Children's home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 1 SC439116 Registered provider: Aspireone Care Limited

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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 small private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home and were spoken to by the inspector.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 September 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: SC439116 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Good 28/02/2023 Full Good 21/03/2022 Full Good 25/11/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from a dedicated staff team who are focused on developing positive relationships with children and understanding their needs. As a result, children say they feel happy and have staff in the home that they can trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met, and they are supported to attend routine medical appointments. Staff educate children on the importance of a healthy lifestyle, promoting a balanced diet and outdoor activities. Staff are proactive in seeking specialist support for children’s emotional health to ensure that they receive appropriate care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have previously experienced significant disruption in their education. Staff have promoted children’s reintegration into school and have been strong advocates to ensure they are able to access appropriate provisions that meet their individual needs. Where barriers have been identified, staff have provided children with a clear routine and appropriate educational activities in the home while decisions are being made regarding changes to their provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote independence appropriately for children’s stages of development. This enables children to understand expectations and identify where they feel they need further support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with family members and those who are important to them are promoted by staff. When one child suffered a family bereavement, staff were sensitive and nurturing in response to the child’s needs. Staff advocated for additional time with family members in line with the child’s wishes, which ensured that the child felt supported and that their feelings were valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely environment. The home has recently been decorated, and children have been able to personalise their own bedrooms. However, bedroom door surveillance alarms are in use, although these are not assessed as necessary for individual children.

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

Children have individual risk plans which provide staff with a detailed understanding of their known behaviours and the triggers that can escalate these behaviours. The registered manager uses a monthly monitoring approach that enables her to identify any emerging patterns of concern. This ensures that any new risks for children are identified in a timely manner and strategies are developed to manage them.

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

Staff show professional curiosity and are keen to develop their understanding of children’s behaviours and use therapeutically informed approaches to support them. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 4 are in regular consultation with specialist support teams relevant to the needs of children living in the home.

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

A strength of the home is the relationships that children are supported to develop with staff. Staff know the children well and are skilled in de-escalating any incidents of concern. As a result, there has been only one occasion when staff have used physical intervention to support a child’s safety and avoid the child causing harm to others or themselves.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. However, when incidents have occurred, staff follow the home’s missing-from-care protocols consistently to ensure that children return to the home as quickly and safely as possible. Staff have encouraged children to share their views and feelings following any missing-from-home incidents. Consequently, staff have been able to advocate for effective adaptations to children’s time with those who are important to them, and incidents have again reduced.

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

Children understand how to make a complaint. Any concerns raised are investigated effectively by the registered manager. There are clear records of actions taken to safeguard children and responses to incidents are effective and proportionate. However, the registered manager has not always reported complaints or allegations made against staff to the regulator. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and dedicated registered manager. She is assisted by a deputy manager. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about working in the home and say they feel well supported by the management team. Staff are provided with consistent updates on children’s needs in regular team meetings which are well attended, with staff participation actively encouraged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes staff progression and delegates tasks to staff seeking to gain experience in leadership and management. Staff access a range of face-to-face and online training. Training that is specific to the individual needs of the children living in the home is promoted when this is identified as an area for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong multi-agency working takes place to ensure that children receive effective support. Professionals speak positively of their engagement with staff and the quality of care provided to children. One education professional said ‘staff are very strong advocates’ for their child and, ‘nothing seems too much’ for the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from the registered manager or a senior member of the team. These sessions are reflective and support the development of staff’s knowledge and skills. The registered manager ensures that staff receive annual appraisals, which are further opportunities for reflection on staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the children well and has clear oversight of the home through regular monitoring and review of staff practice. There have been some changes in staffing since the last inspection, however, the registered manager has ensured that, Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 5 where possible, this is communicated well to children, and they continue to have core staff members they feel supported by. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that bedroom door surveillance alarms are subject to risk assessments for individual children and not used as a blanket provision. 9 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 9 April 2025

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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: SC439116 7

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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

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC439116 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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