Children's home run by Aspris Children’s Service

Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 1 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 privately owned and run by an education service provider. It is registered to care for up to seven children with complex needs that may include autism and associated difficulties. There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is located on the provider’s school campus. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 2 August 2024.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 29 November 2023

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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: 1241836 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Good 04/02/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved out over the summer, and this has left one child living in the home. The new manager is carefully considering what types of children may fit well with the staff skills and the child who currently lives in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built positive relationships with children. The staff and children have warm, nurturing interactions. Staff support children to maintain friendships. For example, the child currently living in the home is able to have friends over for dinner and is supported to meet up regularly with a child who used to live at the home. These opportunities help the child to maintain important social relationships and prevent isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress from their starting points because they are cared for by a dedicated staff team. They have made progress in respect of their independence, positive behaviour and communication. Several professionals highlighted the significant improvements one child has made with their verbal communication skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with the children regularly and respond to their wishes and feelings. Children are enabled to make their own choices using communication aids that are strategically placed around the home. This means children can communicate their needs and wishes to the staff, who effectively respond to them. Children are empowered and feel heard. Photos around the home demonstrate how staff have responded to children’s requests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to enjoy a wide range of activities and cultural events. Children have enjoyed trips to Butlins and Legoland. They are encouraged to participate in activities they have not tried before, such as rock climbing. This broadens children’s experiences. Children’s cultural backgrounds are celebrated, and particular cultural needs are supported. Staff help children to celebrate religious events that are important to them and ensure dietary requirements associated with their beliefs are met. Staff arranged for a dual-language advocate for a child whose first language was not English.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and have helped the children maintain excellent school attendance. Staff and teachers speak daily at the start and end of every school day to hand over important information that promotes continuity of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have completed the organisation’s core training and some bespoke courses. However, not all staff have completed available training around communication aids and associated needs relevant to the child currently in the home. Consequently, staff do not have the most current understanding of how to support the children’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 4

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

Staff help children to understand risk and how to stay safe. They understand the need for children to become independent and to take appropriate risks. Staff have helped one child learn how to be safe near roads. During Road Safety Week, the staff arranged for the local PCSO to visit the home to increase the child’s knowledge. Consequently, the child’s understanding around their own safety has improved.

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

Safeguarding arrangements are robust and keep the children safe. When there are any concerns, the manager and staff act promptly to ensure these are addressed and that children are well supported. Staff have individual planned conversations and use social stories to ensure children understand and are kept informed of actions taken to keep them safe.

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

The use of physical intervention is rare and has only been used to immediately safeguard a child. Staff always speak to children after any incidents of physical restraint to help children understand their own behaviours better. Staff are skilled at using empathy and nurture to help children develop the confidence and vocabulary to articulate their emotions better.

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

Staff regularly update the children’s individual risk assessments and safety plans to ensure they accurately reflect each child’s presenting vulnerabilities. Children’s individual positive behaviour support plans are clear and give easy guidance for staff to follow. However, these do not include written consideration of children’s age, size, health or medical needs and their relevance to the behavioural interventions used.

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

Safer recruitment checks have improved since the last inspection. These are now thorough and take place to ensure staff working with the vulnerable children have been appropriately vetted. All staff have attended safeguarding training and understand their responsibilities in raising and reporting any safeguarding concerns. This enhances the safety and well-being of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been no registered manager at the home since August 2024. The new manager has yet to submit her application to become registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Senior leaders have not provided the new manager with appropriate levels of induction, guidance and support. The manager has not received an induction or specific training to help her embed herself into her new role. Consequently, the manager has felt overwhelmed at times. This lack of support for the manager has meant that while she has driven many improvements in a short time, she has been unable to address some inherited shortfalls. Consequently, shortfalls regarding staff training and children’s plans identified at the last inspection remain. Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 5 The manager’s drive and passion to ensure the children are well cared for and supported are unwavering. While they have yet to be implemented, she has clear plans to develop areas of the service that, with the support of senior leaders, could be improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have created good working relationships with partner agencies. Feedback is sought regularly to improve services to children. Parents and partner professionals speak positively of the manager, the staff team and the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager was previously the deputy manager, and this has helped her maintain and build on relationships with staff. Staff speak highly of her as a leader. This has ensured the staff maintain their commitment to the children and deliver good-quality care and support to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager leads by example and is a role model to her team. She has high expectations of her staff team and provides appropriate challenge when practice falls below her expected standards. She ensures staff receive regular, reflective supervision and appraisals to help improve practice. Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, senior leaders must ensure sufficient levels of support are provided to the new manager.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the manager should ensure staff receive training specific to the needs of children. 1 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s plans take into account the risk that the use of restraint carries. This includes the relevance of any disability, health problem or medication to the behaviour in question and the action that might be taken as a result. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.55) Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 7

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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: 1241836 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: 2 Barton Close, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester LE19 1SJ

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Inspector

Louise Webling, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1241836 9 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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