Children's Home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children's home: SC379357 1 SC379357 Registered provider: Aspris Care Central Limited

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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 privately run home provides care for up to 4 children with social, emotional and behavioural needs who may have experienced trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 2 December 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC379357 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/12/2025 Full Good 14/01/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 17/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC379357 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress and have warm bonds with staff. Children have positive experiences. They take part in activities they enjoy and maintain relationships with important people in their lives. Staff keep children safe.

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Summary of findings

There has been limited progress in addressing the shortfalls raised at the last inspection. Managers do not always have oversight of incidents, staff training and staff supervision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at this home at the time of the inspection. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection. The inspector spoke to 2 children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer individualised care and understand the trauma the children have experienced. The staff provide support and care in a way which means the children develop positive relationships with them. Children say the staff are trusted adults whom they are close to. Consequently, the children feel comfortable to express their feelings and worries to the staff confident that they will listen to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend health appointments and manage any lifelong conditions. For example, one child is now able to safely administer their own medication both in the home and in the community. Staff work closely with the relevant clinician, and the manager ensures that new staff are trained in managing the child’s condition. As a result, the child receives good-quality consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in varied enrichment activities. Staff encourage the children to spend time together and help them to develop their own individual interests, such as attending roller skating club. Staff document children’s memorable events in ‘scrap books’ that the children can cherish and reflect on in years to come.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children maintain connections with important people in their lives. Staff support the children to regularly spend time with their families and friends. They welcome visits to the home. This helps the children to maintain a positive sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote regular school attendance for the 2 children who attend school and transport them to and from school. As a result, attendance has improved for these 2 children. However, a schoolteacher reported staff do not share information on the child’s emotional presentation before to coming to school. This potentially impacts the teachers’ ability to anticipate and respond to the child’s needs promptly. One child is not in education. Managers have not challenged other professionals to ensure that the child is provided with a bespoke learning package in the interim, while waiting for a specialist assessment. Furthermore, staff do not structure the child’s routine to promote learning Inspection report children's home: SC379357 4 at home. Opportunities to build school ready routines and engage the child positively in learning are therefore missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is suitably maintained. However, one child's bedroom had a noticeable unpleasant odour. This indicates that cleaning is not sufficient or that further support may be required to help the child maintain their personal living space to an appropriate standard.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children and their vulnerabilities. They are supported by the home’s internal therapist to develop support strategies. Consequently, risks and incidents are reducing for children. For example, one child is no longer using substances. Another child has achieved stability, after experiencing multiples moves prior to living at this home.

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

Children who go missing receive well-coordinated care. Staff follow clear protocols and are quick to respond. Staff work in partnership with the police and ensure children return home safely. Staff arrange for the children to have planned discussions with independent professionals when they return home. Staff also have planned conversations with children on their return, providing them with opportunities to share their feelings. This combined approach helps staff understand the reasons that children go missing and how better to keep them safe.

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

Staff engage the children in discussions about various issues such as safe relationships, personal safety and online safety. They listen to the children while also providing them with guidance about acceptable forms of behaviour. This increases the children’s awareness of the impact of their behaviour on others and how they can better manage difficult emotions. These conversations also and help build the children’s knowledge on how to keep themselves safe.

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

The need to physically hold children is reducing. Staff effectively help the children to calm down. There has been only one incident where staff have used physical restraint since the last inspection. There are no concerns regarding the use of physical intervention in this situation, and the child was spoken to following the incident. However, the manager did not complete a debrief with the member of staff involved or review the use of the measure. Similarly, following other behavioural incidents, managers do not consistently analyse the effectiveness of support strategies. This limits opportunities to identify learning and improve practice.

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

The suitably experienced and qualified manager is supported by the deputy manager. The manager has not consistently maintained the quality of oversight of the service and incidents that have occurred. There has been limited progress in addressing the requirements raised at the last inspection. Inspection report children's home: SC379357 5 While there has been progress made in the recruitment of staff, staffing challenges continue to mean that the manager remains working directly with children. This limits the ability for her to have sufficient oversight of incidents, staff training and staff supervisions.

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

Staff have not always received one-to-one reflective supervision in line with the company’s policy. Some supervision sessions are not recorded. Managers do not always have conversations with staff to address specific practice issues. This limits opportunities to support staff, reflect on their practice and formally discuss and assess their development.

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

Most staff members have completed a suitable level 3 qualification. However, management oversight of staff training is not consistent. Some staff members are overdue for refresher trainings such as positive behaviour support and contextual safeguarding. This fails to ensure that staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to care for children.

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

Staff use therapeutically informed and kind language in children’s records. Staff also regularly write to the child in the ‘scrap book’ praising them. This helps children to develop a positive self-image.

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

Staff develop positive relationships with the children their families and partner professionals. This helps to ensure that the children receive the help and support that they need. Children’s social workers shared positive feedback and highlighted the children’s progress. Inspection report children's home: SC379357 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, 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 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 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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 5 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 5 October 2026 Inspection report children's home: SC379357 7 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, supervision sessions should take place at a frequency in line with policy.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 5 October 2026 Inspection report children's home: SC379357 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. They should ensure that the children's bedrooms are well maintained and provide a welcoming environment for children. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure records of restraint enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. They should ensure that all incidents involving physical intervention are clearly identified and recorded as restraints when appropriate ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 49,

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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 children's home: SC379357 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Aspris Care Central 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 Batchelor

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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC379357 10 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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