Children's Home run by Aspris New Education Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 1 SC412979 Registered provider: Aspris New Education 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

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 5 September 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Outstanding 21/02/2023 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Good 25/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children flourish in this home. Their care is meticulously planned in partnership with families and specialist health and educational professionals. This ensures that children are provided with a high level of support and a consistent approach to their needs. Consequently, children appear extremely happy, confident and settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are provided with bespoke communication aids, such as story boards, symbols and widgets. As a result, children can communicate easily with those around them and are supported to make decisions and choices for themselves. Children are listened to, and their requests consistently considered. Staff promote and respect children’s rights and enable them to take control of their lives in a safe and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health is consistently prioritised. Children have sessions with routine and specialist learning disability health professionals to ensure that receive the treatments they require from professionals who understand their individual needs. Children are consistently supported to understand what their body is telling them, such as the need to use the toilet. Through careful planning and consultation with children, most have become fully continent. One parent said, ‘I never thought this could happen. The progress he [the child] makes is amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Some children come to the home with a limited diet, resulting in additional nutritional supplements being required. Staff support children to explore new foods, tastes and textures. Through patience and praise, children have developed a varied palette and enjoy a range of different foods, including ample fruits and vegetables. As a result, some children have been discharged from dieticians and no longer require nutritional supplements. Furthermore, children have learned to use cutlery and eat at a table with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are provided with exceptional support within the school environment. The partnership between the home and school ensures that children’s learning is consistently threaded through all aspects of their lives. Support to develop independence and essential life skills enables children to complete simple tasks, such as creating a shopping list, managing money, managing personal hygiene, and using public transport.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Family time is prioritised. Staff work consistently with families to help them replicate routines and boundaries at home. This has proven successful. A parent said, ‘I can be a mum to my child now. I am not scared. We can go out and do things that I never envisaged we could ever do. This is down to the fantastic staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make outstanding progress in their relationships with others. They are provided opportunities to grow and develop in a range of social situations. Consequently, children develop in confidence and resilience. They enjoy a variety of exciting activities, including Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 4 attending discos and learning new skills, such as bike riding, swimming and sharing with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children and their families receive monthly progress reports that detail their individual targets, achievements and ‘wow’ moments. Children’s personal reports are provided in picture format, reflecting on their activities and achievements throughout the month. Children enjoy looking at their pictures and recalling their activities with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children and their families are provided with a children’s guide that explains how the home care for the children and what to expect from the home. Overall, the guide is explained in pictorial and word format, making it easy to understand. However, information regarding how to make a complaint is not in a pictorial format and may not be clear for children.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised. Staff understand each child’s individual risks and the strategies in place to reduce these. Assessments to manage risk are routinely reviewed and amended to ensure that they reflect children’s current and emerging risks.

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

Staff are completely in tune with the children. They recognise a change in mood or if something is worrying the child. They pre-empt a child’s difficulties in managing their emotions and work with them to recognise and understand their feelings. Children learn how to ask for help and express themselves safely.

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

Children are provided with a high level of staff support. When children become over stimulated, staff are trained in the use of distraction and redirection techniques to help calm and soothe the children. There are occasions where staff may need to hold a child to keep them safe. In these instances, interventions are brief, fully recorded and shared with the parents and local authority. A parent said, ‘The staff care for my child like their own. I can sleep at night. I know they are safe, happy and loved.’

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

Children’s routines and boundaries are consistently implemented in the home, and parents are supported to maintain these at their home. The children receive consistent praise and recognition of ‘wow’ moments. A social worker said, ‘The staff are dedicated to the children, who make excellent progress. They go the extra mile and think outside of the box to help children realise their own potential.’

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

Since the last inspection, there has been one occasion where a child left the premises without the knowledge of staff. The manager took swift action to address this matter, resulting in no further incidents of this kind.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff have an exceptional understanding of the individual needs and aspirations of the children. They are passionate about the service they provide, and consistently strive to ensure that the children experience positive and effective care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 5 Staff receive both bespoke and mandatory training to equip them for their roles in the home. This training ensures that staff are provided with new and unique opportunities to further develop their skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are provided with consistent supervision. One staff member said, ‘The manager is incredibly supportive and is always on hand for advice. She pushes us all the time to learn new skills.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Internal and external monitoring systems are highly effective. The manager and staff have regular consultation with children, parents and professionals, which they use to inform the development of the home. Feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The manager’s quality of care review is consistently carried out. The report is strengthened by the inclusion of a detailed development plan and feedback from parents, children and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Practice in the home is underpinned by the theoretical framework that is threaded throughout all the systems and work undertaken with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager places enormous value on the children’s happiness and safety, and their sense of fun and exploration. As a result, parents and professionals say that their children are making significant and sustained progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

One minor shortfall was identified during the inspection resulting in one recommendation being made. Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should develop the children’s guide to ensure that complaints information is available in alternative formats. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.24).

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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: SC412979 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris New Education Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Barton Close, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester LE19 1SJ

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC412979 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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