Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Preston

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . Young people who live at the home make and sustain positive progress as a result of the exceptional quality of care provided by the staff team. There have been no new admissions or discharges since the last inspection; however, young people who were admitted a short while before that visit have settled well into the routine of the home. One young person has benefitted from a medication review and is now managing his own behaviour more successfully. Another young person has adapted well to his first experience of living in a children’s home. All of the young people are well supported to make progress across all aspects of their lives from their individual starting points. Four young people attend the home’s school, where they maintain 100% attendance. Two young people who

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

attend college are also achieving well, and are maturing in the development of their independence skills. Young people’s health needs are met, and they engage well in therapy to help them come to terms with past trauma, to regulate their emotions and to build resilience. All of the young people engage in the ICOPE programme to progressively develop their understanding of risk, responsibility and independent access in the community. Young people are central to their care planning and their involvement promotes positive changes in their lives because they can identify their own progress. Young people were keen to interact with the inspector to confirm that they feel safe, how well they get on with the staff and each other, and that they enjoy a range of activities. One young person conducted a guided tour of the home. The young people live in a safe and homely environment, and their photographs and artwork

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

are proudly displayed. Young people reported that they feel treated as an individual, and are proud of what they have learned from living at the home. None of them thought the home could be any better, because it is ‘amazing’, ‘fun’, ‘interactive’ and ‘the best home ever!’ Safeguarding is taken extremely seriously in the home due to the vulnerabilities of young people who live there. Strong and trusting relationships mean that young people feel safe and they report that they feel able to talk about any worries with members of staff. None of the young people have made any complaints. Young people do not go missing as a result of responsibly high levels of supervision. Contact with family members, where appropriate, is well supported and staff are sensitive to the impact it may have on young people’s emotions and behaviour. Risk assessments and behaviour management are robust and, as a result of the team’s skills and understanding of each individual, physical intervention is not

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

required to manage young people’s behaviour. The team uses RAID, an accredited behaviour management model, within its practice. Young people are given the opportunity to complete tasks in the home as a response to lower levels of negative behaviour, to give them time and space to reflect. As a result, the need to impose more significant sanctions, such as withdrawal of privileges, is low. Young people review their progress, both positive and negative, recognising successes and striving to continue to develop management of their own behaviour. They are involved in identifying individual incentives to achieve their targets. This promotes improved behaviour, confidence, increased self-esteem and improved interpersonal relationships. One incident of bullying was immediately addressed, with young people coming together in a restorative meeting to discuss and resolve their feelings. Group work is used to encourage young people to recognise positive

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

attributes in one another. The home is not led by a permanent registered manager at this time. Following the successful promotion of the previous manager, a replacement was recruited in November, but did not remain in post. The deputy manager has maintained oversight of the home in the interim, with the support of the responsible individual. She has embraced this as a positive opportunity in her professional development. More recently, the responsible individual has resumed his leadership role to offer additional management support in the home, after the departure of a team leader. The team has been proactive in working together and taking responsibility to ensure that young people continue to receive a consistently high level of care. Individuals have implemented and are planning further improvements; for example, these include improvements to the independent living skills programme, and in direct work, to complement therapeutic input. Although some staff have

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

described the past months as ‘different’, they feel they have collectively ‘stepped up’. They continue to feel well supported by leaders and have regular supervision. This means that there has been minimal impact on young people’s everyday experience of living in the home. The home aims to recruit a new manager as soon as possible to provide permanent leadership and oversight. Internal and external monitoring continues to evaluate the quality of care really well, to ensure that young people are safeguarded effectively and make positive progress in their lives. The home maintains strong and effective partnerships with other agencies to promote positive outcomes for young people. There are particularly close working relationships with therapists from an external organisation and education professionals from the adjoining school, to ensure continuity of care and excellent communication. This provides consistency across key aspects of young people’s

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

development and well-being. Communication with other professionals, including social workers, is regular and effective in providing timely updates on young people’s progress. Feedback regarding the quality of care at the home is consistently positive. However, the home does not always receive updated relevant plans from placing authorities when they are requested. This does not significantly impact on young people’s care because the staff team understands and responds to their needs extremely well. No requirements or recommendations were made at the previous inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people who may have emotional, behavioural and/or learning difficulties. It is owned and managed by an established private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/10/2016 CH - Full (aligned) Outstanding 21/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/01/2016 Full Outstanding 28/01/2015 Full Outstanding

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the registered person seeks to involve the placing authority that places a looked after child in the home, particularly to provide current relevant plans for the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.5)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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