Children's home run by Aspireone Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 1 Registered provider: Aspireone Care Ltd Full inspection 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. The home provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2019 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, one child was living at the home and spoke to the inspector.

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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 outstanding

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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: 21 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2025 Full Outstanding 23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 07/02/2023 Full Good 10/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child currently lives at the home, and one child moved out unexpectedly since the last inspection. Although the move was unplanned, the manager advocated strongly on behalf of the child to ensure that it was well organised. The child had the opportunity to say goodbye to staff, meet their new care team and was provided with as much information as possible about their new home. This promotes positive endings even during times of crisis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are dedicated about children and provide them with a nurturing environment. They know children well and are dedicated to ensuring that they achieve positive outcomes. Staff use the internal therapeutic team to understand children’s behaviours to provide consistent support tailored to individual needs. This helps children feel valued, understood and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make sustained progress. They are supported to develop in careful and considered ways. Staff invest considerable time and effort into activities, ensuring that they are engaging, tailored to each child’s learning level and delivered meaningfully. This work provides valuable opportunities for children to learn and reflect in a supportive environment, promoting their personal development and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identity and culture are promoted and celebrated. Staff carry out thoughtful work with children to help them understand their heritage and their looked-after children status. Staff recognise that care and a sense of belonging can come from people who are not biologically related. It reinforces the understanding that families can be diverse and non-conforming. This helps children to develop their sense of self and strengthen their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a wide range of positive and meaningful experiences. Activities are tailored to individual interests and needs, providing opportunities for fun, learning and confidence building. This supports children to explore and develop existing and new interests.

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

Staff provide children with consistent and reliable care. Safeguarding incidents are very rare. When safeguarding concerns do arise, managers and staff do their utmost to try and understand the reasons behind these. The manager and staff work closely with the therapeutic team to analyse changes in behaviour, explore potential underlying causes, and agree strategies for reducing risk and reinforcing boundaries. Safety plans are reviewed to provide clear guidance for staff working with children. This proactive approach promotes children’s safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 4 Positive behaviour is promoted consistently, and a range of rewards are used to recognise and celebrate achievements. Children feel a sense of pride and recognise the progress they are making. Incentives help children to understand how their behaviour can affect others and what the repercussions could be if unwanted behaviour continues.

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

This helps children to develop socially acceptable behaviour.

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

When children make allegations, staff and managers take them seriously. There are several accessible ways for children to share their concerns, and staff actively support children to share their views. However, on one occasion, staff did not explain to a child the next steps and asked further questions. This could undermine safeguarding enquiries.

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

Staff practice issues that resulted in an incident were managed well by the manager and the member of staff involved. While the issue reflected poor decision-making by the staff member, they were open, transparent and took accountability. Shortfalls that compromise safety are addressed by the manager through supervision, team meetings and additional training where required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides exceptional and ambitious leadership, with consistently high aspirations for children and the staff team. She demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement by reflecting on and evaluating her own practice, showing confidence and skill in leading and supporting the team to deliver high-quality care. The manager is supported by an equally capable deputy, and together they operate highly effective monitoring and review systems that ensure rigorous oversight of the home’s care practices. They identify trends swiftly, address issues proactively and maintain consistently high standards. This highly effective approach has resulted in exceptional outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has introduced innovative and highly effective systems across the organisation to capture children’s wishes and feelings creatively, ensuring their voices consistently influence care planning. She has implemented a dynamic platform that enables staff across the organisation to share ideas and suggestions, fostering collaboration and driving continuous improvement in service quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has maintained a stable and experienced staff team, which provides continuity of care. This consistency and unwavering commitment create an exceptionally safe, nurturing environment where children feel deeply valued, supported and able to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feedback about working in the home is exceptionally positive. They consistently describe a highly supportive and collaborative environment where they feel valued and empowered to contribute to children’s care and development. Managers’ commitment to staff development is evident through national recognition, with the deputy manager winning a prestigious residential care award, and another staff member reaching the finals. These achievements reflect an embedded culture of excellence, continuous Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 5 improvement, and a strong focus on both children’s welfare and staff empowerment. This positive culture promotes exceptional staff retention and further enhances the outstanding quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings are well structured, purposeful, and ensure that all staff are fully informed, highly engaged and empowered to contribute to decision-making. Supervision sessions are regular, reflective, and provide staff with meaningful opportunities to discuss practice, identify learning needs and receive support. These processes promote accountability, professional development and consistency in care delivery, resulting in improved outcomes for children and a positive team culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

External professionals consistently comment on the excellent communication and collaboration demonstrated by the management team and staff. This strong partnership approach ensures that children’s needs are well understood and are met effectively, contributing to positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Record-keeping is meticulous and well organised. Documentation is comprehensive, accurate and regularly updated, ensuring that staff have immediate access to the information required to deliver consistent and effective care. This high standard of record-keeping promotes accountability by ensuring that all decisions and actions are well evidenced. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any allegation of harm or abuse is addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. This includes reassuring a child about the next steps and that a child is not asked further questions by staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)

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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: 1276911 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Lyme Drive, Lyme Vale Court, Parklands, Stoke-On- Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276911 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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