Children's Home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 1 SC379357 Registered provider: Aspris Care Central Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to four children who may have experienced trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 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: SC379357 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 17/11/2022 Full Good 15/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two children were spoken to during the inspection. The children have positive relationships with the staff, who know the children well and understand their individual interests and needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities in line with their wishes. Activities include nail appointments, horse riding and baking. Children are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Family members and children’s past carers highlight how well children are supported by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A therapist visits the home to support the children. Children can engage in fortnightly face-to-face sessions with the therapist. Staff are given therapeutic guidance on approaches to working with the children that consider their specific needs. Children also receive support from external professionals when required. One child works with a local substance misuse service and has been referred for external mental health support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are gained regularly. Children’s meetings have been made more frequent to ensure that children can share their views and be involved in activity and menu planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide key-work sessions that take place regularly. Staff speak to children about a range of topics in these sessions. However, staff are not always curious enough during discussions with children and when following up incidents. This could mean that opportunities to further explore topics or educate children are missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is not always supported. Two children have clear education plans in place, which staff support. However, one child does not have an education provision. Staff do not routinely provide any education or structure for the child. Staff do not ensure that the child has a daily routine that will prepare them for future education. There has been some discussion with the local authority to develop an education plan for the child, but this has been slow to progress

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

Staff understand the protocol to follow when children go missing from the home. There has been a reduction in the number and duration of missing-from-home incidents for one child, for whom this was a known risk. There are clear chronologies of the actions that staff take when a child is missing from the home. Staff ensure that regular contact is made with the child to maintain communication and offer support.

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

Managers work well with other professionals. When allegations are made against staff, appropriate actions are taken. Referrals to the local authority designated officer are Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 4 made in a timely manner, and actions are carried out. Investigations into concerns about staff practice are thorough.

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

Managers follow safer recruitment for new members of staff. There is an induction process for new staff, which helps them to learn their roles. Temporary staff are used to ensure that correct staffing levels are maintained. The manager attempts to use the same agency staff when possible. This ensures that children are cared for by people they are familiar with.

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

There is no evidence of staff having used restraints. The staff can support children during incidents and prevent escalation. However, the recording of incidents does not detail the strategies that staff use. This means it is not possible to review staff actions and identify good practice and learning for any future incidents.

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

Staff support children to manage their health. The staff encourage one child to independently manage a health condition. This requires further oversight because on one occasion staff did not prompt the child to take their medication. This was not followed up. There is no recorded conversation with the staff members involved. The record of the incident fails to detail whether the child’s school was informed when staff dropped the child off there. The management oversight fails to identify these shortfalls. There were no adverse effects on the child’s health, but there is a potential impact.

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

The manager is experienced and qualified. The manager knows the children well and understands their progress and their individual needs. The manager understands the areas of development for the home.

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

The manager provides oversight following most incidents. However, due to staff shortages, the manager is working directly with the children for a lot of the time. This means that her ability to provide reflective oversight and identify patterns, trends and lessons learned is limited.

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

The staff supervision sessions do not take place in line with the company’s policy. This means that staff are not receiving the support they should. This lack of support could have an impact on their confidence and skills. It also means that their managers may not be aware of staff members’ areas of development. No appraisals have taken place since the last inspection as these are not yet due. However, the manager has not yet considered how she will seek feedback as part of these. Therefore, this recommendation has been repeated.

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

Staff undertake relevant training for their roles. However, two staff members have not finished their level 3 qualification within the required timescales. This was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 5 Professionals are positive about children’s progress and support. They say that communication is effective and that the staff know the children well.

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

Following a significant incident, the manager and staff have shown ongoing resilience and have ensured that the children remain the priority and receive appropriate care and support. Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h)) 6 February 2026

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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

that staff— 6 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 7 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

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

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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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are curious about children’s risks and record the actions they take during incidents. Ensure that staff follow children’s medication plans and any concerns about this are fully investigated.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; and 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 8 help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the child is offered regular educational activities while not in education and effective challenge is made to the local authority to identify an educational provision.

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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 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, supervision sessions should take place at a frequency in line with policy. 6 February 2026

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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

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; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 20 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 9 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, when reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC379357 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Care Central 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Batchelor

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Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC379357 11 regulates 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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