Children's home run by Aspris Children’s Service in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 1 SC393567 Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services 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 by a private company. It provides care for up to five children aged between nine and 18 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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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: 23 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 14/03/2023 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Outstanding 03/09/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress because they are looked after by nurturing, dedicated staff who are attuned to their needs. Staff have built positive relationships with the children. The children identify staff as adults they trust and can approach with any worries or concerns. As a result, the children trust staff, feel safe and are happy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming, well-furnished home. Staff involve the children in the decoration of their own rooms and, recently, in the redecoration of the lounge. The children have chosen decor for their bedrooms which reflects their interests. Each child’s personal space reflects their individual needs and self-expression. The children have a pet cat that they look after well and have developed close attachments with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is effective partnership working between staff and network professionals. Staff ensure that the children’s parents and professionals are kept well informed. Staff are keen for the right decisions to be made for the children. External professionals and the children’s guardians are complimentary about the care staff provide to the children. One child’s guardian said they are grateful for the care and dedication the team show every day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the importance of education and, as a result, all the children now attend school full-time. Staff have open communication with education professionals and ensure they are kept informed of updates about the children. The manager has recently challenged one child’s school placement. The manager was concerned the child was not making progress and had a long journey to attend school. It has been agreed that the child will move to a more suitable local school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate equality and diversity. The children have opportunities to learn about different cultures and the different heritages of the children they live with. The children have recently learned about neurodiversity, and are kept up to date with world news in weekly children’s meetings. Staff diligently promote tolerance and acceptance with the children.

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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 the available training on communication aids and the associated needs of one child. Consequently, staff do not have the most current understanding of how to support this child’s needs.

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

The manager and staff prioritise the safety of the children. Staff know the children well and understand how to manage children’s known risks. Staff have supported one child to improve their road safety awareness and another to understand online safety. The children’s plans clearly describe how to keep the children safe. Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 4 Children rarely go missing from home. However, when they do, staff diligently follow the agreed protocols and work well with the local police. Staff maintain detailed records of the incident and actions they have taken. They speak with the child afterwards to try to prevent a recurrence. Staff keep the children as safe as possible when they are missing from home.

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

Physical interventions are kept to a minimum and only used when they are necessary to keep the children safe. Staff reflect on incidents with the manager to understand if there are any lessons that can be learned. The children are given the opportunity to talk openly about their feelings after incidents and explore other ways to express their emotions. As a result of this work, the children can understand why they have been held by staff.

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

Any complaints and allegations are responded to promptly. The manager takes appropriate action to ensure that all concerns are investigated and reported to the correct authorities. The children are kept at the centre of the process and are supported well by the staff. The children are informed of the outcome of any concerns they raise. This reassures them that staff genuinely care for them and that they will listen to, and act on, any concerns.

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

The staff ensure that the children’s health needs are well met. Appropriate action has been taken in response to a small number of medication errors and concerns regarding the handling of the children’s medication. Learning from the investigations has led to practice improvements, with no further medication errors since.

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

Safer recruitment checks are thorough. The manager is committed to ensuring staff working with vulnerable children have been appropriately vetted and deemed suitable. 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: good

The manager is unwavering in her efforts to be a trusted figure for the children and has high aspirations for what the children can achieve. This makes her a good role model for the staff. The manager has a sound understanding of the children’s strengths and vulnerabilities and is committed to ensuring that they receive high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems and action plans in place that support the development of the home. These systems have helped her to identify areas of weakness and the actions she will take to improve these. For example, she is streamlining monitoring processes to ensure that information in children’s records is not duplicated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The morale in the staff team is positive and all staff speak highly of the support they receive from their colleagues and managers. Staff positively described the recent move to the home of staff from another home in the organisation that closed, and how well Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 5 the manager supported them through this process. Staff receive regular reflective supervision, and this provides a strong foundation to ensure the needs of the children are met to a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders in the organisation are passionate about providing good the care and support for the children. After a recent challenging period in the home, the manager described how supportive and helpful senior leaders were with the children, as well as to her and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Moves into and on from the home are generally well planned. However, the manager did not ensure the staff team was fully able to meet the needs of one child who moved in. The child needed to move out at short notice. The manager has reflected on the learning from this child’s move and has made changes to improve the arrangements when children move in. Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 30 April 2025

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure all staff complete training specific to the needs of the children. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 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: SC393567 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Garstang

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Inspector

Louise Webling, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC393567 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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