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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 1 SC478991 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have learning disabilities. The service is operated and managed by a private organisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 On two occasions, staff‟s complacency and lack of judgement resulted in young Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 2 people putting themselves in risky situations.  Staff have not fully assessed and reviewed the appropriateness of locking external doors to restrict young people from leaving the house or the use of bedroom door alarms to monitor young people‟s movements.  Risk assessments vary in quality. They do not always reflect the changing needs of young people or provide clear guidance to staff about how to reduce and manage risk.  Occasionally, staff do not record that they have administered medication to young people.  Staff do not always keep case records up to date.  Staff have mixed success in supporting young people to manage their behaviour.  The registered manager does not review the use of restraint in a timely way.  The registered manager‟s monitoring systems are not wholly effective.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff turnover and the use of agency and bank staff mean that young people do not receive consistent care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager and staff work hard to develop positive working relationships with partner agencies.  Staff support young people to maintain contact with their families.  Some young people have made significant progress in respect of their communication and self-care skills.  Resilient and committed staff know young people well and show a genuine motivation to help them make progress.  Staff understand and support young people‟s emotional and physical health needs well. Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 4

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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 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 that staff— 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Requirement 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)) 30/09/2017

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Requirement 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(e)(h)) 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that arrangements are in place to manage and review the placement of each child in the home; that each child‟s relevant plans are followed. (Requirement 14(1)(a)(2)(b)(ii)(c)) 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that restraint in relation to a 30/09/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 5 child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the appropriateness of locking external doors to prevent young people from leaving the house needs to be fully considered and kept under review. The registered person must ensure that any limitation placed on a child‟s privacy or access to any area of the home‟s premises— is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the appropriateness of using bedroom door alarms needs to be fully considered and kept under review. 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicine received into the children‟s home. (Regulation 23(1))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that accurate and up-to-date records are kept of the administration of medicine to each child. 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 48 hours of the measure of control, discipline and restraint the registered person has spoken to the user about the measure, and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the measure the registered person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the manager should ensure that he has spoken to the staff member who has undertaken the physical intervention within 48 hours and record the outcome of this discussion and any actions taken. 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Case records must be kept securely in the children‟s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there. 30/09/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 6 (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that young people‟s placement plans, risk assessments and admissions assessments are kept up to date, reflect the current needs of young people and are stored appropriately to ensure that they are accessible for staff to read and understand.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s experience of living in the home is mixed. Some young people make significant progress. For example, some young people‟s communication skills have improved, they have developed their independence skills and they are making good progress in school. A parent told the inspector, „I can only say one thing and that is they are fantastic. [The young person] has learned so many skills from when he was at home, [the staff] have taught him so much. He is a different person.‟

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improvement to be good

However, not all young people enjoy stability and make sustained progress. For example, one young person struggled to sustain the initial progress that she had made. Although the young person‟s school attendance initially increased, she stopped going missing and appeared to be developing positive relationships with staff, this success faltered. She disengaged from school and became selective in her compliance with staff‟s rules and boundaries. The fact that there are missing and incomplete placement plans for some young people means that staff do not understand all the young people‟s needs. Furthermore, it shows that the registered manager and staff do not review young people‟s care and progress effectively.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand and support young people‟s emotional and physical health needs well. Staff recognise that when one young person needs to access primary and specialist health services he can become highly anxious and distressed. Staff are creative in helping him to overcome his difficulties. For example, they used a toy first-aid kit to role model what would happen when he visited the dentist and made this experience fun. As a result, the young person accessed the dental treatment he needed.

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improvement to be good

Staff use various communication methods to help young people to participate in decisions about their care. Staff show warmth towards young people; they offer hugs, affection and praise on a daily basis. This helps to give some young people a sense of security and reassurance. Young people learn that the staff care about them. One young person said to the staff, „with your motivation and positive energy I feel I could get far in life‟. However, the use of bank and agency staff detracts from this because young people are not always looked after by staff who know them well.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise the value of regular contact between young people and their families. At Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 7 the same time, staff understand when contact arrangements need to change to promote young people‟s welfare. Therefore, staff support young people to spend time with their families, which is positive and safe, and in line with their individual needs. As a result, young people do not feel isolated and are able to maintain relationships with important loved ones.

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improvement to be good

On two occasions, staff complacency and poor judgement put young people in situations where they were at risk of harm. For example, on one occasion a young person managed to obtain a set of office keys that staff had left unattended. The young person used the keys to access the office and take the car keys. The young person drove the car. On another occasion, a staff member who was struggling to start their car allowed a young person to help. The young person used the car keys to turn the engine on. The registered provider‟s response to these incidents has been swift and decisive. Thorough and transparent investigations have resulted in action to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.

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improvement to be good

Each young person has a risk assessment, but these records vary in quality. Staff focus on managing risk when situations arise. As a result, staff do not always pre-empt risk and identify strategies to reduce risk. Because case recording is not always thorough, it is not always easy to see what action the staff take. For example, it is not always clear how effectively staff respond to one young person who is at risk of child sexual exploitation. The staff do not provide the young person with enough support so that she can use her mobile phone safely. It is not clear what actions the staff take to educate the young person about her vulnerability to exploitation and how to keep herself safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff lock external doors to prevent some young people from leaving the house without permission. Staff also use alarms on bedroom doors to monitor young people‟s movements within the home. The use of such measures restricts young people‟s free movement and privacy. Staff do not fully assess and explain why such measures are necessary or review their effectiveness.

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improvement to be good

Resilient and committed staff work hard to understand how best to support young people who struggle to manage their emotions and anxiety. Staff share information and learn lessons from things that happen to improve their support of young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff rarely need to use physical restraint to keep young people and others safe. However, when incidents do happen, the registered manager does not always speak to the member of staff involved in the restraint in a timely manner. As a result, the manager does not evaluate quickly the effectiveness of the restraint used, to identify learning, and prevent reoccurrence.

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improvement to be good

On a few occasions, staff have not recorded when they have administered medication to young people. This did not have a negative impact on young people‟s health. However, failing to keep accurate medication records has the potential to create confusion and Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 8 may lead to medication errors.

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improvement to be good

Young people rarely go missing. When they do, the staff know what to do. Appropriate levels of staff supervision and a clear missing from care protocol mean that the risks associated with young people going missing are well considered.

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

The registered manager has been in post since May 2014 and is suitably qualified. The registered manager is child-focused and wants young people to do well.

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

The registered manager does not have effective monitoring systems, and as a result, he does not fully understand the strengths and needs of the home. This limits the capacity of the home to improve.

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

Staff vacancies and the need for some young people to have increased staff support have resulted in a recent need to use bank and agency staff. Managers have made some efforts to keep the number of different staff working in the home to a minimum. Despite this, there has been an impact upon the consistency and quality of care afforded to young people.

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

Staff receive regular supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. Staff access a wide range of training. This helps them to develop the skills and knowledge they require to meet young people‟s needs.

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

Recently, staff have not had thorough daily handovers and regular team meetings. This limits the opportunities for staff to share information, develop consistency and review children‟s progress.

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

Notwithstanding this, staff speak positively about the support that they receive from the manager. The registered manager and staff acknowledge that the home is going through a difficult period. However, staff are motivated and positive. They are solution-focused and committed to improving standards to achieve better outcomes for all young people.

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

Staff work effectively with partner agencies, including the police, schools and local authorities. Collaborative working promotes young people‟s welfare and safety. The majority of professionals told the inspector that staff communicate well and are receptive to the input from them. When required, staff act as strong advocates for young people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 9

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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. Wherever 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 who 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, 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: SC478991 10

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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

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC478991 11 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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