Children's Home run by Aspiration House Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 1 Registered provider: Aspiration House Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated and provides care for up to six children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and/or atypical autism, learning disabilities, global development disorder and associated difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 2

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large and spacious home that has been adapted to meet their needs. There is an extensive garden where the children can play safely and have fun. Some areas require redecorating to continue making the home a nice and relaxing environment for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand the importance of education for children. Children are encouraged to attend school daily. If a child is unable to attend school, teaching staff will go to the child. Therefore, education continues without disruption, and children continue to learn and achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult children and gain their views about all aspects of their care. Staff use children’s preferred method of communication to achieve this. Observation of children is a key tool used by staff because children convey their feelings or wishes through non-verbal body language. This allows the children to express themselves and reduce potential anxieties or frustrations with communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that children maintain important links with their family where possible. Staff keep family members updated about the progress that children make. They also support family time and will travel long distances so that children can see their family. For example, a mother expressed a wish to have her son home for Christmas. Therefore, staff worked collaboratively with external agencies to achieve this. The child was able to spend time with his family having a happy time and making good memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children when they express a wish to undertake a particular activity. This includes activities that are local and further afield. The children are supported by staff to do a range of activities. This enables them to have different experiences that promote their social inclusion and allows them to have fun and make friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to develop their independent living skills. Time is taken to repeat tasks to enable the children to learn and retain information. Progress is tracked and recorded so that formal certificates can be given to the children to mark their achievements. These achievements are celebrated and children are praised. Staff understand the importance for children of learning skills to enable them to be more independent as they become older.

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

Children have individual risk assessments. These capture the risks and vulnerabilities for each child. The manager and leaders regularly review the risk assessments, and they are updated when required. Children’s risk assessments provide staff with the knowledge and guidance they need to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 4 The staff are attuned to the needs of the children. Incidents do not escalate and become unmanageable. Children trust the staff and know that staff care about them. There is a calm atmosphere in the home and the children respond positively to this and the praise they receive.

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

Staff rarely resort to physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour. Staff are skilled in observing behaviours, which means that staff can intervene so that situations do not escalate. Should there be an incident, staff support the child to explore their feelings about what happened in a way that they will understand. This helps children feel safe, and staff gain a greater understanding of the children. The manager also ensures that she has oversight of all incidents and determines if there can be any learning from them.

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

The children have their own way of showing that they trust staff. They relax when they are with staff and will seek physical comfort from them. Staff offer this willingly and are attentive to the children’s needs. The caring responses from staff help to continually build the relationship between them and the children.

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

The children enjoy spending time on electronic devices, which sometimes includes them being online. For some children, their electronic devices are important to them. This is because they can offer comfort and help regulate their behaviour. Staff understand the risks that children face when online. Relevant safety mechanisms are in place and staff check children’s devices on a regular basis. These safeguards mean that children can continue to use their electronic devices and remain protected from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated to ensuring that the children’s well-being is always promoted. The manager’s view is that the children always come first and their needs are prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced a thorough induction process for new staff. It promotes learning and assures the leadership team that new staff are skilled and equipped for their role. Equally, it highlights if new staff require further training and development. The process ensures that the children are cared for by a skilled and knowledgeable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and manager have spent time developing excellent relationships with external agencies. They understand that partnership working is key to effective care planning for children. Professional feedback from external agencies notes how much children are progressing. This highlights how the caring and nurturing approach of staff is having a positive impact on children and that they are achieving good outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the children. Staff receive regular professional supervision. They feel that this is a supportive Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 5 process. Staff report that the manager is supportive and always has time for them. This creates a motivated and happy staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not yet developed a monitoring system so that she can assure herself of the quality of work completed by staff. Having this process in place would allow the manager to have clear oversight of her team’s practice and what changes are needed to continue to provide children with good care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 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

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place and used regularly. 2 July 2023

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 2 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that the planned redecoration of the home in certain areas is carried out.

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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: 2555505 8

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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

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2555505 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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