Children's Home, Residential special school run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 1 SC401685 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 care organisation. It provides care for up to 23 children with learning disabilities. Many children have autism spectrum disorders and associated difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Children may remain beyond their 18th birthday so that they can complete their education.

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Information about this children’s home

Children who live here all attend the same school, operated by the same organisation but not on the same site. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an experienced manager who registered in January 2018.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Full Outstanding 04/12/2019 Full Good 05/11/2018 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, 10 children were living in the home. Since the previous inspection, two children have moved in, none have moved out. Managers match children well to the home and the other children already living there. Staff follow plans to ensure children’s moves into and out of the home are successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home. The inspectors observed warm and friendly relationships between children and staff. Staff listen to children and advocate for their wishes and feelings. Relationships between children and staff are positive. Staff are committed to providing good care for children and understanding their complex needs. They take the time to get to know children well and speak enthusiastically about their care and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s personalised care enables them to have new and exciting experiences. Staff encourage children to take part in a range of leisure activities that enhance their social and emotional skills. There is a mix of in-house and community activities that enable children to spend quality time with their friends and peers. As a result, children grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make marked progress from their starting points. All children are in education and are achieving. Most parents and professionals speak highly of the progress children have made while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn new communication skills and alternative ways to manage their needs and emotions. This increases their ability to cope in a range of situations as well as to live alongside others. These skills have a positive impact on their quality of life and the progress that they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their health and development. For example, staff have supported one child well with a health concern which affects their day-to-day health and well-being. Through a multidisciplinary sensitive approach around diet and exercise, this child is now leading a healthier lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use key-work sessions to talk with children about a range of topics, such as what meals they want to prepare each week and what activities they would like to do. This allows children to play an active role in making decisions about their day-to day lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in three different houses that are all linked and attend a local special school which is part of the same company. The houses are having remedial refurbishment work done. However, the home is a listed building, and this limits what work can be done. Some areas are tired and damaged and other areas need a deep clean. Specific damage to several fire doors was found during this inspection. The manager took immediate action to ensure the doors were made safe. The Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 4 manager is aware of the shortfalls in the environment and is taking steps to address these. The home is due to be moved to a purpose-built property soon.

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

Managers carefully match children with their peers. They also ensure that there are enough staff with the relevant skills and experience to care for children. Children develop friendship groups through this considered approach to planning. It also helps to keep children safe and promotes a calm and settled environment.

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding thresholds and whistle-blowing procedures. Staff report concerns and poor staff practice through a range of internal and external channels. When a shortfall in practice by staff is identified, the registered manager and designated safeguarding leads liaise with all relevant external professionals and share information. Managers use learning from safeguarding concerns to review practice and put in place new strategies in a timely manner. These actions are taken to ensure that the safety of children is given priority.

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

Some children have complex health needs. Staff work well with children, their parents and professionals to help improve the understanding of children’s complex health needs. However, care plans in relation to complex health needs are not always clear. One child has epilepsy and the guidance for checks when they are in their bedroom is unclear. This has the potential to leave them vulnerable to harm in the event of a seizure. The manager took immediate action to rectify this during the inspection.

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

Staff develop their knowledge and understanding of children’s behaviour. They have insight into triggers that might result in a challenging situation or an increase in the likelihood that a child or staff member might struggle to cope. In such situations, staff provide reassurance to the child. Incidents of restraint are monitored by managers, however, learning to reduce risk is not always clear. This is a missed opportunity to develop the approach to behaviour management.

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

There has been one incident when a child has gone missing from care. Staff followed procedures effectively and the child came to no harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to manage the service effectively. She is a strong and enthusiastic leader with a focus on meeting children’s individual needs, supporting their progress and providing them with an enjoyable experience. Children, staff, parents and professionals speak highly of her management approach and passion for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wealth of training and learning opportunities. Mandatory and specialist training are to a high standard. Where children have specialist needs then training is sourced and rolled out to the staff team. This ensures they understand Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 5 specialist conditions and associated difficulties, to enable them to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals provided positive feedback to inspectors about good communication and information-sharing between staff, the manager and themselves. The registered manager challenges other professionals and agencies when their actions fall short of acceptable standards. This means that children receive integrated care and their experiences are positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use audit tools and systems to monitor the service and to improve outcomes for children. However, these tools have not always been used effectively. For example, the oversight of checks on the physical environment needs improving. There were shortfalls in actioning repairs to damage in the home. Additionally, audit systems had not informed managers that supervisions and appraisals had been missed. The shortfall in these systems limits managers’ understanding of the quality of care being delivered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good-quality reflective supervisions and are provided with opportunities to attend debrief meetings following incidents. However, the frequency of supervision is variable. Some staff have not received supervision for several months. Additionally, not all staff have had their performance and fitness for the role appraised yearly. This is a missed opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice with managers and for managers to discuss areas of staff development to improve the quality of their care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 6

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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 relates to ensuring effective systems are in place to monitor the safety of the environment. Additionally, that oversight and learning from incidents are clear. 8 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience;

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Requirement Due date

and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that staff receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose and receive a yearly appraisal. 8 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a safe and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation. Specifically, that any damage Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 7 to fire doors is addressed without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children. Specifically, that managers assess the need for observation checks on children with epilepsy, frequency and visual checks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: SC401685 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Katherine Bridon

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Inspectors

James Tallis, Social Care Inspector Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC401685 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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