Children's Home run by Apsley Care Ltd in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 1 Registered provider: Apsley Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. The home provides care for up to 2 children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/08/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/09/2024 Full Good 11/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 3

p.2

Summary of findings

The child living at the home has made progress since the last inspection. They have developed trusting relationships with some staff and are increasingly able to express their wishes and feelings. More recently, there has been an escalation in the frequency and seriousness of incidents involving the child. Staff have responded appropriately to these concerns, taking timely action and working effectively with safeguarding partners to help keep the child safe. The manager has recognised the need to strengthen oversight and has begun to implement systems to improve monitoring and evaluation within the home. While these developments are positive, they are not yet fully embedded, and it is too early to assess their effectiveness in securing sustained improvement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a home that has benefited from recent improvements to the environment. The living room and kitchen have been refurbished and now provide warm, welcoming and homely spaces where the child can relax and spend time with staff. The manager has further plans to continue developing the home environment, including improvements to the garden area. The child’s bedroom was clean, personalised and decorated in line with their tastes and preferences, reflecting their individuality and helping them feel a sense of ownership and belonging within the home. Staff have also supported the child to have a pet cat, which is clearly important to them and provides comfort, companionship and a positive focus in their day-to-day life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is well supported to spend time regularly with their family. The manager and staff understand the child’s desire to live closer to their family and have advocated appropriately with the local authority regarding this. Care planning is underway to support in meeting the child’s expressed wishes, and an increase in family time has been arranged for the interim period.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While the child is not currently accessing regular education, staff and managers work proactively with education professionals to identify bespoke and creative opportunities that support learning, social engagement and personal development. They communicate effectively with relevant agencies to ensure the child remains engaged and their educational needs are appropriately considered. Positive progress has been made, with a school place secured for the child to begin attending in the new academic year.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate genuine curiosity about the child’s lived experiences, feelings and behaviours. Their discussions and interventions are focused on understanding the underlying reasons for the child’s behaviour and helping them to develop safer strategies and responses. Staff consistently adopt a caring, nurturing and therapeutic approach, ensuring the child feels supported rather than judged. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 4 The child has made progress in their social and emotional development since moving into the home. They have developed meaningful and trusted relationships with staff and are becoming increasingly confident in expressing their wishes, feelings and emotions. For example, the child has recently created a pictorial emotions scale, which is displayed in their bedroom. They use this tool to communicate their mood and indicate the level of support they may need throughout the day. This demonstrates their growing self-

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

awareness and confidence in seeking support, while enabling staff to respond sensitively and proactively to the child’s emotional needs.

p.4

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

The child is well supported by a psychologist and children’s mental health services. Feedback from the psychologist was that staff have positive relationships with the child and support them to look at appropriate coping mechanisms, particularly when they are feeling low in mood.

p.4

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

The child is very rarely subject to physical intervention. The single physical intervention used since the last inspection was low level, proportionate and necessary to prevent the child from continuing to access items in the community that posed a risk of harm. Records of the incident are clear, provide a good account of the circumstances leading to the intervention, and appropriately place the event within the wider context of the child’s needs, behaviours and support plan.

p.4

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

The child’s self-harming behaviours have increased since the last inspection. The child has said that these behaviours are linked to their wish to return to live closer to their family, providing staff with some insight into the emotional factors underpinning the risk. Staff respond appropriately when incidents occur and seek medical attention promptly when required to help safeguard the child’s welfare.

p.4

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a reduction in the restrictions placed on the child following the removal of their deprivation of liberty order. Staff have supported the child well to develop their independence and confidence within the community, enabling them to access opportunities that promote their growth and autonomy. On one occasion, this increased independence resulted in the child going missing from care. Staff understood their responsibilities and responded appropriately, following the home’s missing-from-care procedures and taking timely action to safeguard the child. However, records of episodes of the child going missing do not consistently include learning from return home interviews. This limits opportunities to reflect on the factors that may have contributed to the child going missing and to use this information to strengthen future safety planning and reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

p.4

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

Risk management arrangements require strengthening. The child’s risk assessment does not adequately reflect the increasing frequency and seriousness of their self-harming behaviour and lacks sufficient detail about how staff should respond. In particular, there is no clear guidance regarding the levels of observation required to keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 5 Furthermore, strategies and safety planning developed by the psychologist have not been incorporated into the risk assessment. As a result, staff do not have access within one document to the most up-to-date agreed strategies for managing risk and supporting the child, which may reduce the consistency and effectiveness of responses to incidents.

p.4

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

Several professionals said that communication from the manager could be improved, particularly in relation to the provision of regular updates about the child’s progress and experiences. While professionals described relationships with the home as generally positive, they highlighted that monthly updates were not always consistently shared. This reduces partners’ ability to maintain oversight of the child’s progress and may limit opportunities for effective multi-agency planning and collaboration.

p.5

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

There was one occasion where a child had made a potential allegation against a member of staff. The manager took some steps to understand this but did not explore this directly with the child. The child did not therefore have the opportunity to explore with the manager any further concerns that they wished to raise or how relationships with some staff could be strengthened.

p.5

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

There are weaknesses in safer recruitment arrangements that require management attention. A potential conflict of interest between members of staff has not been reviewed or addressed in a timely manner, and several staff have not achieved the required qualification within the expected timescales. As a result, the manager cannot be fully assured that all staff working in the home are suitable, appropriately qualified and able to meet the needs of children consistently and safely.

p.5

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

Staff training has not been appropriately monitored by the manager, and this means that several core training topics, such as first aid and safeguarding, are out of date for most staff. Positively, steps were taken during the inspection to rectify this.

p.5

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

There is an emerging risk posed by the child’s use of their phone and the internet. Staff carry out phone checks, but recordings of these vary in detail and subsequent actions are not always clear. The manager has not yet ensured that there are parental restrictions on the internet, which means the child may still access inappropriate online material. The risk assessment has not been updated to guide staff adequately on agreed actions to respond to this risk.

p.5

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

The manager has an appropriate level of oversight on incidents within the home and offers reflection and advice to staff. There are additional systems in place to review and audit the progress of the child. However, these systems are largely authored by staff. The manager has not yet embedded planned monitoring systems to inform continued improvements in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 6 Staff receive good-quality supervision sessions and team meetings. These occur regularly and are responsive to the identified needs of the child living at the home. Minutes of meetings are thorough and allow staff not in attendance to understand discussions and any subsequent changes required to practice.

p.5

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

Feedback received from staff and stakeholders has been generally positive, and they say that the manager advocates well for the child. Staff feel well supported in understanding their role and being appropriately challenged when required. Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 7

p.6

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.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.7

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)(v)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that individual risk assessments include details of all known risks, are informed by relevant professionals’ advice and guide staff on expected care practices to keep the child safe.

p.7

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 10 August 2026

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 10 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 8 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.7

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.8

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

p.8

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(b)(d) (4)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.8

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have regular access to training that meets the needs of children in their care. 10 August 2026

p.8

Recommendations

 Children must be listened to and enabled to report any allegations at the earliest opportunity. Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 9

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 10

p.9

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: 2668789 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 10 Valentine Place, Stanground South, Peterborough PE2 8WG

p.11

Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2668789 12 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.11

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.12

Inspector

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

p.12

Inspector

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

p.12