Children's Home run by Aspris Care North West Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 1 Registered provider: Aspris Care North West Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 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: 27 January 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/01/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/11/2024 Full Good 23/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 3

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Summary of findings

Some children have made progress; however, the progress of others is hindered by a lack of proactive support from staff. Staff responses to risks, including children going missing from home and online safety concerns, are inconsistent. Management oversight needs to be strengthened. Staff report feeling supported by the manager.

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improvement to be good

Children live in spacious and modern home. However, the communal areas do not feel homely. Not all children’s bedrooms have been personalised to reflect their tastes, and children are not consistently encouraged to keep their rooms clean and tidy.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with consistent staff members with whom they have built strong bonds. However, changes in the staff team have affected the consistency of care provided.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress in education is varied. One child is studying for their GCSEs, while others are not currently accessing any form of education. When children are not in education, staff do not always promote alternative arrangements.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with appropriate health services and are supported to attend appointments.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities of their choice, including boxing and going to the gym. They are also offered opportunities to explore new activities; however, when they are reluctant, staff do not consistently encourage participation or use creative approaches to broaden their experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children in spending time with people who are important to them. Friends and family members visit children in the home, which helps to promote their sense of identity and confidence.

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improvement to be good

One child moved back to live with their family after residing in the home for over 2 years. The child remains in contact with staff and said, ‘They were like another family to me. They helped me know who I was as a person. They helped me physically and emotionally.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 4

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improvement to be good

Documentation intended to keep children safe and promote their care is unclear. While there is a plan in place for each child, they are not always updated to reflect current risks or the actions staff need to take to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments outline the actions staff should take to keep children safe; however, these are not consistently followed. For example, when children go missing from home, staff do not always adhere to the correct procedures. On one occasion, a child was missing overnight, and staff did not attempt to locate them or provide the child’s parent with regular updates. Furthermore, mobile phone checks are not being carried out in line with one child’s risk assessment, despite their online activity presenting a high level of risk.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to reflect on their behaviour, and direct work is carried out to educate them about risks they may face. Key-work sessions appropriately involve other professionals, including the fire service and police, where required.

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improvement to be good

Children receive consequences to encourage positive behaviour; however, these are not always evaluated for their effectiveness. This limits opportunities to review their impact and any changes required.

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

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of practice. Incidents are not consistently reviewed to identify learning, and actions are not always followed through. The manager has recognised this as an area for development.

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

Staff feel valued by the manager and are confident that any concerns or queries they raise will be responded to appropriately.

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

The manager is aware of the impact that staff turnover has had on children and the staff team. Three new members of staff have been recruited. Temporary staff have not always followed the correct procedures in the home. Leaders and managers are aware of this and plan to strengthen the induction process for both temporary and permanent staff.

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

Staff benefit from regular supervision. Team meetings are held monthly and provide an opportunity for the manager to share information on a range of topics and practice issues. Agendas are relevant to current matters in the home.

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

The manager carries out a review of the quality of care, which includes feedback from children and other professionals. The review identifies areas for improvement and outlines the plans in place to support such developments.

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

Professionals speak positively about effective multi-agency working and the good communication demonstrated by the manager and staff. The manager has established Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 5 strong links with the local police, and one officer now provides regular support to the children and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

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 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 7 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that children living in the home have access to education.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children who are not in education have a regular routine, including an education timetable, and are supported to engage in appropriate educational activities while not in school.

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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

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; 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 8 that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children, particularly when children go missing from home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must have clear and consistent systems in place to monitor children’s risk assessments and ensure that they reflect current risks.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand and consistently follow children’s risk assessments, particularly in relation to online safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 31 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that clear routines are established to enable children’s bedrooms to be cleaned regularly. Staff should support children to develop the independence skills necessary to maintain their bedrooms themselves. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 9  The registered person should ensure that staff evidence how children are progressing towards their independence goals. Children who are developing their independence should continue to receive high levels of nurture and support. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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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: 1254055 10

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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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Inspectors

Sam Baird, Social Care Inspector Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1254055 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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