Children's home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 1 Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care and support for up to eight children who may have experienced neglect, abuse and/or trauma that has left them vulnerable. The children may have a diagnosis of developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder or learning difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a Department for Education-registered school on the same site. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2021.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Children like living at the home and have positive relationships with the staff. Staff provide well- planned care for children and this has helped them to make progress in different areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to access support for their emotional well-being. The deputy manager is a trained counsellor and supports the staff to have a greater understanding of children’s well-being needs. This helps staff to respond to children’s needs appropriately. Children are able to access direct therapeutic support from staff as well as external therapeutic support.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education and this has helped children to make academic progress. Managers have worked closely with staff at the on-site school to improve working together to support children’s education. One child who recently moved to the home had not been in education for a number of years. Plans were put in place between staff and the school to support the child. These have proved effective and the child is now engaging well in their education. Another child is due to take GCSE exams. Staff arranged to take the child to visit the exam venue to reduce the child’s anxieties. The child said that this had helped them feel more confident about the exams.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities. These includes external groups that have helped children make links in the local community and reduce isolation. One child has recently gained part-time employment. This was a significant achievement which the staff recognised and praised.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are likely to move from the home to independent living. However, the plans to help children gain independence skills are not individualised. This means that children are not being helped to gain all of the skills they will need when they move.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is well maintained. Recent additions of a football pitch and play area have contributed to the outdoor space available to children.

p.3

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

Children have complex needs and have been subject to a number of risks. Staff have a good understanding of different risks and work to reduce these and keep children safe.

p.3

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

Incidents of self-harm for one child have reduced. For another child, incidents of self-harm are less severe. Children are able to go to staff at times when they are feeling distressed, allowing the staff to provide them with the support that they Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 4 need. This demonstrates the positive relationships between the staff and the children.

p.3

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

When risks for the children increase, the managers escalate concerns appropriately. Staff work well with the child’s wider professional network to consider plans to keep children safe.

p.4

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

There have been no incidents of children being reported missing from the home. This shows a significant decrease in incidents, and demonstrates that children feel safe. The staff have helped the children to develop different coping strategies.

p.4

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

Children are generally settled and there have been few behavioural incidents. When these have occurred, they have been managed well by staff. There has been a significant reduction in the use of restraint. The staff have successfully managed incidents that prevent them escalating to a restraint being needed.

p.4

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

Children’s risk assessments include strategies to guide staff. However, some risk assessments are not clearly written and include contradictory information. While staff have managed incidents well, they are not always clear as to which strategies to follow. Unclear risk assessments have the potential to lead to inconsistent responses from the staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified to level 5. He has good oversight of the home and is supported by a highly experienced deputy manager. Managers demonstrate a good understanding of the strengths of the staff team and the progress that children make.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good monitoring systems in place. Managers ensure that reviews take place after incidents so that learning is identified and used to consider what strategies children respond to. Good oversight of incidents ensure that staff provide care for children based on their individual needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a good range of training. Some of this specifically relates to individual children’s needs. The whole staff team has recently completed training in transgender issues. This training has developed the staff’s understanding of children’s experiences and needs in this area.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff undertake a thorough induction. This includes learning about children’s individual needs and understanding the policies and procedures. This helps equip the staff with the knowledge and skills that they need to care for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported. Supervisions include in-depth consideration of children’s needs and reflection on how staff are working to meet these. However, the supervisions for new staff have not been as frequent as agreed. This means that the support to new staff has not always been at the level that it should be. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 5 Managers have built positive relationships with external professionals. One social worker was highly complimentary about the communication. Feedback from parents is mixed. One parent said the home provides excellent care for their child and that communication is good. However, another parent raised concerns that communication is poor and that they have not received reports. The children’s plans do not clearly outline how to share information with professionals, including family members. Therefore, the staff do not have clear guidance about how this should

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

take place. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 6

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that children’s risk assessments contain clear strategies to support staff to manage risks to children. 20 June 2022

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child. In particular, detailing how the staff will communicate with children’s parents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, including practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision of their practice which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 7 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: 1278017 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Wallace

p.8

Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1278017 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