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 with complex needs, which may include emotional and social difficulties, autism spectrum disorder and complex associated difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are two homes on the same site. Only one home is currently open.

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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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2022 Full Good 29/08/2019 Interim Not judged 15/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 3

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improvement to be good

Three children live in the home and have done so for over six months.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. Children go to staff for reassurance and hugs, which staff readily provide. Staff and children share fun memories of day trips together and meals that staff cook.

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improvement to be good

Children develop new interests. One child attends a club playing a popular card game. Another child enjoys skateboarding. This helps support new friendships.

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improvement to be good

All children develop their independence skills. Children are able to cook, and manage their own laundry. This gives them skills they will need in the future.

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improvement to be good

Social workers told the inspector that a strength of staff is how they support children to have contact with people who are important to them. A grandparent told the inspector that they felt there was good communication from staff.

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improvement to be good

Despite the positives, there are also several areas for improvement. Documents written to help support staff in how to care for children are confusing, and hold contradictory and incorrect information. For example, one child’s plan states that he requires one-to-one staffing. However, this is not correct. Furthermore, some documents are not available to staff. This means that staff cannot fully understand the agreed care for the child. One child’s plans state that staff are to talk in short, simple sentences to meet his needs. However, this is not reflected in the way the staff write their plans.. Staff have not spoken to the child to see if he understands his care plan. Furthermore, staff have not had training to help them to fully understand and support the child with his diagnosis.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not fully understand or support children’s religious needs. For example, staff do not hold discussions with children to gain important information about their beliefs or to explore any support they may need.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide support to children that helps any risks to decrease over time. Currently, children do not go missing from home and they are not physically restrained to keep them safe. Any incidents in the home are now a rare event. When a recent concern emerged about a child’s safety, staff took quick action, and information was promptly shared. This joined-up working helps to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 4 All children attend education. A teacher told the inspector, ‘The staff really do know the young people they care for; they are able to discuss interventions and strategies that work for the children in the home. They support their children well, which allows them to develop trusting and secure relationships.’ Children benefit from the trusting relationships they have with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not understand children’s health needs. Children’s documents do not match the information that staff hold. For example, one child has asthma and is prescribed medication. Staff do not have an understanding of this and there is no plan for if the child has an asthma attack. Furthermore, one child smokes. However, there is no plan to help the child reduce his nicotine intake. This means that children’s health needs are not fully met and they are not being supported to live healthy lifestyles.

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improvement to be good

Although children eat a selection of healthy meals, some food was found to be past its use-by date. This could affect children’s health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has failed in challenging others and making continued improvements in the home. His monitoring systems are ineffective. At this inspection, 10 requirements and two recommendations have been raised. As a result, the leadership and management of this home are found to be inadequate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has failed to make fire safety a priority. Furthermore, he has failed to take effective action to ensure that the required work was addressed in a timely manner. A fire risk assessment was commissioned in July 2020 which has actions to be completed within six months. At the time of this inspection, there were still a number of actions that had not been addressed. Once this was raised by the inspector, managers took quick action to address this. The risk to children has been reduced due to staff having undergone training in fire safety and children being able to quickly leave the home in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A child requested to have an advocate to support him. The registered manager has failed to take effective action to help the child to secure this. Furthermore, he has not ensured that the appropriate information is contained in the children’s guide regarding advocacy, as per the requirement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the registered manager. However, they do not consistently benefit from regular supervision. Furthermore, not all supervision notes were available during the time of the inspection. Therefore, the impact of supervision remains unclear.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The statement of purpose has not been updated and sent to Ofsted as per the requirement. Two staff have not obtained the level 3 qualification within the necessary time scales. The independent person’s reports have failed to identify many of the shortfalls found at this inspection. This affects the registered manager’s ability to make the much-needed improvements to the service. 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the registered manager escalates concerns in regard to a child not receiving advocacy support. 18 November

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

is given appropriate advocacy support; 11 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 6 keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(b)(iii)(c)(d)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children receive advocacy support and that information is available to them in the children’s guide about this.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s health plans are understood by staff, that effective plans are in place to support children and that children are supported to reduce their nicotine intake. 11 November

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 11 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all actions within the fire risk assessment are promptly carried out and that food is monitored to ensure that it is within its use-by dates.

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the previous inspection and is restated. 18 November

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have training in children’s identified diagnoses. 25 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 8 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans hold correct and up-to-date information to allow for consistent care practice. Plans should also be available to children in a format they can understand. 25 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1)(a) (3)(a)(b)) 25 November

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years 30 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 9 after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s local authority reviews are available for staff and children. 18 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision that 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)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to: relate to children in a home’s care; assess all relevant information; and form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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 10

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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

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481209 11 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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