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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 1 SC407790 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. It provides care for up to five children who have additional needs, such as a moderate learning disability, or who require behavioural support. There are several homes in the local area which all link to a school that is owned by the same organisation. Children in the home are a mixture of children who live in the home and children who have term-time education-only stays.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2021.

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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: 17 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Outstanding 25/07/2018 Full Good 08/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made significant progress in the home, including with their emotional and social skills. One child has learned to swim and raised money for Ukraine in a swimming event. The child has also started volunteering at an older person’s home as part of his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have nurturing and warm relationships with children. Staff seek the children’s views in the day-to-day decisions for the home. Weekly meetings with the children take place where they help plan meals, arrange celebrations and request items for the home. These are captured in child-friendly minutes for the children to read afterwards. Children feel listened to by the manager and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing independence skills. These are carefully tracked and displayed for children and staff to see. Staff capture the children’s progress in monthly reports. Children are helped to understand personal banking, cooking and cleaning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves out of the home have been planned well. Staff prepare children for positive moves on from the home. Children have special experiences before leaving. A child attended a football match and was given football shirts as a leaving gift from staff. Photos and moving-out arrangements are captured well in a document for the child to take with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education. A child who needs extra support is helped at school by staff from the home. The child says that this is helping them. A child who was not attending school regularly was helped by staff to improve his attendance significantly. A child who has not attended school for some time is now in school full time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children’s interests. Children can pursue their interests with staff. One child frequently attended local football team matches. Another child regularly visits car showrooms with staff. Children have also been ice skating, taken part in pumpkin activities and had a trip to a safari park. Staff arrange parties in the home with children and display decorations to mark seasonal holidays.

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities of the children. Children are helped to have time away from the home safely. The staff carry out detailed risk assessments to reduce risks. The manager has robustly risk assessed the premises and keeps this under regular review. This risk assessment informs decisions around risks to children when they are in the local area without staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 4 Children rarely go missing from home. One child who did go missing from home was helped by staff to reduce future missing-from-home episodes. The child stopped going missing from home for a significant period before they moved out.

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

Allegations against staff are managed well. The manager involves the local authority designated officer (LADO) when there is a concern about staff practice. Professional boundary concerns between staff have been managed well with the advice of the LADO.

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

Children understand the rules of the home. Staff remind children of the rules in conversation and in children’s meetings. Each child has a reward system where they earn additional pocket money for following the rules.

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

There has only been one incident where physical intervention has been used since the last inspection. Plans for children refer to two different restraint approaches. The organisation is moving from one model to another. Staff are not fully trained in the new model of restraint. As a result, staff are not clear on what model of restraint they are using.

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

An alarm is used on the front door. The alarm was fitted for a child who moved out some time ago. This has not been reviewed to see if it is still needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced registered manager, who is working towards her qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is an inspirational role model to staff and children. The manager is child focused and has high expectations for the quality of care provided to the children. The manager has effective systems for monitoring children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well with parents. The staff work closely with the parents and communicate well. Parents say that the manager and staff go above and beyond. Any complaints or feedback are acted on straight away.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager challenges agencies when the service children receive is not good enough. The manager determinedly chases return home interviews with local authorities. When a local authority did not follow an agreed moving-on plan, the manager complained and arranged for a child to have an advocate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff well. Managers listen to and respect staff. The organisation provides support for staff’s well-being. The team morale is good. Staff are well supported through supervision sessions and are encouraged to develop. The manager sources training that is specific to the children’s needs, which helps staff to carry out their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children new to the home are made to feel welcome. Staff make real efforts to understand the child and build a relationship with them. Staff develop a moving-in Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 5 plan with the child and they move in at their own pace. The manager carries out an impact risk assessment. However, the assessment does not include the views of the child living in the home and the decision for the child moving in. Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have been adequately trained in the principles of restraint and any restraint techniques appropriate to the needs of the children the home is set up to care for as defined in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.57)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they have fully considered the impact the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that monitoring equipment has a written policy which describes how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16,

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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: SC407790 7

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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

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC407790 8 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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