Children's home run by Aspireone Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 1 Registered provider: Aspireone Care Ltd

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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 by a private company. The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children were present and spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2019 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: 23 January 2024

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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: 1276911 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 07/02/2023 Full Good 10/05/2021 Full Good 05/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive exceptionally high-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. One child has lived in the home for two years and has made constant progress in all areas of their life from their original stating point. One child has been welcomed into the home within this inspection period. In a short period of time, the child has made great progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s relationships with staff are affectionate and loving. Staff provide a culture of respect, nurture and safety for children. Staff are enormously committed to children. Staff are continually curious about and reflect on how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. This helps children to build trust and to feel safer and relaxed in their surroundings. Children are overwhelmingly positive about their experiences in the home. One child said, ‘The home was really nice and properly felt like home, all the staff felt like family, they are amazing, I love them, they are nice people.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When children move into and out of the home, this is handled meticulously by staff. The home is initially introduced to children with a warm and welcoming short video reel, which brings the home and community to life. This use of technology is relatable to children. Children also receive an accessible children’s guide and induction. Prior to children moving into the home, staff work closely with previous carers to ensure that the home is practically equipped. This provides children with reassurance in a time of uncertainty.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children contribute towards their own care plans. The manager has embedded systems and processes into the home that give children multiple platforms to share their views. The manager rigorously monitors children’s progress and has monthly consultations with children. Staff sensitively help children to be open and talk about their wishes, feelings and concerns. Children also have independent advocates, which has enabled children to participate in their care planning meetings. Active participation allows children to feel seen and heard and contribute to decision-making in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children to improve their independence skills at a pace that suits their needs and abilities. Children can complete their own assessment of their independent skills and develop their goals with the dedicated support from staff. These experiences raise children’s self-esteem and prepare them for later life. Extensive planning when children move out of the home supports them with their future. Children take on appropriate levels of responsibility to develop life skills, both practically and emotionally, such as travel, managing budgets, managing relationships with friends, family members and strangers, and how it feels to live alone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s education is held in extremely high regard. The manager is motivated to ensure children receive the right education and have the right education plans. The communication between staff and children’s education provisions is highly effective. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 4 motivate children to learn. As a result, children make exceptional progress in line with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff go out of their way to ensure that children create memories, have positive experiences and have lots of fun activities. These memories are evident in the home through a vast range of pictures, certificates, memory books and children’s growing confidence. These books provide children with a valuable record of the time they spent living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s needs and their family dynamics are comprehensively understood by staff. Children’s relationships with their families have improved and children have developed friendships with peers. One parent described the staff and the home as ‘perfect’. This supports children to develop their social and emotional skills and maintain relationships with family members and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is exceptionally presented. The nurturing and stimulating environment contributes to children’s well-being and development. The home has a relaxed atmosphere and is indicative of a family home. There is no mistaking that the children live in the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their unique interests. The environment supports the home’s overall purpose of providing a safe, comfortable and enriching space for children to thrive and have a real sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of the children and how to motivate them. Staff use clear incentives, and children’s incentive plans are constructed with them to identify individual goals and targets to aid their development. Children identifying their own various targets encourages them to be self-motivated. It also promotes feelings of self- worth, their independence skills and contributes to their overall progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Diversity is promoted in the home. Equality, inclusion and diversity are celebrated throughout the home and themes are explored with children. However, one of the children does not yet know their ethnicity. The manager does have a plan in place to bridge this gap.

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

Children who live in this home are safe and say that they feel safe. The strength and consistency of the safe relationships that children have with staff make children feel secure. For example, staff provide children with ‘safe to talk’ cards to enable children to use their voice when they may feel worried or scared and to begin difficult conversations. Staff are clear about their responsibilities and know how to respond to safeguarding concerns.

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

Comprehensive training, regular supervision and team meetings, which are supported by research and therapeutic resources relating to attachment, harmful behaviours and helping children to talk, provide staff with the knowledge and skills they need to inform their practice and safely care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 5 Keeping children safe is a paramount for staff and managers. The manager has highly effective systems in place for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Assessments around risk are comprehensive and communication with professionals is effective. The manager shares information with professionals swiftly to avoid delay and to ensure that children are protected from harm. The manager takes guidance from these professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe.

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

Staff help children to understand and manage risks exceptionally well. Staff complete extensive work creatively with children around their risks, for example online safety, healthy relationships and bullying. This includes using external resources and research. This helps children to be informed and make safer choices.

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

One child experienced bullying in the school environment and did not feel safe. The manager fiercely addressed this with the education provider to ensure the child was protected. Work was completed with the child to enable them to better understand the impact of bullying and how they may recognise it in the future, if it were to happen again. Children are equipped with skills to keep themselves safe and the ability to share any worries or concerns they have with staff, helping to keep children safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a confident, ambitious and inspirational leader. She is supported by an equally dedicated deputy manager and area development manager. Monitoring and oversight of the home is strong. Together, the management team has an excellent understanding of the children, the home and staff . There is a strategic review of events. Strengths and weaknesses are identified quickly in line with children’s changing needs, and action is taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is passionate about supporting children and has an excellent relationship with children. She understands the plans for children and has a clear vision to drive them forward to achieve important milestones and goals for their futures. This inspires staff to provide exceptional child-centred care. Care is provided by a committed staff team with a range of professional experience. This ensures that high-level care is consistently maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers support staff tremendously well. The manager has high aspirations for the staff to reach their full potential. Staff are incredibly positive about the manager and morale is high. Managers provide staff with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. Staff have regular practice- related supervision and good-quality reflective team meetings. These practices help staff to feel valued, develop and enhance staff practice to care for vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is an excellent advocate for the children and achieves results from their endeavours. They strive to provide outstanding outcomes for children and improve the operation of the home. This ethos is shared by a highly motivated and enthusiastic staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 6 team. This practice is consistent and enduring. This robust approach to leadership helps children achieve better outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Multi-agency working is a notable strength of the home. Managers and staff have extremely effective working relationships with external agencies to ensure the best possible care, experiences and futures for children. Social workers speak highly of the quality of care provided and the standards of communication maintained by staff. A therapist said, ‘The home is one of the warmest, friendliest residential homes I have ever worked in. The staff work hard to make the home a home rather than a residential home. The team are psychologically minded and reflect on the foundations of behaviours spontaneously. I have really enjoyed working with the team.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are helped to understand their diversity. The importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised in good social work practice. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. This specifically relates to children being helped to discover their ethnicity and other identity characteristics. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)

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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: 1276911 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Lyme Drive, Lyme Vale Court, Parklands, Stoke-On- Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 9 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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