Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in West Berkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 1 SC486479

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Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to five children. The statement of purpose states that the children cared for have complex needs, which may include autism spectrum disorders and complex associated difficulties. There were five children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Two of the children are over the age of 18 and are referred to in the report as young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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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: SC486479 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/05/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good 04/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from attentive care provided by staff who know them well. Staff take the time to understand the children, their routines and complex needs. One parent said that the staff, ‘Love and care for all the children.’ As a result, children experience stability and are making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to gain children’s views. Staff use communication aids and visual techniques to understand children’s views on their care. They involve children in meal and activity planning. Staff are creative when facilitating children’s meetings, using pictures and an interactive whiteboard. Children are fully engaged in these meeting which educate them about different cultures and staying safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to become more independent. They involve children in cooking the meals for the home and household activities. Staff help children to learn skills away from the home, such as going out shopping and paying for items. Staff have high expectations for children to develop these skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend a school within the organisation. Children are prepared for the end of term with social stories to help them adjust to the new routines. They go to school regularly and are doing well at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities. They go to youth clubs, trips to theme parks, zoos and to the beach. They spend quality time with their families, and this is well supported by staff. Parents report excellent communication which enables a shared understanding of the child’s experience and consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s diversity is embraced and celebrated. Staff help children to celebrate their culture and traditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has been improved since the last inspection. The garden has a new path and there is a swimming pool and trampoline. Inside the house the kitchen has been updated. There are still areas of the home that require attention to improve. Some flooring is damaged, and areas of the home are dirty. The manager has plans in place to improve these areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Their medications are managed well and safely by staff. Staff take children to regular health appointments. They also engage with specialist health services when needed. One child’s emergency medication plan has not been recently reviewed by a health professional. The child’s health condition is stable, and this hasn’t impacted on the care that they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 4

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities. They carefully assess risks for children and keep these under regular review. Staff keep children safe with high levels of staff supervision and support.

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

Staff take a positive approach to children’s care. They celebrate when children are following social rules such as sharing spaces or activities. Staff are mindful of children’s sensitivities to noises and when other children are upset. They manage this thoughtfully. After periods of distress, staff engage children in restorative activities that they enjoy. This helps to repair relationships. As a result, children live happily together.

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

Managers deal with concerns about staff practice well. Managers carry out investigations quickly and fairly. They share information with the local authorities designated officer when needed. Managers learn lessons from investigations and help staff to improve their practice.

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

Staff use physical intervention with children when this is required. Physical intervention is proportionately used to move children away from danger or keep staff or children safe. The interventions used are well recorded and the manager provides effective scrutiny of practice. Staff and children are debriefed fully after the event. Staff always inform social workers and families when physical intervention is used. However, when cuts and marks are noticed on the child this is not routinely shared with their social worker.

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

Staff are clear about how to raise safeguarding concerns. Staff have confidence that managers will act on their concerns. Staff receive regular training in safeguarding, and it forms a key aspect of their induction. However, the polices for reporting safeguarding concerns for young people living in the home are less clear. This has resulted in a delay in one concern being reported, although this has not impacted on the safety of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides stable management to the team. They have high aspirations and are actively involved in the children’s care. They use monitoring tools effectively and have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. There are clear plans in place to improve the quality of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual role has been unstable since the last inspection. Three individuals have held this role. The current responsible individual is not permanent. However, there has been no impact on the support provided to the manager during this time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with regular supervision and training to carry out their roles. New staff are well inducted with a structured induction to the home. Supervision’s help Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 5 promote staff members well-being and development. Staff are well trained, and this includes training specific to the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Moves into the home are carefully planned. Leaders thoughtfully assess children and the skills of the staff. Children are central to the planning of their move. Children visit the home and choose the décor of their room. The details of the move are communicated to the child in a highly personalised way. Children who are new to the home have settled in very well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s moves on from the home are well planned. Due to the complex needs of the young people, this planning takes place well in advance of their moving dates. The manager engages with adult services to start this planning early. One young person has moved on from the home. The child was highly involved, and the move was managed well. The young person is still in contact with the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care plans are good quality and informative about the child’s needs. They are highly detailed, and child focused including photographs to support the written information. The plans are reviewed and updated regularly. One young person’s plan has not reflected changes to their legal status as they are now an adult and are subject to a deprivation of liberty order. The order is held in the home, but not summarised for staff to see what this means for the young person’s care. However, staff knowledge of the young person has rduced the impact of this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff use a movement sensor in the home. This is used overnight to monitor children’s movements and alert the waking night staff. Social workers and parents consent to its use, and this is recorded on the children’s files. However, the use of the sensor is not risk assessed or regularly reviewed for each individual child to ensure that it is still necessary. Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, promptly share information with the child’s social worker and parent (where appropriate) about injuries sustained in a physical intervention.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, include the local procedure for safeguarding adults in the home’s safeguarding policies. 09 August 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that monitoring equipment used in the home is reviewed for each individual child regularly to assess if it is still required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that children’s medication plans are overseen and agreed with the relevant health care professional. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a welcoming environment. The home and gardens should be kept clean with wear and tear attended to promptly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that young people’s plans are updated to reflect changes in their legal status. Plans should make it clear to staff what

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Recommendations

specific legal orders mean in respect to the young person’s day to day care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 7 (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15)

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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: SC486479 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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Inspectors

Mark Dawkins, Social Care Inspector Sharron Dormand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC486479 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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