Children's Home run by Aspire Care Cumbria Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 1 Registered provider: Aspire Care Cumbria Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in post.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living in the home at the time of inspection. Inspectors spoke with all children.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2025 Full Good 28/05/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 3

p.2

Summary of finding’s

Children are making good progress from their starting points. Children say that they are happy with the care they receive from staff, and this makes them feel safe. Staff understand the children’s individual risks and take appropriate action when a child is at risk of harm. A senior leader is currently managing the day-to-day running of the home. Senior managers have recruited a manager to be registered.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff share warm and nurturing relationships. All children, including those new to the home, can identify several staff whom they trust and enjoy spending time with. Children have staff they can go to if they are upset, want to have fun or need support. The availability of staff with different skills and attributes offers children a wide range of support to choose from.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and a comfortable space for the children to live in. It feels like a typical family home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their age and interests. This allows them to express their individuality and gives a sense of belonging in their home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make progress with their education, training and employment. Staff are ambitious for children. They promote the importance of education and encourage attendance. Children are learning and achieving, taking account of their starting points. Staff help children prepare for their future, supporting children to learn how to use public transport, apply for jobs, write CVs and maintain employment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their health needs met. Staff encourage children to attend their routine health appointments. Staff talk to children about the importance of being healthy and how to access health appointments. For older children, staff support them to learn how to arrange and manage appointments themselves as part of their independence plans. Children have access to specialist services to support their health and emotional wellbeing.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities. There are games and musical instruments around the home for children to enjoy and learn. Children go to the gym regularly with staff and are encouraged to engage in their own hobbies and interests. One child has started boxing and enjoys hiking with staff. Another child visits museums and music concerts. This has helped children enjoy new experiences and maintain their own interests. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 4

p.3

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

Children feel safe in the home. Staff know the children well, including their risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and are detailed. Staff follow the assessments effectively to keep children safe. Staff complete direct work on keeping safe online and in the community, the risks of alcohol use and healthy relationships to help educate children on risks that are individual to them.

p.4

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

When children go missing from home, staff respond appropriately. Staff work with parents and professionals and share information to locate and bring children home safely. Staff speak to children to understand why they are going missing and explore how they can help prevent this in the future.

p.4

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

When staff have used physical restraints on children, the restraints are proportionate and for the shortest length of time possible. Both the child and the staff involved in the restraints are spoken to separately. The child is given the opportunity to speak to an independent person and discuss the incident, including the option to complain if they wish. These incidents are clearly recorded and have effective management oversight.

p.4

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

Children’s complaints are not managed consistently. When children do raise complaints, they are listened to and believed. Staff ensure the complaint is raised to relevant professionals. However, on occasion, there has been a delay in reporting a complaint and children have not always received an outcome. This can leave children feeling unheard and having unanswered questions.

p.4

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

When new staff are employed to work at the home, safer recruitment practices are not consistently followed. Leaders and managers have recruited a staff member knowing there was an ongoing investigation, which is still not concluded. The staff member was allowed to work one to one with children without an effective risk assessment in place. This places children at an increased risk of harm.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly dedicated, knowledgeable and child centred. She knows the children well and plays an active part in their daily life. She is a strong advocate for the children and will challenge professionals when necessary to ensure a high standard of care and support for them. She is committed to supporting the children to achieve their outcomes and ensures that staff individualise the care provided to each child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of managers, describing them as supportive, approachable and readily available. Staff have regular supervision sessions, including peer supervision sessions, which address specific concerns and standards of care practice. This promotes reflective learning and staff development to increase the quality of care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers identify learning as part of their review of incidents and reports. There is clear, reflective and detailed oversight that identifies when responses to children can be Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 5 improved. When there are concerns about staff practice, the manager addresses this with individual staff and shares any learning with the staff team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff build effective working relationships with parents and professionals. Parents praise the effective communication staff and managers have with them regarding the care of their children. One parent said, ‘I’m still allowed to feel like I’m his mum, which was really important to me.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers admitted a child to the home without the appropriate plans in place. The manager requested the child’s care plan and risk assessments, but these were not received before the child moved in. As a result, the home’s own care plans did not reflect the information held in the placing authority plans. The staff team struggled to understand and meet the needs of the child. Police were called to manage the child’s behaviour, and the child was subsequently moved on from the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not evaluate the impact of care on children as part of her review of the quality of care. The feedback from families and professionals is not analysed or evaluated in the review process. As a result, reviews focus on auditing activity rather than assessing the effectiveness of care, providing limited insight into children’s experiences, outcomes and areas for improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.6

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.6

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

p.6

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.6

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d)) 28 July 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and 28 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 7 that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that children are able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. In particular, children should receive the outcome of complaints. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

p.7

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: 2739596 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspire Care Cumbria Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 34 Knowe Road, Carlisle CA3 9EQ

p.8

Inspector

Amber Merriman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2739596 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9