Children's home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 1 SC063895 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional needs and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, no children were living at the home. However, five children have lived at the home since the last inspection, and their experiences were considered at this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since April 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Outstanding 12/03/2024 Full Outstanding 01/03/2023 Full Outstanding 11/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 3

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improvement to be good

Children live in a well-presented, welcoming home that provides a warm and comfortable environment. The home is maintained to a good standard and is thoughtfully furnished, helping children to feel valued and at ease. There is ample space throughout the home, allowing children to spend time together socially or to have privacy and quiet time alone when needed.

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improvement to be good

Children experience planned and carefully managed moves into the home. When children leave the home, they are supported effectively, ensuring continuity and emotional security. One family member expressed their appreciation for the care and support provided by staff during their child’s time at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy good health, with their physical and emotional well-being well supported. Staff are attentive to children’s individual health needs and promote healthy routines. The manager advocates effectively on behalf of children, seeking timely support from external health and specialist services when required, to ensure children receive the right help.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with the people who are important to them, including family members. Staff actively promote and facilitate these relationships in line with care plans, recognising the emotional significance of these relationships. As a result, children are helped to sustain their identity and feel connected to their family networks.

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improvement to be good

When children’s meetings take place, children engage well and benefit from the opportunity to express their views. However, these opportunities are not provided consistently for all children, which limits their ability to regularly express their wishes and feelings. At times, conversations with children about their behaviour are overly focused on what has gone wrong, rather than being used as opportunities to explore underlying needs or feelings. As a result, children are blamed for their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Consequences imposed for children’s behaviour are not always proportionate and, at times, appear punitive rather than restorative. Records do not consistently detail the length of the consequence or include clear timescales for review.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff respond quickly by searching the local area to locate them. Although the police are contacted, this is not always in accordance with the children’s missing-from-care protocols. Children are given opportunities to talk with staff about their experiences. Return interviews are carried out by the local Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 4 authority, providing children with an independent person to talk to, should they wish, about their reasons for going missing.

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improvement to be good

When incidents of concern occur, staff use de-escalation techniques to support children, and they take appropriate action to manage the situation. However, staffing ratios have not consistently been maintained in accordance with children’s care plans. At times, this has placed children at potential risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are detailed, reviewed and updated regularly, especially following incidents of concern. They outline clear actions staff must take to reduce potential harm to children. However, these measures are not consistently implemented in practice, which has compromised children’s safety. Children are not always adequately supported to develop the skills and awareness needed to keep themselves safe. This is an area for improvement.

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improvement to be good

Managers and leaders demonstrate a strong understanding of the importance of safer recruitment practices, ensuring that only suitable individuals, who are appropriately vetted and qualified, are employed to work with children in the home.

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improvement to be good

When children raise concerns about staff, investigations are carried out. However, not all the staff who may have been present during the incidents are always spoken to. Additionally, there are often delays in notifying the local authority when concerns are raised. While managers provide thorough oversight of these incidents and identify areas for improvement, the learning is not shared with the wider team to inform practice.

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

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2025. Although a manager was in post during this period, they have since left and no longer work at the home. Staff report that they feel unsupported by leaders, which has had a negative impact on team morale. However, the deputy manager has been a consistent and valued source of support, and staff have spoken positively about their role during this unsettled time. Senior leaders have also increased their oversight, including visits to the home, which staff describe as beneficial.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and provide staff with valuable opportunities to come together, share information and reflect on their work with the children. These meetings include detailed discussions about the needs and progress of the children living in the home. Recent sessions have included input from a psychotherapist. This has supported staff to reflect on their care practice and experiences over recent months, contributing to improved team understanding and emotional resilience.

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

Staff are up to date with their mandatory training. This includes safeguarding. However, they have not received specific training to help them meet the individual and cultural needs of some children. As a result, staff report lacking the confidence and knowledge Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 5 required to respond appropriately to the children’s specific needs and identities. This gap in training has limited the team’s ability to meet children’s diverse needs effectively.

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

Not all staff have received supervision in line with the home’s policy. As a result, some staff have not had regular opportunities to reflect on their practice, discuss their professional development, or receive consistent support. However, where supervision has taken place, records show that it included detailed discussions about the children and their care needs.

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

Leaders understand the shortfalls and have developed plans to address them. Some improvements have already been implemented, demonstrating a proactive approach to driving forward positive change. Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staffing ratios are followed in line with children’s risk assessments. The registered person should inform the team around the child without delay when there have been safeguarding concerns for children. The registered person should support children to understand how to keep themselves safe. 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 7 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when learning has been identified from allegations and incidents, these are addressed with the team. The registered person should ensure investigations into allegations include all staff who were present during the incident. The registered person should ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to meet the specific needs of children they are caring for. 1 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

does not satisfy regulation 28; 29 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 8 or is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual 29 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 9 and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should create a supportive environment where children feel safe to discuss their behaviour and understand its impact. The registered person must ensure that any sanctions are fair, proportionate, and focused on helping children learn and grow.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 10 In particular, the registered person should ensure that all staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy.

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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: SC063895 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care 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

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC063895 12 and inspects 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 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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