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

Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 1 SC402385 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

A private company owns this home. It provides care for up to three children aged between eight and 18 years, who may have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in post.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2022 Interim Not judged 16/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there have not been any changes to the children living in the home. The home is welcoming and well presented. Communal areas offer children large, comfortable spaces in which to relax and enjoy themselves. The bedroom of the child living in the home is highly personalised. The homely environment contributes to the child’s enjoyment of the home, with the child scoring it 10 out of 10.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys positive relationships with staff. Staff work hard to build these relationships. They have important conversations with the child to help them be safer and healthier, and to promote their education and independence. As a result, the child is making good progress from their starting points. Since the last inspection, the child has achieved significantly greater independence. They now have their own phone and can arrange their own health appointments and time to meet with family. They have learned to budget and can shop and cook independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives individualised care. Staff actively involve them in creating and reviewing their written plans. This ensures that the child can make decisions about their life and influence the care that they receive. The child is particularly well supported to develop and practise the independence skills they will require in adulthood. As a result, the child is becoming increasingly prepared for independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s education is a priority. The manager has strongly advocated for the child to overcome barriers to education and increase the child’s time in education. As a result, the child now receives full-time education and is making good academic progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child regularly enjoys spending time with people who are important to them, including family members. Staff and the manager have formed positive working relationships with the child’s family. This promotes the child’s understanding of their identity, contributes to them feeling settled in the home and strengthens the network of support the child has access to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of activities of their choosing each week. They take part in park runs, dance classes and horse riding. These experiences provide the child with enjoyment and allow them to develop skills and confidence, as well as providing opportunities for them to make friends and memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health is promoted. Staff encourage the child to attend health appointments and undertake work with them to improve their understanding of the importance of their physical and mental health. Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 4

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

The child feels safe. Safeguarding incidents are rare because staff have good relationships with the child and the child enjoys living in the home. Since the last full inspection, there have been no incidents of the child going missing or any incidents of staff having to physically intervene to keep the child or others safe.

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

The child has a good understanding of how to make a complaint. However, because they are involved in planning their care and have a range of ways to influence the care that they receive, they have not felt the need to complain.

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

The child’s achievements and positive behaviour are celebrated and encouraged using frequent rewards. Consequences are used as a last resort and are proportionate to the behaviours they seek to discourage. The manager has good oversight of the use of consequences, and the child is given the opportunity to reflect and comment on their use. This supports the child’s learning, while also helping them to feel safe and listened to.

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

When the child makes allegations, staff take them seriously. Since the last inspection in October 2024, the child has made three allegations against external professionals. Staff took the necessary immediate action to keep the child safe and make the relevant professionals aware. However, it was not clear that the child was always informed of the outcome of the investigations against external professionals. While there was a clear process for ensuring that the child understood the outcomes of allegations against staff in the home, this was not the case for external professionals. This was addressed by the manager during this inspection, updating the policy and sharing this with partner agencies.

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

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep the child safe and understand the risks to them. Although incidents are rare, on occasions when the child is experiencing difficult emotions, staff’s approach has been behavioural, rather than therapeutic as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. At times, this has escalated rather than de-escalated situations. Staff say they would like specialist training to improve their understanding of how to best support the child. The manager is seeking such training for the team but, at the time of the inspection, this had not been arranged.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager currently leads the team; however, he is shortly to leave his role. Leaders have recruited a new manager to the post, and the current manager is considering how to reduce the impact on the child and to ensure the continued smooth running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses a range of tools to ensure good oversight of all aspects of the child’s care. As a result, he has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. He is aspirational for the child in his care and for his staff. This has contributed to a period of stability in the team. The home has not used any agency or Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 5 bank staff since the last full inspection. As a result, the child has experienced consistency in the care they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created a positive learning culture among the team. Staff are motivated and feel supported by the manager. The manager ensures staff are well supported through good-quality team meetings and supervisions. As a result, the child is cared for by staff who are reflective and ambitious for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager builds effective working relationships with other professionals. Feedback from professionals was positive. One professional commented on the quality of communication, saying, ‘I have found all the staff I have met have appeared reflective and compassionate.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. When necessary, they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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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: SC402385 7

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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

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC402385 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 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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