Children's Home run by Aspris Children’s Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 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 children's home.

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care for up to 5 children with social and/or emotional difficulties and mild learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All children were happy to speak to the inspector on the visit.

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Information about this children's home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: 9 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 for children's home: 2630934 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2025 Full Good 09/09/2024 Full Good 20/06/2023 Full Good 30/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive good-quality care from staff who know them well and have built warm and trusting relationships with them. They benefit from stability and make progress in education, emotional wellbeing and their relationships with family. Children feel safe and valued, and their achievements are celebrated. Staff support children to enjoy positive experiences and prepare for their futures.

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Summary of findings

The experienced manager leads a stable and committed staff team. Staff work well with professionals and advocate for children to receive the support they need. However, some areas require improvement. Medication practice is not yet consistently safe, and some safeguarding arrangements need reviewing. Leaders also need to improve the accuracy of records, oversight of staff development and independent monitoring of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children continue to live at the home and benefit from stability and consistent care. They have warm, trusting relationships with familiar staff who know them well and speak about them with pride. One child rated the home '10 out of 10', and another said that they feel safe. Parents and professionals are also positive about the care children receive. This continuity of care gives children a strong sense of security and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education. Two children attend school consistently. Staff have supported alternative education arrangements when barriers have prevented another child from accessing formal education. As a result, the child has taken examinations and secured a college place in their chosen career area. This supports the child to continue learning and pursue their future aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has left the home following a well-planned move towards adulthood. Staff supported visits to the child's new home and continue to maintain contact with them. However, planning for another child approaching adulthood is less developed, and a pathway plan is not yet in place. The manager is pursuing this, but further escalation is required to ensure timely preparation for the child's future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children's physical and emotional health. One child accesses specialist mental health provision, alongside support from the home's therapeutic team. Regular support helps children explore their emotions and develop the skills to make safer and more informed choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy beach holidays with staff several times each year. These experiences provide fun, strengthen relationships and create positive memories. A 'WOW' wall displayed at the home celebrates children's achievements, while photos and personal touches throughout the home reinforce their sense of pride and belonging. Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 4

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improvement to be good

Safe medication practice is not yet sufficiently embedded. Weaknesses in administration and recordings have resulted in medication errors on several occasions. Leaders have responded accordingly and taken necessary action for each incident. However, despite these measures, children are not always protected from receiving medication incorrectly or at the wrong time, which could cause avoidable harm and negatively affect their health and wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding arrangements do not consistently reflect children's changing needs and increasing maturity. Risk management plans also contain incorrect information. This can leave staff without a clear picture of children's current vulnerabilities and the action they should take to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Bedroom door alarms remain in use for all children. Progress has not been made against the requirement made at the last inspection, and the use of bedroom door alarms is not regularly reviewed. Consequently, this continues to impact on children's right to privacy. In addition, potential risks associated with one child's mobile phone and digital devices have not been sufficiently assessed. This limits assurance that safeguards reflect children's individual circumstances and increasing independence.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trauma informed and child focused and apply a therapeutic model of care to understand children's experiences and behaviours. The home's therapeutic team provides consultation and support to children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Children say they feel safe. Children rarely go missing, and incidents of self-harm for one child have reduced considerably. There have been no physical interventions. Staff know children well and recognise and respond to changes in their presentation and respond appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Staff responded appropriately when one child went missing and supported their safe return. However, a return home interview was not completed, and leaders did not sufficiently follow this up with the placing authority for the child. An opportunity was missed for the child's experience to be independently explored and for any new or emerging risks to inform safeguarding arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and knowledgeable manager who understands the children's histories and individual circumstances. Staff speak positively about the manager and feel supported and valued. Staff and leaders share a strong commitment to the children and work well together. This creates a positive culture where children benefit from adults who are motivated and invested in their care. Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 5 The manager and staff work well with other professionals and take a proactive approach when children need additional support. They share information, attend relevant meetings and follow up agreed actions. This helps children access the services and support they need and promotes a cohesive approach to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision provides opportunities for staff to reflect on practice and children's experiences. Staff also benefit from a range of child-specific and mandatory training opportunities, which supports their ongoing development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Several staff do not hold the required qualification and are exceeding the expected timescale to complete this. In addition, training gaps have been identified. The manager is aware of this shortfall and is taking action to ensure compliance and strengthen oversight of staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Independent monitoring of the home is not consistently effective. Reports do not routinely include sufficient feedback from children and professionals. Some reports contain inaccuracies, and visits are not sufficiently balanced between being announced and unannounced. As a result, leaders do not always have a reliable and complete understanding of the quality of care being provided, which limits their ability to drive sustained improvements. Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff follow the home's medication procedures and protocols consistently, including the safe administration, recording and secure storage of medication. 27 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 7 Additionally, the registered person must also ensure that any risks associated with children's use of mobile phones, digital devices and online activity are individually assessed, regularly reviewed and understood by staff. Where risks are identified, appropriate and proportionate monitoring and safeguarding measures must be implemented to protect children from potential online harm.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children's home's premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the use of all bedroom door alarms is necessary and proportionate, and that it is kept under regular review and included in all risk assessments and care plans and agreed in writing with the child's social worker.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 27 November 2026

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; 27 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 8 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—

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32(1)(4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. In particular, the independent person should complete both announced and unannounced visits and gain views from a range of people involved in children's care. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that records relating to children and the operation of the home are clear, accurate and sufficiently detailed. Entries should be appropriately dated, identify the author where required, and information should be signed and contain details of the attendees where necessary. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that children approaching adulthood have a

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Recommendations

pathway plan as soon as possible. If there are delays, the registered person should raise these with the posting authority and escalate concerns when needed. This will help children prepare for adulthood and understand their future plans. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 17, paragraph 3.28) Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 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: 2630934 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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Inspector

Gill Rudkin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2630934 11 regulates 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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