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

Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 1 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 children’s home was registered on 18 September 2020. The manager also registered with Ofsted at the same time.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to three children. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 2592242 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 3

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improvement to be good

Both children have lived in the home for nearly two years. Staff invest time in them, and a family environment has been created that promotes their sense of belonging. They enjoy different activities in the home and in the community. Many positive experiences are captured in photos that are included in meaningful memory books. This includes time spent with their family and with staff.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school suitable to meet their specific needs. Their educational needs are reviewed regularly. Staff encourage children with their learning. This includes exploring their interests with them and their options to move on to further education. One child is enjoying work experience and both have achieved a qualification.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to develop skills needed for independence. However, some independence skills target presenting issues and fail to address children’s underlying needs. This affects children making progress in some areas. For example, one child is struggling to maintain a clean and tidy bedroom because the target focuses on the child’s skills and does not encompass care and support to help them overcome past experiences.

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improvement to be good

Records provide very limited detail about children’s daily lives. This is not helpful for their life story, to help them understand how they have been helped and cared for. Records do not demonstrate staff responding to children in line with their plans, nor was this reflected in observations of the children’s care.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to express their views. For example, children’s views have informed decision-making relating to medication changes, activities and meal choices. They meet with an independent advocate. However, direct feedback from children about their day-to-day care and how this improves care and support is less apparent.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment processes help to prevent unsuitable people from being recruited. Children know staff well because care is provided by a stable and permanent staff team. There have been no allegations or complaints made by children against staff.

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improvement to be good

There are safe arrangements in place for medication administered to children, and no medication errors have been reported.

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improvement to be good

Staff make attempts to locate children when they go missing. They are supported to return home and return home interviews have been completed after each incident. Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 4 When staff maintain phone contact with children, they do not always report them missing to the police. At times, this has led to a child being out of sight for lengthy periods of time and, on one occasion, into the early hours of the morning. This strategy cannot ensure the safety of children and the manager has raised this issue with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to incidents when they occur and family members are informed. However, the quality of interventions cannot be fully measured because they are not detailed in records. Interventions are often in response to presenting risk factors and do not always address underlying issues. This is needed to ensure children’s safety is continually increased and managed effectively.

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improvement to be good

For a child who previously lived in the home, restraint was used to keep them and others safe. On one occasion when this was not used effectively, the police were called to intervene, and they restrained the child. The use of restraint is not sufficiently detailed in records, including the description and duration of the restraint used.

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improvement to be good

When children self-harm, staff respond promptly and appropriately. There is a joined-up approach to guide staff to respond to self-harm effectively. Children are provided with specialist help and their plans are reviewed to ensure that strategies and any restrictions in the home are proportionate to the risk posed.

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good

The home is sufficiently staffed to care for two children. There is a current recruitment drive to recruit more staff to allow another child to move into the home.

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good

Leaders and managers have completed a review relating to difficulties that occurred when three children lived in the home previously. The manager told the inspector that learning from this will be used to inform future matching processes. This aims to reduce conflict between children, incidents and unplanned endings.

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good

In the main, staff have completed training so that they know how to care for children safely. While staff know children well, feedback from staff to the inspector did not demonstrate the consistent in-depth knowledge that is needed to meet children’s more complex needs.

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good

Records did not demonstrate the manager’s oversight of children’s needs and the care that was evident in discussions with the inspector. There is limited analysis across records to review the quality of care provided to children to ensure that their care is consistent, effective and continually improved.

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good

The manager has forged effective links with education, health and local authority services. External support is provided to children. There is good communication between the home, agencies and children’s family members, who provided positive feedback about the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)(v)(ix)) 27 January 2023

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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— 27 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 6 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

or a child who is accommodated in a secure children’s home from absconding from the home.

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Requirement Due date

restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that staff have the skills to de-escalate and manage children’s behaviour. 27 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 11 November Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(viii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that incident records provide a detailed account of what happened, interventions used, the duration of interventions and the child’s views.

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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: 2592242 8

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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 Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2592242 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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