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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1236387 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 owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to four children. 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 manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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: 1236387 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2023 Full Good 13/07/2021 Full Outstanding 14/08/2019 Full Outstanding 15/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1236387 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff who invest in quality time with the children, having conversations and playing games. Staff are interested in the children and encourage their hobbies and interests. Staff create a positive and fun atmosphere, and the children enjoy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and on from the home are well managed. Children live in the home for a long time and remain in contact with the staff once they have left. When they do move out, this is sensitively handled by managers and staff. Managers consider the needs of the new children moving in and how this could impact on the children already living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education. Children who have been out of education for a long time are now attending school regularly. All the children attend school. Despite efforts from managers, one child had to move out of the home as they were unable to find an education placement in the local area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to become more independent. Staff use personalised incentives and goals for the children effectively. Children respond very well to these and are making progress with developing their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers listen to the children and involve them in the day-to-day decisions about the home. Children personalise their rooms to their individual tastes. The manager is working with one child to improve the appearance of their room and make it more homely. When children complain, the managers respond well, and the children are happy with the outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff embrace the diversity of the children and allow them to express themselves. Staff attitudes and approaches are natural and accepting. The manager is exploring further diversity training to improve staff knowledge in this area even further.

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

Staff understand the risks for children and assess and record them in detailed risk assessments. Children do not go missing from home and are settled.

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

There are good systems in place to manage and audit medications. There has been one medication error. This was investigated by the manager, and learning was identified. Further training and support were provided to the staff member involved.

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

Safeguarding is understood and managed well. Staff know how to raise a concern and have sufficient training. Safeguarding incidents have been investigated well by managers. Managers involve parents in investigations and share information with key partner agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236387 4 Staff do not regularly use consequences, but when they do, they are proportionate and restorative. The manager reviews these and their effectiveness.

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

Staff have created positive and personalised plans for the children. However, one child’s behaviour plan does not reflect staff practice in the use of medication. This is a recording issue and has not impacted the child.

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

Staff use physical intervention infrequently. When it is used, the records are clear, and there is good oversight from the manager. After the restraint, staff speak to the children, and managers debrief staff. On one occasion, a child was debriefed by someone who was involved in the restraint.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is supported by an experienced and child-focused deputy. A new, suitably experienced, responsible individual has been appointed to the leadership team. The statement of purpose has been updated to reflect this change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are present and involved in the children’s lives. They are acutely aware of the progress the children are making. The manager has strong relationships with the children and is an excellent role model to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses effective systems for monitoring the quality of care provided to children and continually reviews and evaluates activities in the home. The manager uses these tools to create a development plan. This plan is reviewed regularly to ensure that progress is continually made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work closely with parents, who report excellent communication and involvement in their child’s care. One parent has reported that communication has improved in recent months. As a result, this has improved the experience for their child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is experienced and stable. Staff turnover is minimal; when new staff join, they are well inducted into the home. Managers support staff well, and staff report excellent teamwork. Supervision is of high quality. Staff receive regular feedback on their performance to improve practice. Team meetings are useful as they focus on the children and support the development of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The system for monitoring training is not always effective. All staff have completed mandatory training. The records for training in the specific needs of the children are not easily accessible. Staff are not all trained in pathological demand avoidance, which is identified in the workforce development plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236387 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs19 and 20). This plan should record the training and ongoing development of staff including the home manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Paragraph 10.8, page 53)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child who has been restrained is offered the opportunity to access advocacy or express their feelings about the experience of restraint with someone who was not present during the incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Paragraph 9.60, page 50)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. If this is part of a child’s plan to reduce behaviours that challenge staff, then it should be included in the child’s written plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Paragraph 7.15, page 35)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to help children manage long-term conditions such as pathological demand avoidance and any other individual conditions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ Paragraph 7.12, page 34)

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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: 1236387 6

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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, 43 Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1236387 7 regulates and inspects 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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