Children's Home run by Aspiration House Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 1 Registered provider: Aspiration House 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 registered with Ofsted in March 2023 and is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has two houses on the site. One can accommodate two children and the other can accommodate four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home also has a school on the same site, which children living at the home can attend. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 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 requires improvement to be 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: 14 January 2025

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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: 2691525 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 20/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out. This move was progressed swiftly, in accordance with the child’s wishes. Staff supported the child to visit their new home in advance and arranged a personalised goodbye celebration. The registered manager has maintained contact with the child and their family. Plans are also in place for a child currently living at the home to meet with them. As a result, the child felt listened to during their move and positive relationships have been sustained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff know the children well. They know each child’s medical diagnosis and recognise the symptoms and behaviours linked to these. They remain curious and take time to understand each child’s personality, individuality and lived experiences. This insight informs the care they provide and ensures that each child receives support that is appropriate and specific to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know how best to support each child’s individual communication needs, using a range of tools. These include words, pictures, social stories and signs. Staff ensure children are offered choices in all aspects of their daily life and children’s views are heard, respected and acted on. This promotes children’s independence and builds their confidence. However, this good practice is not always consistently recorded, meaning records do not always fully reflect how children’s views are responded to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is a priority for staff. Children attend the on-site school. All the children have 100% attendance and they are making good progress. Strong relationships between the home and school staff ensure a consistent approach and a focus on what matters most for the children. Alongside this, children are supported to develop life skills that promote their independence, helping them build the skills they need for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Friends, carers and family members are invited to spend time at the home. One child benefits from their mother visiting the home, cooking and spending the day with them, alongside staff. She said that the staff are ‘all caring and show [name of child] a lot of love and are like a family around him’. Another child is being supported with reunification, back to the care of their parents. Their mother described the manager and staff as ‘a group of brilliant, amazing people’. These positive relationships promote the children’s emotional well-being, identity and sense of belonging.

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

Children benefit from staff who respond effectively and consistently to their needs. This helps children to feel safe. One child’s parent said, ‘They are safer at the home than they are with me’, and that this supported her to worry less. Individualised behaviour support plans are informed by people who know the children well, and consider their health Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 4 needs and childhood experiences. Their associated risks and vulnerabilities are understood and well assessed but not always clearly recorded.

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

Children are helped to engage in community activities. When they find these challenging, staff review, assess and adapt these opportunities to ensure that children continue to be able to access activities outside of the home. One child’s level of supervision has safely reduced from two staff members to one. The child has recently completed work experience, and this was so successful it has led to an offer of part-time employment. Taking part in meaningful activities in the community increases confidence and pride and supports children to feel a sense of achievement.

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

The registered manager and staff support children to understand risk in ways that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. One-to-one sessions cover topics such as road safety, stranger danger, safe touching and life skills. Staff provide appropriate support with children’s self-care in line with their agreed care plans. Children’s dignity is consistently prioritised, which helps to promote their sense of safety and self-worth.

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

There has been one allegation made against a staff member. This was managed swiftly and appropriately, with a timely referral made to the local authority designated officer. The investigation was concluded without concern. However, senior managers did not record the actions they took in response to the allegation. Poor record-keeping relating to safeguarding concerns has the potential for leaders to be unable to demonstrate the strength and rigour of their safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager who is child focused and committed to the care and welfare of the children. However, she is due to leave her role in the coming weeks. The leadership team has been further disrupted by the departure and absence of other senior staff members. This has reduced the support available to the manager and created gaps in oversight. Senior leaders have taken action to recruit new leaders and managers, but uncertainty remains for staff and children. As a result, staff morale is affected, and children experience inconsistency in their relationships with leaders and staff who oversee their care and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have regular supervision, but the quality is inconsistent, and sessions do not always include reflection or child-focused discussions. In addition, the manager has not received regular supervision in recent months. This has limited opportunities to support professional development, monitor practice effectively and ensure high-quality care for children. Despite this, handovers are clear, and staff say they feel well supported by the manager and each other. When lapses in practice are identified, the manager holds focused meetings to embed learning and prevent recurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive training appropriate to meet the needs of the children. They are also supported by a therapeutic team that provides guidance, consultation and reflective input. However, this learning culture has not been consistently embedded. Over recent Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 5 months, team meetings and reflective sessions have been irregular, and two staff members have not completed their qualifications within expected timescales. Although plans are now in place to address this, opportunities for staff to develop their skills and reflect on their practice have been limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children benefit from nurturing and attentive staff who genuinely care and are responsive to their individual needs. The registered manager and staff have excellent relationships with the children and maintain positive relationships with external professionals, working collaboratively with all those people who are important to the child. As a result, children continue to experience consistent, caring support and coordinated care, which promotes their well-being, stability and positive outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that clear records are kept of actions taken in response to any safeguarding concerns. 5 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager and staff receive regular practice-related supervision and are given adequate opportunities for professional development. 26 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; 19 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 7 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, ensure that there is effective oversight of the quality and consistency of record-keeping. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 8 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: 2691525 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspiration House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, 9 Portland Street, Manchester M1 3BE

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Inspector

Mandy Wake, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2691525 10 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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