Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Somerset

Inspection report children's home: SC465940 1 SC465940 Registered provider: Aspris Children's Services 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 by a large, national provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 7 children who may have learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. They were all involved in the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC465940 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Good 30/11/2023 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good 07/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC465940 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, 2 children have moved into the home and have settled in well. The third child has been here for almost 3 years. The children have a sense of permanence and that this is their home. Children have trusted relationships with the staff and the staff know them well. Staff speak positively and with affection about the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress. A family member and professional spoke of the huge progress one child has made in respect of personal care and communication. They are now able to say words, point to items and use the toilet independently. Staff have positive relationships with family members and professionals to support children to progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Targets for children are achievable. These are broken down into clear steps, which makes it easy to see how children have achieved their goals. Children are all in education and staff support their attendance well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children's personal care and health needs well. Careful consideration to dignity for children is promoted. Children are respected with each step of their care being explained to them in a way that they understand.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have family mealtimes. Children and staff come together for meals and enjoy time together. Children are encouraged to make choices about food and staff observe their responses to help promote children’s ability to choose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and personalised to the children. Photos of the children and toys on display show this is their home. There are some restrictions within the home. Window restrictors are in place without a clear reason. The manager was able to provide that rationale, although it is not clear whether these restrictions have been explored more widely with family and external professionals who are involved in children’s care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun and their achievements and milestones are celebrated by staff. The older children go to a youth club where they can meet and make friends. Memory folders are not always kept up to date and are not easily accessible for the children.

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

Staff understand the risks and the children's individual vulnerabilities well. Staff demonstrate nurturing responses to children. They discuss strategies to support children as a team. This helps staff to provide a consistent approach to care, which all of the children benefit from. Inspection report children's home: SC465940 4 There have been very few significant incidents. Staff use their skills and agreed strategies to support children’s individual emotional needs well.

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

Staff have a good understanding of one child's self-injurious behaviour, and strategies are in place to support this child. The manager has good oversight and understands the frequency and severity of what is happening for the child. Medical attention is considered appropriately, and a nurturing response is provided by staff.

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

Concerns raised about a member of staff were managed effectively. Advice from the local authority designated officer was sought appropriately. There was no impact on the children living within the home.

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

Minor medication errors have occurred within the home. These have not had any direct impact on the children. Learning from this has meant more robust systems are in place.

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

Fire drills take place to ensure children have practised this important experience. One team member has not been involved in a practice drill for over 6 months. Emergency plans for children are in place. These plans are safe but generic and do not consider specific support needs of individual children, for example whether they would need ear defenders to cope with the noise of an alarm.

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

Close working relationships with family members are in place to support children to move between homes safely. For example, clear planning is in place regarding children's medication so that they can spend time easily between each home.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place. Learning from previous inspections has strengthened the process regarding applicants who have lived overseas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced and dedicated manager who knows the children well. The manager has good systems in place to monitor care. She reviews incidents carefully and unpicks staff practice to understand what has happened for children. However, identified actions are not always clearly specified or monitored. This means that while learning is identified, there is a lack of monitoring to see if practice has improved. Some actions set in team meetings or supervisions are vague or do not have clear timescales for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is keen to know what children and staff think and uses questionnaires to better understand this. Learning from the last inspection has meant clearer systems are in place to track supervisions so that these happen regularly for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a mixture of systems for recording information. This sometimes makes it difficult to find information quickly. Some key documents are not on children's files. While the manager knows the information well, it needs to be accessible should she be absent. Inspection report children's home: SC465940 5 Staff communicate regularly with families and professionals to support the children. Feedback from family members and professionals evidences the close working relationships with families to support children. Inspection report children's home: SC465940 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that children are safe. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. The registered person must have regard to Regulation 25 (d) and ensure that staff are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of a fire. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that the reasons for any restrictions or modifications in the home environment are recorded clearly. Timescales and mechanisms for review should be specified and regularly reviewed. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should lead a team which provides high quality care for all children living in the home. They should play a key role in shaping the ethos of the

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Recommendations

home by monitoring actions to see improvements in practice. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person must ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Children's plans should be easily accessible and understandable to all staff working in the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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 children's home: SC465940 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Aspris Children's Services 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 Garstang

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Inspector:

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC465940 8 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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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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