Children's home run by Aspris Care North West Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 1 Registered provider: Aspris Care North West 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 home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted on 1 December 2023. The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 May 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were 2 children living at the home.

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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 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: 20 November 2024

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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: 1240573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2024 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Inadequate 21/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived at the home for some time and are happy and settled. They have made progress from their starting points despite the challenges they have experienced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Another child who lived in the home expressed their views about how its location did not meet their cultural needs. The provider worked hard to understand the child’s wishes and identified an internal provision which was able to meet their needs. However, delays by the placing authority meant this move did not go ahead as planned. The child then moved on from the home in an unplanned way, which impacted on their lived experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in education. Managers work with professionals to ensure that there is appropriate provision to meet children’s needs. One child recently started home tutoring. This is a positive experience for the child as the tutor understands their specific needs and tailors their approach. Another child recently stopped attending college. Staff are supporting them to consider other options that will meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Appropriate referrals and support are in place. Children benefit from the input of an in-house therapist who know them well. Staff have received generic training around autism; however, this is not tailored to the children in their care. Staff said that specific guidance would help them to adapt their practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to explore their identity through their interests and relationships. Children have trusting relationships with staff, which helps them to consider their feelings and relationships in a supportive way. Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop independence skills with cooking and the use of public transport. However, the records of the work completed with children do not consistently show their progress or identify if additional support is required.

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

Staff safeguarding practice is well developed. Staff know children well and understand the risks to children and how to keep them safe. Managers work with professionals, such as the police and therapists, to consider ways to support positive behaviours.

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

Children are settled in the home, which is reflected in the limited number of incidents and low level of risk. However, risk assessments are overly complicated. Risk ratings are not reflective of the progress children have made and they do not include all strategies that staff use. This is a missed opportunity to show the actions staff have taken to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 4 There have been few incidents involving children since the last inspection. These have mainly concerned children going missing from the home or not returning to the home on time. Staff manage these well by searching for children and communicating with family and professionals. The detail of information included in records has improved. However, some records do not include the details of children’s family, friends and known places to visit.

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

Recruitment practices are robust, with all relevant checks being conducted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and has been in the role since March 2024. However, he does not have a level 5 qualification and is not enrolled on a course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have positive relationships with the manager and his deputy and will actively seek them out. The manager ensures that children’s needs are understood by the professionals working with them, and where appropriate he will challenge their responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by managers and are positive about the communication in the home. Annual appraisals are focused and show that feedback on staff practice has been sought from peers, professionals and from children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings and supervision sessions provide opportunities for staff to share their concerns or suggestions for the home. Managers use these meetings to provide encouragement and discuss changes in care practices in the home. Records of discussions are detailed but do not demonstrate that reflective discussions have consistently taken place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff received additional training to help them to support children’s medical needs. However, they have not received bespoke training about the child’s specific needs related to neurodiversity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes detailed monthly audits. He considers incidents and identifies areas that need improvement. The manager considers feedback from the independent visitor but has not challenged the lack of external feedback sought during their monthly visits to the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this relates to risk assessments accurately reflecting the up-to-date risks for children, being easy for staff to use, and including all of the strategies and measures which are being used. 31 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children—

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Requirement Due date

the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 6 by the relevant date, attained— the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 5 Diploma”)

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a person who starts managing a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 3 years after the date on which that person started managing a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a person who was managing a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2017.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i) (2)(c )(i) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must be enrolled on a level 5 qualification and timescales agreed for their completion of the qualification to ensure that it is attained by the relevant date.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. This relates specifically to staff understanding one child’s needs related to neurodiversity. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that missing-from-home profiles have regard to police and local authority protocols by including details of children’s important contacts, including family, friends and associates. Records of incidents should demonstrate the attempts to communicate with these contacts. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.29)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure

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Recommendations

continuous improvement. This should include challenging the independent person where they do not routinely seek robust feedback from the family and carers of children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 7 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: 1240573 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Care North West 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

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 9 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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