Children's Home run by Aspire Child Care Ltd in Rochdale

Inspection report children's home: SC413779 1 SC413779 Registered provider: Aspire Child Care 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 children’s home is run by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC413779 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 24/04/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC413779 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home to return to live with their family. The child living in the home has lived here for over three years. They enjoy positive relationships with staff and have a strong sense of belonging. The child said, ‘The staff are great. Everything is great really. Staff help me in every single way possible.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from carefully planned care that promotes their needs effectively. Staff support the child through periods of instability, they are committed and don’t give up on them easily. Staff work with partner agencies effectively to promote stability and positive experiences for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of the child’s lived experiences and understand the impact of trauma. They ensure that the child benefits from good help and support through regular therapy. Additionally, the child is also supported by other professionals and specialist services. Staff provide the child with a caring, understanding, and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. This ensures that the child has regular opportunities to connect socially with their family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are effective arrangements to promote the child’s health and their physical and emotional well-being. A mental health worker said, ‘Staff are always friendly and accommodating. The child has built good relationships with staff and there are always nice interactions.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive Steps are currently supporting the child with their re-integration into education, training or employment. However, staff could do more to occupy the child’s free time in the absence of full-time education to rebuild their confidence in education and learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is an eligible care leaver and has a pathway plan and personal advisor to promote their independence. The personal advisor said, ‘Living here has been so helpful for [Name of child] because staff are so good with them and that’s why they are progressing.’

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

The child is kept safe and feels safe living at the home. Staff follow clear risk management plans and have a good knowledge and understanding of the child’s specific needs and vulnerabilities. This enables staff to keep the child safe from harm.

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

Risks associated with the child are well known and understood by staff who take appropriate action to protect them. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘In terms of Inspection report children's home: SC413779 4 care, we have no concerns. I am in support of them staying here and feel that it’s a good placement for them.’

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

The accommodation provided for the child is physically safe, warm, comfortable and homely. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively. However, there are outstanding repairs. For example, the child’s wardrobe is broken and there is a damaged fence panel in the garden.

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

There have been no complaints, restraints or allegations since the last inspection. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate agencies to protect the child from harm.

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

There have been a few occasions, when the child has tested boundaries, and has had to be reported missing from the home by staff. Staff follow clear procedures to locate the child quickly to secure their safe return. Most missing from home episodes are for late returns. There are no concerns with substance misuse, exploitation, or offending. The child benefits from good communication and engagement with staff. The child said, ‘My views are listened to.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of staff’s practice and the day-to-day operations of the home. They have successfully recruited additional staff since the last inspection to ensure that the home is fully resourced. A new team leader said, ‘The general energy levels are good, and the staff are very reflective. I sense it’s a nice place to work.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable staff team provides the child with consistency and continuity of care. The manager has a good understanding of the child’s specific needs and provides the staff team with effective support to ensure there is a consistent approach towards staff meeting the child’s specific needs. This ensures there are clear boundaries in place to support the child’s progress and positive behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have formed effective partnerships with a team of dedicated professionals to meet the child’s needs and address their vulnerabilities through effective safety planning. This ensures that the child is kept safe from harm. A mental health worker said, ‘They [the child] are doing well and its lovely to see. I want the momentum to continue.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff confirm that leaders and managers are always supportive and available. Staff said, ‘I am supported with regular training, and supervisions and always get the help and support from my team members and the management.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and have reflective supervisions. They benefit from good quality training opportunities to help them meet the specific needs of the child. Inspection report children's home: SC413779 5 The home is visited by an independent person who reviews the quality of the care provided for the child. These visits assist staff, leaders, and managers to understand the strengths and areas for improvement. The manager acts on recommendations made to address shortfalls quickly, to secure improvement. However, the manager’s quality of care report has not been completed in line with regulation. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff employed are selected and recruited carefully. This ensure that children are protected from unsuitable individuals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed all but one of the previous requirements from the last inspection. Inspection report children's home: SC413779 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, 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 30 May 2025 Inspection report children's home: SC413779 7 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is well maintained and that any damage is repaired quickly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This relates specifically to the repair or replacement of the garden fence panel and child’s bedroom wardrobe.  The registered person should ensure that when a child is not participating in full-time education, training, or employment that they are supported to regain their confidence in learning and are engaged in structured educational activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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 children's home: SC413779 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspire Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 15 Jutland Avenue, ROCHDALE, Lancashire OL11 5DP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christine MacKay

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC413779 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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