Children's Home run by Priory Education Services Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 1 Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home. It provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties, where associated moderate learning difficulties and low-risk mental health concerns may be contributors.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been in post since August 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2025 Full Good 31/07/2024 Full Good 24/04/2024 Full Inadequate 05/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, practice has deteriorated and as a result children are not being adequately helped and protected. Children do not get timely support around substance misuse or staying safe online. Investigations are poor, lacking analysis and clear outcomes to inform next steps and improve practice. Staff shortages have led to weak leadership. Where concerns are not adequately addressed, staff are not guided and supported effectively, and risks are not reduced. Several shortfalls identified at previous inspections have not been addressed. However, children do have good relationships with staff, take part in activities, stay connected with family and develop independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Shortfalls in leadership and management and in help and protection contribute to the inadequate judgement in the overall experiences and progress of children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers did not ensure that they had all the essential information about a child before agreeing to their move into the home, meaning they could not fully assess or understand the child’s needs. As a result, managers were not aware of key aspects of the child’s history, limiting their ability to fully understand the child’s vulnerabilities. This includes not knowing the reasons why the child came into care and not having a copy of the local authority’s care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Outdoor spaces are not well maintained. The grass is overgrown with no clear plan on when this will be addressed. Consequently, this reduces the quality of the environment and limits children’s access to an enjoyable outdoor area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The organisation provides therapeutic services to staff and children to help deepen their understanding of each child’s needs and ensure the right support is offered. However, this therapeutic input has not been consistent due to staff shortages. As a result, children do not always benefit from a consistent and informed therapeutic approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children attend school and college. For one child who recently moved in and is not in education, they have a regular activity aligned to their interests and are engaging well. As a result, children are learning and building routines to support their future goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have positive relationships with staff. Staff speak warmly to children and children enjoy spending time with staff. They laugh and joke together, and children come to staff out for support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children engage in a range of activities that they enjoy and are encouraged to explore new activities. Activities include going to the gym, walks and bowling. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 4 Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with their families. This promotes a sense of identity and belonging.

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

Investigations regarding staff practice take place when concerns come to light. However, the report in response to the concerns lacks analysis and does not provide clear outcomes for managers or lessons learned for them to consider and impart to staff.

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

When concerns are identified about staff safeguarding practice, staff do not receive tailored support to improve their practice. In one instance, staff failed to report concerns about a staff member’s conduct. Managers did not take steps to ensure that staff fully understood their duty to report concerns. This creates the risk of a closed culture and places the welfare and safety of children at risk.

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

There is no effective management oversight of incidents. As a result, staff do not receive the guidance or direction they need about the next steps to take to best support children, increasing the risk of inconsistent responses and missed learning opportunities.

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

Children do not receive adequate and timely support when there are concerns of substance misuse. In one example, where there were clear concerns, the child did not receive suitable support and education to help them make safer choices. However, staff did take some appropriate action, conducted a bedroom search and confiscated inappropriate items.

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

Children report staying up until the early hours of the morning, accessing the internet on their phone, which staff and managers were not aware of. This runs the risk that children are not adequately protected from online risks or exploitation. In addition, it shows that clear boundaries are not in place to support children’s individual needs. While staff have completed some work with one child and the home uses a system that restricts access to inappropriate content, staff are not proactive in monitoring children’s online activity to understand when children are online or how they are using their phones. They also rely heavily on parental oversight for another child’s device.

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

Staff support children to develop independence skills. This includes self-care routines, cooking and travelling in the community. One child was successfully supported to secure a volunteering role, which they enjoy and feel proud of. As a result, children are becoming more capable and self-reliant and developing a sense of personal responsibility.

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

When agency staff are used, the manager reviews their profile to ensure all appropriate safer recruitment checks have been completed and that the staff member is suitable to work with the children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leaders and managers have failed to address shortfalls identified at previous inspections. This undermines confidence that the leadership arrangements, in their current form, are able to provide good and safe care. This is primarily due to the registered manager not having the support or capacity to lead.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is not able to fulfil their role sufficiently. This is because ongoing staff shortages mean the manager is regularly required to cover staff duties. As a result, essential management tasks are not completed, and the manager’s ability to have good oversight of safeguarding practice is impaired.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

One child moved into the home despite concerns about staffing shortages. This increases the risk that children enter a home that is not equipped to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is committed and seeks the best for children; however, they are not currently effective in their role. Staff are not receiving effective direction, support and intervention to address practice issues and to learn and develop. As a result, the home does not benefit from the strong managerial oversight needed to drive good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective systems in place to ensure clear oversight of care practice. As a result, shortfalls are not identified or addressed in a timely way, which limits the home’s ability to maintain consistent standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not receiving adequate supervision, and appraisals have not taken place. Since the last inspection, staff have not been receiving supervision. Staff report inconsistent support from the manager. As a result, staff do not benefit from regular reflection, guidance or accountability, which weakens practice. This shortfall was highlighted at the last 2 previous inspections, and the requirement made in relation to this is restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, not all staff have completed their level 3 diploma. This is the third consecutive inspection where this has been a shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from professionals and parents is mixed. One social worker shared that communication with the home was positive and the child was well supported. However, wone parent raised concerns about a lack of communication due to staff changes and that their child was not consistently supported. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 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—

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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

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 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)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children are supported and protected from online risks and use of drugs. 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 7 In particular, the registered manager must ensure that when there are concerns of staff practice, investigations provide clear outcomes and next steps to reduce recurrence.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered manager must ensure that staff understand their duty to share and report concerns.

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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

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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, management arrangements must ensure there are sufficient staff to enable the registered manager to fulfil their role. 24 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last 2 inspections and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 24 July 2026

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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,

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Requirement Due date

the individual has attained-the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last 2 inspections and is restated. 24 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, they will, in most cases be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 9

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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: 2585129 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Aspris Children’s Services 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Garstang

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Inspectors

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Kenneth Bedwell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2585129 11 and inspects to 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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