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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 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 home is operated by a large national provider. The home provides care for up to five children with social and/or emotional difficulties and mild learning disabilities.

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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: 30 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: 2630934 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four siblings had recently moved into the home. The children are settled and feel well supported. Children say they feel listened to and get on well with staff and enjoy living in the home. One child told the inspector, ‘This is best place for me and my sisters.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences moving into the home. The process was well planned. Children were visited by staff and enjoyed visits to the home before moving in. This approach ensured that children were supported during a difficult time and helped to relieve their anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with the adults in the home. Staff talk to children with warmth and humour. Staff encourage children to take part in activities they enjoy. For example, all children enjoy regular trips to the beach and funfairs. Children also enjoy playing in the garden. One child said, ‘Staff set up assault courses in the garden to keep us busy and stop us getting bored.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure children’s physical health needs are well met. Since moving into the home, the children have been registered with local health services and have attended routine health appointments. Additionally, the home has an in-house therapist who is providing support to children through weekly one-to-one sessions. The home’s therapist also works alongside the registered manager and staff to develop strategies to support children with their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school full time. Since moving into the home, the children have regularly attended school and are making progress from their starting points. Staff help children to understand the importance of education and have high aspirations for them. Staff maintain close working relationships with each child’s school to ensure children continue to make progress in line with their targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable, well decorated and well maintained for children. Photos of children are on display throughout the home. Children personalise their bedrooms with decorative features and soft furnishings. The dining room is the centre of the home, where children and staff sit together to enjoy mealtimes.

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

Staff provide children with consistent routine and boundaries. This helps children feel safe because they receive certainty in their care. Staff are empathetic to children’s feelings and explore their emotions. Because of this, children feel listened to. There are few safeguarding incidents. Behaviours do not escalate to a level of risk that is unsafe. As a result, staff do not physically restrain children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 4 Children have well-detailed behaviour management plans which are regularly reviewed. They provide very clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow and keep children safe. Staff are also proactive in following children’s risk assessments and, as a result, staff know what to do to keep children safe.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Staff understand the protocols and have received training to ensure they know how to respond if a child does go missing from home.

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

Complaints are well managed. When children have made complaints, these have been taken seriously and swift and decisive action has been taken. Children are kept up to date with progress and informed of the outcome. This means that children feel listened to and their voice is valued.

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

There has been one allegation against a staff member. Leaders and managers have responded efficiently and effectively. They ensure action is taken to protect the child. Information is shared with external agencies and guidance sought. Follow-up actions are completed to promote children’s safety and well-being.

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

Staff are not safely vetted prior to working in the home. The manager has failed to verify reasons for leaving when staff have worked in positions of trust with children, furthermore the manager did not secure a written reference from one staff members most recent employer. This means that staff have been working with children who haven’t had the appropriate safety checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has strong relationships with children. She is experienced and highly motivated. She takes pride in the progress children are making and regularly seeks their views. She advocates for children when necessary and has high expectations for them. This approach means that children benefit from trusting relationships and helps them feel settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is properly staffed. The team is relatively new, however, staff are well led and are experienced and qualified to deliver good-quality care to children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working in the home and the relationships they have with children. They feel incredibly well supported by the manager. Staff receive regular supervision sessions which are used to support and develop them but also to assess and address any staff performance concerns. Staff are encouraged to develop and progress in their roles. The manager ensures career progression routes are clear for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates effective partnership working. Feedback gathered during the inspection was very positive. An external professional who works with all the children said, ‘The manager is really good. The manager and staff have done really well for the children. They have met the children’s needs very well. I would be Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 5 happy to place any of my children at this home.’ This demonstrates the commitment and child-focused approach displayed by the manager and staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs, the progress they make and how to support them. The manager has implemented a plan to assess children’s progress and implement targets. The manager regularly reviews the plan and updates it to ensure children continue to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a thorough induction, including training, and complete induction workbooks to support their understanding and help them develop. However, not all staff had undertaken training relevant to children’s needs. The manager has not developed monitoring systems to address this shortfall. However, staff have good knowledge and understanding of the children, so this has had minimal impact. Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 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, The 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 registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d) (8))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring compliance with matters in schedule 2. 2 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and they should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2630934 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

Carl Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2630934 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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