Children's Home run by Aspireone Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 1 Registered provider: Aspireone Care Ltd

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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 and run by a private company. The home provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home and one child spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager post is vacant. There is a manager in charge of the home, who is has yet to apply to register with Ofsted.

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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: 30 September 2025

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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: 1228191 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/12/2024 Full Good 19/03/2024 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 3

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Summary of findings

There are shortfalls in practice that have affected children's overall experiences. Leaders and managers have taken steps to address shortfalls, improve systems and implement changes. However, due to these changes being at the early stages, they have yet to result in sustained improvements. Further work is required to ensure that monitoring arrangements are effective, staff feel fully supported through the changes and children receive consistent, high-quality care to promote positive experiences and outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Children's progress and experiences of living in the home are not consistently positive. Since the assurance visit, no children have moved into the home and one child has moved out. Managers ended the child's placement as staff were unable to meet their individual and safety needs. While the move was planned, the transition was quick. This meant that there were limited discussions with the child to help them understand why this move was necessary and help them to explore their feelings around this.

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improvement to be good

Opportunities for children to voice their opinions, wishes and feelings are inconsistent. There are a range of methods available to gather children's views, wishes and feelings from ad-hoc discussions, key-work sessions and consultations. However, these are not consistently taking place. Records do not always reflect the work undertaken with children or demonstrate how their views have influenced practice. This limits the extent to which children's voices are being heard and acted upon and does not support meaningful participation in the planning and delivery of care.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote children's education. Staff advocate well for children to ensure that they receive education that suits their needs and abilities. Children who are not attending school are offered formal and informal learning opportunities. This means that children are supported to achieve positive educational outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to build and maintain relationships with their families and peers. For some children, there are significant developments with their involvement and relationships with family members and friendship building. Staff support children to build enduring relationships and to enjoy positive experiences with people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

The home environment continues to evolve in its appearance and there have been improvements to contribute to a warm and nurturing environment since the last inspection. However, checks to children's bedrooms are not conducted to ensure that rubbish is removed, so that children's bedrooms remain hygienic. This means that children are not always supported to keep their personal spaces to a good standard or develop a sense of pride in their bedrooms and living environments. Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 4

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff have an awareness of the risks posed to children. However, children's safety plans are not routinely updated to offer clear guidance to staff. This has resulted in inconsistent practice, which places children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children are not consistently safeguarded when they go missing from the home. Staff do not always respond in a way that could prevent incidents occurring or children being found quickly. For example, on 2 separate occasions, a child made their way over 120 miles from the home and staff did not search possible, known locations or rail links. There have been occasions when staff have not searched for children at all. This reduces the likelihood of staff locating children promptly, placing them at increased risk of harm. Children do not routinely have return home interviews with an independent professional or their mobile phones checked. This is a missed opportunity to better understand the reasons for children going missing, identify potential risks and inform strategies to reduce future incidents.

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improvement to be good

Children's feelings, emotions and underlying reasons for incidents are not explored consistently. Therapeutic practice as described in the home's statement of purpose is not fully embedded across all practice in the home. This limits a proactive approach to meeting children's needs, addressing factors that influence their behaviours and developing strategies to manage their emotions safely.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently support children with strategies to manage their behaviours positively. Staff use learning to promote positive behaviours with children. While some measures are appropriate and restorative in nature, others are unreasonable and do not evidence that a restorative approach was used. This limits the opportunity for children to reflect on the impact of their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Ofsted is not routinely updated about children's care and safety. There have been occasions where managers have failed to notify Ofsted of significant safeguarding incidents involving children. This includes serious missing incidents and police involvement where children have been arrested. This limits the regulator's oversight of the safety and welfare of children.

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

The registered manager's post has been vacant since February 2026, which has caused instability. There is now a new manager, who is supported by a deputy manager, working in the home. Both have a wealth of experience. Leaders and managers recognise that there need to be improvements in the home. Managers are making significant changes, providing a greater focus on a trauma-informed and therapeutic approach. They are committed to ensuring that standards are raised moving forward, while also building relationships with key external professionals and agencies. This contributes to a network of child-centred support. Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 5 Staff morale is currently affected by recent changes in the home. Some staff expressed dissatisfaction and uncertainty about changes being implemented, which is affecting team cohesion and consistency of care. While leaders and managers have taken steps to

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

drive improvement, staff do not yet feel fully supported through this period of change.

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

Recording and reporting are not yet effective. Records are difficult to follow and do not consistently provide a clear account of progress, experiences or incidents. Systems have been introduced to monitor the home and incidents involving children. However, they are not being utilised effectively. Children's records do not fully reflect the work undertaken. This prevents managers' ability to evaluate and scrutinise the quality of care and ensure that practice consistently meets children's needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 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 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— that staff—

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff are provided with up-to-date guidance on managing risk and that staff act in accordance with that guidance to ensure that children are safe from harm. 4 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 7 understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that care is delivered to children in line with the statement of purpose.

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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

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; 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 8 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must address staff morale and promote a positive, supportive team culture to encourage staff to work cohesively as a team to deliver consistent, high-quality care.

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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

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)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must have a system in place so that all serious events are notified in line with the guidance. 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff implement daily routines to ensure that rubbish is removed from children's rooms. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16 paragraph 3.20)

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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: 1228191 10

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 4 Lyme Drive, Lyme Vale Court, Parklands, Stoke-On- Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Tonia Dubidat, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1228191 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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