged

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2019 Interim Not judged 15/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive good care from committed staff who have secure, positive relationships with them. The children are settled and feel secure. They have clear plans that are tailored to their individual needs. Since settling into the home, they have made good progress in most areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are actively involved in the day-to-day routine and life of the home. They are developing life skills appropriate to their age. They are involved in cooking meals and can make small meals and snacks. They wash their own clothes and clean their bedrooms. These skills are preparing them for adult life. Further learning is being planned to develop and increase these skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities and they are encouraged to become active members of clubs in the local community. Staff are proactive in introducing and supporting interests. For example, one child is a member of a local football club, where he trains twice a week and plays matches at the weekends. Staff drive him to training sessions and matches and cheer him on from the sidelines. These interests are increasing the children’s confidence and providing them with wider social networks and positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children understand the importance of education. When a child faces difficulties in attending education, the manager seeks external support. This helps to reduce the barriers to learning and supports them to re-engage. One child had been out of education for a significant period prior to moving into the home. He has made outstanding progress and is now attending school full time and achieving academically. Staff have excellent communication with schools and work collaboratively to support the children to achieve their full potential. As a result, children are aspirational about their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff understand the importance of the children maintaining important relationships with their family and other significant people. Staff positively support the children to build and maintain these relationships. Where appropriate, they also advocate on the children’s behalf to increase the time they spend with their family. Parents feel well supported by staff and are kept well informed of their children’s progress.

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

Staff provide the children with consistent routines and clear boundaries. These help the children to know what is expected of them and reassure them. This means that children feel safe and well cared for.

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

All staff have completed training on the use of physical interventions and de- escalation techniques. The frequency of incidents requiring physical intervention has Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 4 decreased because staff are successful at promoting positive behaviours and preventing situations from escalating.

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

Staff praise and celebrate the children’s positive behaviours and successes. Staff place a good emphasis on supporting the children to learn to appropriately express their feelings and emotions. They also promote independence and the child’s voice by encouraging the children to make informed choices. These new skills enable the children to communicate their needs and influence their lives more effectively.

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

Children have not had any missing-from-home incidents. However, missing protocols are up to date, reviewed regularly and shared appropriately with relevant professionals. This helps to ensure that staff know what to do in the event of a child going missing from the home and, as a result, the children are better protected from harm.

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

The registered manager ensures that staff who are recruited to work in the home are subject to all necessary checks. This helps to ensure that staff who work in the home are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager holds the level 4 registered manager’s award and is currently working towards his level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The stability of the staff team is a contributing factor to achieving positive outcomes for the children. Staff feel well supported by the registered manager and enjoy working as a team. They receive regular supervision, appraisals and team meetings. They feel that their views are listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff work collaboratively with parents and partner agencies and are held in high regard. Social workers and teachers provided positive feedback and describe the staff as being proactive and good advocates for children. This practice positively impacts on the outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the registered manager has a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, there has been a recent occasion when the responsible individual identified practice shortfalls that were not identified by the registered manager. The responsible individual investigated and commissioned additional audits. A plan was put in place to address the shortfalls, and a range of actions have either been met or are in the process of being met. The failure of the registered manager’s auditing systems to identify these shortfalls could have potentially affected the outcomes of children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 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 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 30 April 2022

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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 for children’s home: SC481209 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 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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