Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Amber Valley

Inspection report children's home: SC489516 1 SC489516 Registered provider: Esland North 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 owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children or young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children's home: SC489516 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people make exceptional progress in all areas of their lives. They start to attend and engage in education, they become healthier and their emotional well-being improves significantly.  Children and young people benefit from a wide range of activities and new experiences that enhance their lives, improve their self-confidence and help them develop social and life skills.  Children and young people become significantly safer. Their risk-taking behaviour, such as substance misuse, ceases. Their behaviour improves, they begin to self-regulate and the use of physical intervention is minimised.  Children, young people and staff have extremely positive relationships, based on honesty and respect. Children and young people feel cared for, happy and well supported.  The voice of children and young people permeates throughout the home. Consultation and participation are central, and the impact of their expressed

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Key findings from this inspection

wishes is evident.  The manager provides exceptional leadership. She is committed, aspirational, child focused and passionate. She motivates and inspires staff to provide the same level of commitment. Staff development is a key priority.  Staff are exceptionally committed and passionate about providing the best possible service to children and young people. Staff know them well and use creative and innovative methods to support their individual needs. Staff go ‘above and beyond’ to ensure that children and young people’s needs are met to the best possible standard.  Staff are highly competent. They feel valued and they benefit from excellent support and training. This enables them to provide a service of the highest quality to the children and young people in this home.  Partnership working is very well developed, and services are engaged promptly and to good effect. Communication and information sharing are thorough and

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Key findings from this inspection

effective.  The home is proactive and prepared to challenge partners who are slow in providing services or entitlements to the children and young people. Inspection report children's home: SC489516 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/08/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC489516 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children and young people make exceptional progress in all areas of their lives, as a result of the high-quality care and support provided by the staff team. An independent reviewing officer said: ‘I was very impressed with the support, and how quickly they got other agencies involved.’ Children and young people are happy in this home and they have extremely positive relationships with the staff. One young person said: ‘I love it here. It’s the best care. I love everything. The staff do anything. They help you out. They have helped me a lot. I give it 10 out of 10.’ Children and young people who have had poor educational experiences in the past now attend and engage with education providers. For one young person, this has been really significant. He said: ‘It has changed my life.’ It has improved his social skills, it has provided a friendship group and it has enabled him to obtain qualifications that will

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

benefit his future life chances. Children and young people enjoy good health. For one young person, this has been of paramount importance. Previous significant substance misuse has ceased, and he is much healthier as a result. The actions of the staff had a significant impact on this success, as they ensured he had access to appropriate medication as well as an appointment with a substance misuse worker within 24 hours of his admission to the home. Staff provided nurturing care and support to enable him to withdraw without a pharmacological detoxification, which is a far more positive outcome for a young person. The substance misuse worker spoke very highly of the home’s actions in supporting this young person, saying: ‘I recommend them unreservedly.’ Children and young people’s emotional health also improves. According to a review report, one child has made, ‘massive progress with her emotional well-being and in

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

communicating her feelings.’ Children and young people learn how to regulate their emotions and they develop insight into their behaviour and how to manage it. Staff are able to access a local therapeutic service and they have used this both for direct work with children and young people and also for consultation, with positive results. Children and young people benefit enormously from a range of different experiences that significantly enhance the quality of their lives. They enjoy a wide range of activities that provide them with very positive experiences, some of which they have not had before. These are tailored to meet the individual’s expressed wishes and interests, for example, for horse-riding. They have had trips to the seaside, a visit to London, lots of meals out, and visits to theme parks, all of which are a response to their suggestions at young people’s meetings or key-work sessions. Children and young people have pictorial

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

reminders of these experiences through individual memory books, as well as photographs throughout the home. Staff support contact with family and friends very well, as they understand how important this is to a child or young person’s sense of self. They also challenge contact arrangements and suggest alternative venues, if the young person requests this. An independent reviewing officer said of the staff: ‘Their commitment to contact goes above Inspection report children's home: SC489516 5 and beyond.’ They provide transport and supervision, even when the friends and family are at some distance from the home. This ensures that children and young people are not disadvantaged from being placed out of their home local authority. Admissions to, and discharges from, the home are managed extremely well. For example, the manager will visit the new child or young person in their current placement, provide them with written and verbal information about the home and the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

staff, and answer any questions they may have. The manager obtains as much information as possible, and involves the staff in decision-making about whether the new child or young person is right for this home and the current residents. When a child or young person is admitted, they have a welcome basket and new towels in their room, and staff provide a small gift that reflects their interests. They also prepare the new resident’s favourite meal. These sensitive touches help a new resident settle and feel cared for. When someone leaves the home, this is planned well, and they have a positive send-off, so that they can reflect positively about their time in the home and the progress they have made. Young people who are approaching adulthood are well prepared to leave the home, with the necessary skills to enable them to live independently successfully. There is a detailed independence programme that addresses all aspects of being an adult, including

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

budgeting, relationships and life skills.

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

Children and young people feel safe and are safe in this home. High levels of supervision, in conjunction with positive relationships, are highly effective in preventing children and young people from coming to harm. Risk-taking behaviour, such as substance misuse, has ceased. This is a significant factor in improving outcomes in all areas of a young person’s life. Creative work in relation to bullying, internet safety and sexual exploitation provides children and young people with the necessary information to improve their awareness of risk and gives them strategies to manage this more safely. Children and young people have not being going missing or having unauthorised absences from this home in recent months. Nonetheless, staff have an excellent understanding of the actions they must take, based on individual risk management plans, should this occur. Neither has sexual exploitation been an issue. Despite this, staff

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

have had training in this area, and are about to undertake a refresher course, so that they are armed with current information about how to manage this risk effectively, should it become a concern. In addition, the manager has accessed some excellent resources to increase the staff’s awareness and knowledge. This proactive approach is typical of this home and results in improved safeguarding practice. Staff are very clear about their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children and young people. They understand the reporting procedures and they always have access to a manager to provide advice and support in the event that an allegation is made. Recent training in whistleblowing and reporting has reinforced this understanding. Allegations are dealt with swiftly and effectively. The manager has a robust understanding of her responsibilities and liaises appropriately with the designated officer for the local authority

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

for advice and guidance. The recording is excellent and clearly demonstrates the actions Inspection report children's home: SC489516 6 taken, the thorough investigations and the decision-making. This ensures that children and young people are protected during an investigation. Behaviour is very well managed. Positive behaviour is encouraged through incentives and rewards. Negative consequences are used appropriately, and there is an emphasis on restorative practice, such as mediation and letters of apology. This helps children and young people develop an awareness of the consequences of their actions on the victim, as well as providing them with the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions. Physical intervention is used rarely, and there have been no instances of its use since the interim inspection. This is testament to the effectiveness of the home’s approach to behaviour management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is very effectively led and managed by an extremely committed and child- focused manager, who is currently undertaking the relevant management qualification. She demonstrates an enormous amount of enthusiasm and passion to ensure that children and young people achieve the best possible outcomes. The manager motivates and inspires the staff, who speak highly of her and of her management style. They feel valued and as a result they go above and beyond what is expected of them. This is evident in their willingness to work extra shifts to reduce the need to use agency staff, which provides more consistency for the children and young people. Enthusiasm permeates throughout the home, and staff say they love coming to work. Systems such as the ‘employee of the month’ and ‘carer of the month’, nominated by other staff and by the children and young people respectively, enhance this ethos. The staff are highly competent. They use their previous experiences, knowledge and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

learning from research and training to provide a creative and individualised service. They have access to a wide range of relevant training that reflects the needs of the children and young people who live at the home. Staff feel very well supported by regular and reflective supervision and accessible and approachable managers and team leaders. Staff work well together as a team. They are consistent in their practice, yet they are prepared to challenge each other when necessary, for the benefit of the children and young people. This provides a positive working environment where individual skills, confidence and creativity flourish. The manager has an accurate understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development This is based on a variety of robust monitoring systems, including weekly reports, staff supervision, file audits and independent visitor reports. These inform development and action plans that are working documents, used effectively to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

improve the quality of care. There are also a variety of systems to ensure that children and young people’s outcomes are tracked. These include behaviour management charts, star charts and booklets that relate to education, health and care planning. The input of children and young people is an important factor in these documents, so that they know, and have a chance to influence, the work that is being done to support them. The manager has good oversight of all the plans, and any actions needed are highlighted. Partnership working is a real strength. The manager uses other agencies very effectively so that children and young people achieve the best possible outcomes. This was particularly evident when the services of a GP and substance misuse worker were Inspection report children's home: SC489516 7 engaged really promptly, resulting in a successful detoxification. Communication and information sharing are good. One stakeholder said: ‘Communication is spot on.’ Another

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

commented that staff are, ‘reliable, dependable, solution focused and proactive.’ The manager and staff are tenacious in ensuring that other agencies act swiftly and in the best interests of children and young people. The challenge it provides is a significant strength of this home. For example, the manager has challenged proposed placement moves, education providers and contact arrangements. An independent reviewing officer commented positively on the manager’s appropriate escalation of concerns: ‘They want to know what is happening and what we are doing so that they can provide the right support.’ Children and young people’s best interests and expressed wishes are at the heart of the service. They feel listened to and know their views are important. Regular young people’s meetings, key-working sessions, feedback forms and informal discussions are some of the mechanisms used to gain information about their wishes and feelings. They

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

choose activities, menus, bedroom furniture and the decor of the house and they also have a significant voice in their care plans. An independent reviewing officer commented that the staff were instrumental in encouraging a young person to attend and participate in his review, and another said that staff facilitated her visits and encouraged the child to talk to her to express her wishes. This is of vital importance in influencing significant decisions about their lives. Tolerance, equality and diversity are promoted to a very high standard. The creativity of staff is used to excellent effect to engage children and young people in discussions about all sorts of topics, sometimes sparked as a result of a recent event or incident. These have included bullying, men’s health, asthma, voting, Down’s syndrome, Hanukkah, Christian festivals and a Mexican customs to name but a few. This is reinforced by displays around the home, the current one being about junior arthritis. This helps

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

children and young people have a better understanding of their world, difference and their responsibilities as citizens.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Whenever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 and 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: SC489516 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Ros Chapman, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC489516 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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