Children's Home run by Aspiration House Limited in Lincolnshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 1 Registered provider: Aspiration House Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for six children with with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and atypical autism, learning disabilities, global development disorder and associated difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was carried out to address specific concerns received by Ofsted.

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Inspection date: 27 July 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

Children have good daily routines. They are supported by staff to take pride in themselves. For example, staff support children with personal hygiene and self-care. One child has made significant progress in this area and is now able to enjoy making more choices about what he wears. Another child is being supported to manage the changes that come with puberty. As a result, children take pride in their appearance, which contributes to the development of their self-esteem.

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The care of children

Parents and external professionals have confidence in the care provided. They say children are happy and that they have positive relationships with staff. Children live long distances from their families. Staff ensure that they are supported to spend time with them. Children have regular video calls and parents visit the home. The manager has responded to one parent’s wish to see her child more often by arranging a suitable venue closer to her. This ensures that children maintain attachments to people who are important to them.

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The care of children

Children are encouraged to pursue their interests and take part in activities. The home is well resourced, with sensory and music rooms. There is also a large garden where children can enjoy outdoor play. The manager and staff ensure that children visit places of interest and undertake outdoor activities. This provides children with opportunities to develop their confidence in social situations.

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The care of children

The manager and staff ensure children’s bedrooms and living spaces are homely and personalised, where possible. This is a particularly sensitive issue for one child. The manager and staff are working hard to consider options of how best to support the child’s needs in this area and are keeping the situation under review.

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The safety of children

The manager and staff ensure that children are kept safe. They understand the risks posed to and from children, as they have good knowledge of their needs. Children have risk assessments which include strategies for behaviour management. Staff are trained in the use of physical intervention, which is only ever used as a last resort. There has been one incident where shortfalls were identified. When made aware, leaders and managers took decisive actions to prevent such situations happening again.

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The safety of children

Children are making progress with their behaviour. One parent said that, over time, the home has managed his son’s behaviour well. He is now able to use strategies to manage his feelings. For another child, incidents are reducing in frequency. As a result, children are becoming more settled. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 3 Children do not go missing from care. Proportionate measures are in place for one child where there is a risk of running away when out with staff. Consequently, the child can still enjoy days out in a safe way.

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The safety of children

Leaders and managers ensure that staff are recruited safely. Any issues of concern are followed up to a satisfactory conclusion before employment starts. This prevents children from being cared for by unsafe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The home is led by a highly motivated manager. She knows how important it is for children to feel at home, especially when they are a long distance from their families. The manager has a good knowledge of the children’s needs. She works closely with external agencies to ensure these needs are met through individualised care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers ensure there are sufficient staff to care for children. There have been challenges in this area recently, with some staff leaving. Managers have addressed this issue by using agency workers to support the permanent staff. One agency worker is being recruited as a permanent member of the team. Several newly recruited staff are currently awaiting appointment subject to safe recruitment processes. As there are new staff joining the home, a process for their formal supervision needs to be embedded as they are inducted into their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager ensures that case records are maintained in respect of children’s lives. However, the daily logs relating to children’s activities do not contain sufficient detail. This is particularly relevant when they are away from the home, for example, on day trips. The manager recognises this is a shortfall and has plans in place to address this with the staff team to increase the level of recording. This will ensure that records are clear for children and professionals who may need to access them now and in the future.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/05/2022 Full Good 03/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/09/2021 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision takes place regularly and is clearly recorded. They should also ensure that staff are offered reflective practice supervision sessions, to consider the impact on them of injuries sustained during their work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive

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Recommendations

environment that meets the needs of their children. In most cases, this will be through the provision of a homely, domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspiration House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Aspiration House Limited, 2nd Floor, Portland Street, Manchester M1 3BE

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 6 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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