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

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 1 SC402385

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Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Service

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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 three children aged between eight and 18 years who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children spoke to the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager at the home. The interim manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Inspection date: 3 September 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment for children. It is clean, well furnished, and has a homely feel, offering pleasant spaces for children to relax and enjoy themselves.

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Findings from the inspection

Children enjoy living at the home due to the positive relationships they share with staff. One child said, ‘These lot show that they care and that they want to help.’ Another child rated their experience as ‘nine out of 10’.

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Findings from the inspection

Children continue to make progress in various aspects of their lives. One child has successfully moved from secondary school to college and is learning to drive. Another child’s social skills and sleep quality have improved. These outcomes reflect the nurturing and supportive environment provided by the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Children feel safe and are confident in speaking with staff. One child said of the manager, ‘She is the first person I met. She came to my old care home to meet me. I know I can talk to anyone, but I know I can specifically talk to her if I need to.’

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Findings from the inspection

Staff are skilled in de-escalation techniques. As a result, safeguarding incidents in the home are rare. Since the last inspection, there have not been any incidents of children having to be restrained to keep them or others safe. Similarly, there have not been any incidents of children going missing from the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The response to complaints is poor and does not support children in expressing their concerns. When children raise complaints, there is a delay in acknowledging and responding to their concerns. Insufficient consideration is given to determining who should respond to children’s complaints, which may subsequently lead to children being unwilling to discuss their concerns. Children are not routinely informed of the outcomes of their complaints to give them closure. This area requires improvement to ensure that children feel heard and supported.

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Findings from the inspection

The handling of a serious allegation made by a child while on holiday revealed shortfalls in communication and managerial handover. This resulted in a delay in notifying partner safeguarding agencies and in documenting aspects of the allegation. A lack of clarity about each person’s responsibility compounded these delays. Fortunately, these shortfalls did not affect the child.

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Findings from the inspection

The home is understaffed and relies on agency workers to operate. The manager has endeavoured to reduce the effect of this by ensuring continuity of agency staff, providing children with some consistency. The issue with staffing means that the manager has had to work shifts, reducing their capacity for managerial oversight. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 3 This has contributed to shortfalls in areas such as complaint handling, oversight and response to allegations, and staff supervision.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff morale is currently low, team meetings are poorly attended, and staff do not routinely receive supervision. There is evident tension between staff and the manager, with resistance to change and a lack of consultation. While there is no current effect on children, this situation is not sustainable. Leaders and managers must take further action to stabilise the team and support the manager.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager is hard-working, and child focused. She has developed positive relationships with children, their family members, and professionals. One professional described the home as ‘really well managed’ and said, ‘Since day one, [name of manager] has been amazing.’ A family member said, ‘[Name of manager] is absolutely brilliant.’ Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/04/2025 Full Good 14/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2022 Interim Not judged 16/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 5

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand what they must do when a child makes an allegation. When children make allegations, leaders and managers must notify the relevant partner safeguarding agencies without delay. 28 November

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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

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 28 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 6 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(d)(e)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the home has enough staff to operate and that staff work well as a team. When children make complaints, leaders and managers must ensure that the response is prompt and supports children in sharing their views.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the timescales outlined in the provider’s policy. 28 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Service

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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 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC402385 8 to 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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Inspector

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