Children's Home run by Aspire Child Care Ltd in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 1 SC413779 Registered provider: Aspire Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately operated children’s home. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for two children with social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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 January 2023

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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: SC413779 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2023 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good 24/02/2020 Full Outstanding 11/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are sensitively welcomed to the home. The manager ensures high-quality placement planning. This helps to ease any anxieties children may have and means children have a positive experience when they arrive at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with children. They listen to them, protect them, and promote their welfare. Children can identify staff who they feel they can talk to and trust. The manager and staff are proud of children’s progress and achievements. As a result, children can develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children explore their individual hobbies and interests. Staff support children to take part in after-school activities. One child regularly attends the local youth club and has recently taken up boxing. Staff supported another child to overcome anxieties about being in the community. This led to the child going bowling. This was a significant achievement for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the education of all children. This means children regularly attend school. From their starting points, children are making progress. Staff provide additional support to school when required. The manager and staff regularly attend meetings and are ambitious for children to do well in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and have access to local health services. Staff support children to attend appointments and to understand their individual health needs. When children need specialist support, staff enable them to engage with external professionals. As a result, children receive specialist help that meets their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out direct work with children. They support children to discuss topics that are important to their needs. Children are supported to explore their views, wishes and feelings. However, the frequency of this work is not always regular. This limits children’s opportunity to express their views.

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

The manager and staff know the children well. They understand their risks and are confident in managing risk. This means children are safe.

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

The manager monitors the health and safety in the home, including fire safety. Staff take part in fire drills with children. This means children know how to safely evacuate the home.

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

All staff have received first-aid training. Staff record accidents in line with the home’s policies and procedures. Records show that children receive first aid and medical treatment when required. Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 4 There is a consequence and reward system in place. Staff use this system to promote positive behaviour with children. However, the manager does not always review the records of consequences. This fails to ensure that consequences are effective in addressing unwanted behaviours.

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

Safeguarding records are not routinely reviewed by the manager. Incident records lack enough detail and risk assessments do not provide clear strategies to manage and reduce risk. This fails to provide staff with clarity about risks and potentially limits risk reduction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced, qualified and registered manager. He is ambitious for children and has high expectations for their development and progression. The manager receives additional support from the home’s responsible individual, who is a visible presence in the home and is equally ambitious for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment is safe and effective. This ensures that only suitable people work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the staff team. These changes have not had an impact on the continuity of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the skills, knowledge, and expertise of the staff team. All staff complete mandatory training. The manager provides additional training for staff in line with children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff benefit from regular supervisions in line with the home’s statement of purpose. This means staff have opportunities to reflect on their care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works proactively and positively with external agencies, professionals, and parents. This means professional relationships are effective and children enjoy cohesive care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that the children’s individual risk management plans provide staff with clear strategies to manage and reduce risk. The plans must also include potential triggers and signs. 26 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and 26 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 6 positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual, and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that regular direct work is carried out with children, particularly following incidents where children have displayed risk-taking behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 7 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

In particular, the provider must ensure that all incidents are evaluated with scrutiny, taking into consideration any learning outcomes that can be implemented in children’s risk management plans or that support the development of staff. 26 May 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. This relates specifically to the use of consequences; the registered person must ensure that they are also reviewed for their effectiveness. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Specifically, this is in relation to the need for clearer recording when completing incident reports. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC413779 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspire Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christine MacKay

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Inspector

Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC413779 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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