Children's Home run by Aspire Homes for Children Ltd in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 1 Registered provider: Aspire Homes for Children Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in November 2025. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and have learning disabilities and mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 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: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 2

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Summary of findings

Staff support family relationships. Leaders ensure that staff receive a thorough induction and relevant training. Despite these efforts, practice is inconsistent. Care planning does not reflect attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sensory needs, leaving staff without clear guidance. The child has a lack of structure in daily routine or education in place, which increases missing-from-home episodes. Staff respond to incidents but do not explore them or help the child understand risks and stay safe. Management oversight lacks evaluation and learning. As a result, progress is limited, and safeguarding practice is not consistently effective.

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improvement to be good

The child took part in the inspection. They spoke positively about some staff, activities and the environment.

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improvement to be good

The child has developed trusting relationships with some staff; however, relationships with others are not as strong.

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improvement to be good

Care planning does not fully reflect the child’s needs. The care plan and initial assessments do not clearly address the child’s neurodiversity and sensory needs. As a result, staff do not have clear guidance on how to provide support. Staff are not helping the child understand risk-taking behaviours or how to stay safe. This limits the staff’s ability to help the child make safer choices.

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improvement to be good

There is a lack of structure in the child’s daily routine. The child often sleeps during the day and remains awake at night. This results in limited meaningful activities. Staff have few strategies to engage the child. This has led to occasions where the child has been missing from home.

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improvement to be good

The child is not in education. Staff have worked with the local authority to identify a school placement recently. However, they have not taken enough action to promote learning in daily routines. The child is not consistently encouraged to engage in education or learning activities. This limits progress and reduces opportunities to develop skills, including independence skills.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean, and the child’s room is personalised and reflects their identity. The child also has a pet, which provides comfort and emotional security. Staff understand the importance of family, and family time is promoted. Family members are welcome to visit the child at the home.

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improvement to be good

The child enjoys activities such as dirt biking and go-karting. These experiences provide moments of enjoyment and help build positive memories. Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 3

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improvement to be good

Staff follow procedures when the child goes missing from home. They take appropriate action and report concerns quickly. This supports the child’s immediate safety. However, there is limited focus on prevention. Staff do not consistently explore why the child goes missing or what happens during these periods.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home episodes place the child at significant risk. There have been incidents involving substance misuse and intoxication. There have also been experiences of sexual harm. Staff have not consistently explored these incidents with the child. There is limited focus on emotional wellbeing following these events. This reduces the effectiveness of safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

The child does not receive adequate support and advice to help them make healthy lifestyle choices. Risk management strategies that may be helpful to the child are not in place. There is a lack of education around wellbeing, substance misuse and health.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond appropriately to incidents of self-harm in the moment. They provide first aid and seek medical support when required. Follow-up work is limited. Staff do not explore triggers or help the child understand safer ways to cope.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions have taken place and were necessary and proportionate. However, learning and reflection afterwards with the staff and the child are inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

Staff maintain effective communication with safeguarding agencies, health professionals and placing authorities. Information is shared appropriately to support safeguarding responses and assist professionals in addressing the child’s risks. This collaborative working helps promote the child’s safety and wellbeing.

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

The manager has the appropriate qualifications and skills to lead the home and is motivated to improve outcomes for the child. However, management oversight is not strong enough. Evaluations of incidents are inconsistent. Records do not show clear analysis or learning. This means patterns and risks are not fully understood, and opportunities to improve practice are missed.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive a thorough induction and relevant training. However, the training is not consistently applied in practice. Staff do not use this knowledge to meet the child’s sensory needs effectively, and the child does not receive consistent or informed support.

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

Supervision and team meetings do not focus enough on key issues. There is limited discussion about incidents, behaviour patterns and emotional wellbeing. This prevents staff from developing a shared understanding of the child’s needs. It also limits their Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 4 ability to respond effectively. Management oversight does not consistently demonstrate reflection or improvement in care.

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

The manager has not always notified the regulator about significant incidents within the expected timeframe. This limits the regulator’s oversight.

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

Staff report feeling supported and receiving regular supervision.

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

Leaders and managers have advocated for family involvement. This helps to rebuild relationships and allows children to maintain important relationships for their future. Feedback from family members and professionals is positive.

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

Managers have been reflective on the areas that require improvement and are taking action to strengthen oversight and monitoring systems. Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 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

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s care plans and risk management plans are responsive to all known risks and contain clear guidance for staff to follow to reduce risks. 26 June 2026

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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

promotes their welfare. 26 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 6 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that care is planned and delivered effectively so that the child receives structured, consistent day-to-day care. This includes ensuring that the child receives support to engage in educational activities. 26 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with the protection of children standard, all serious incidents are reported to the placing authority, Ofsted and other relevant parties without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.9)  The registered person should ensure that, in line with the leadership and management standard, monitoring systems are used effectively to evaluate the quality Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 7 of care, identify patterns and ensure that learning from incidents is used to improve practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 2857238 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspire Homes for Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 137 Broadway, Bexleyheath DA6 7EZ

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Inspector

Thembie Mzila, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2857238 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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