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

Inspection report children's home: 2535166 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 children’s home is registered to care for up to three children who may have learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. Two other children have also lived in the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2535166 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2022 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Good 10/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2535166 3

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inadequate

Progress for the child currently living in the home is insufficient. Managers and staff have not instilled sufficient positive routines and boundaries in the home for the child. The child’s daily routine lacks structure. The child has a disrupted sleep pattern, and they regularly miss meals.

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inadequate

While the child has developed positive relationships with some staff team members, and they enjoy some activities with them, the child spends prolonged periods playing games online on their own. The child is keen to progress with their learning. However, the education opportunities currently provided to the child are minimal and more action is required to improve this provision.

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inadequate

The child is not being helped well enough to build friendships. They are isolated and do not spend time with their peers in line with their wishes and views. Actions that have been identified for the child to spend time with their friends have not progressed.

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inadequate

The child enjoys spending time with their family and this has progressed well.

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inadequate

Staff support the child to attend health appointments, and an appointment has been made for them in line with their wish to wear contact lenses.

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inadequate

Managers and staff discussed with pride the achievements of two children who have moved on from the home since the last inspection. In particular, the progress made by one child is also reflected in positive partner agency feedback. Managers advocated for these children and challenged services when they considered a response was not adequate to meet the child’s needs. This helped the children to move on to suitable adult provisions successfully. One young person achieved a qualification at college while they lived in the home.

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

Current safety planning is not comprehensive and lacks a focus on preventative actions. On two recent occasions, staff have not intervened early enough to prevent risks from escalating and incidents have occurred. When the child left the home and boarded a train, staff contacted the police promptly. This ensured that the child was found.

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

Managers have not set sufficient boundaries for the child’s online gaming time or supervised it effectively to keep the child safe. There is an over reliance on internet controls when the child is online. These safety measures alone cannot keep the child safe. Consequently, it was identified during the inspection that the child was playing Inspection report children's home: 2535166 4 age-inappropriate games and streaming online to many unknown people. Staff and managers were not aware of this.

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

One child who previously lived in the home made a complaint about their care. This was taken seriously and a thorough investigation was completed. The outcome was communicated to the child and recommendations were made to improve the quality of care provided.

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

It is notable that for one child who previously lived in the home, serious incidents reduced. Their mental health improved, there were no self-harm incidents for a sustained period, and the child was helped to manage their own medication. Staff described working together as a team to help the child move forward and to move on successfully.

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

When medication errors have occurred, managers have implemented actions to reduce the risk of errors occurring in the future. There were no health implications from these errors, and one error related to a recording issue. Following a significant incident relating to a child previously living in the home and who self-administered their own medication, managers completed a learning review to improve future safety planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a new manager in post. A planned transition between the previous manager and the new manager has minimised any disruption in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

However, there are shortfalls in the effectiveness of management and oversight in this home. There has been insufficient action taken to monitor the quality of care effectively and to accurately understand and improve the current child’s experiences to enable them to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Current risk management plans do not identify vulnerabilities effectively and they do not provide clear strategies for staff to respond to the child’s needs. Language used in these records is not always helpful for the child and at times labels the child for their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a lack of management oversight recorded across records. For instance, two significant incidents do not show the manager’s oversight relating to staff practice. This reduces the opportunity for learning and to improve staff responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff training is up to date and in line with the child’s needs. Staff receive supervision regularly to inform their roles and responsibilities. Detailed records show that team meetings discuss approaches to improve the care delivered to the child. However, these responses are not used daily to help the child develop positive routines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff feedback received during and after the inspection describes that working in the home over this period has been enjoyable and challenging. They describe supporting Inspection report children's home: 2535166 5 one another well and that they are committed to supporting the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some areas in the home are well decorated and the home is clean and tidy. However, other areas do not provide such a nurturing environment. This includes decoration of the home upstairs and the layout of the staff office area that is not in keeping with a family home environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Immediately following this inspection, the experienced responsible individual increased their oversight in the home and implemented an action plan to respond to the concerns. Ofsted will continue to monitor the home closely and will complete an inspection in due course. Inspection report children's home: 2535166 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 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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)(vi)

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Requirement Due date

This directly relates to the manager ensuring that staff have clear direction and strategies to ensure that the child develops positive daily routines. 29 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 29 March 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2535166 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child's education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child's education and training and to maximise the child's achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that if a child is out of education, a timetable of educational activities is implemented during the school day.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, managers should challenge services effectively to ensure that the child is provided with suitable formal education and that they return to an education provision as soon as possible.

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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; 29 March 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2535166 8 manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that risks posed to the child online are fully understood and inform decisions about the day to day arrangements for the child.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager must ensure that staff are provided with clear strategies to intervene effectively to reduce the risk of incidents occurring.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that the monitoring of care is effective in safeguarding the child and promoting their well-being. 29 March 2024

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Recommendations

Inspection report children's home: 2535166 9  The registered person should ensure that for children's homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 children's home: 2535166 10

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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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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Garstang

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Inspector

Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2535166 11 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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