Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 1 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 children’s home, operated by a private provider, is registered to accommodate up to six children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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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 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: This is the first inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people like it here. They feel that staff care about them and want the best for them. They make good progress because of the care and support they receive.  Young people feel listened to and valued. Their views are taken seriously and Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 2 acted upon wherever possible. They are encouraged to take part in leisure pursuits and this improves their self-esteem.  Young people become safer as a result of living here. Good staff ratios and detailed risk management plans contribute to the reduction of risk.  Staff feel well supported. They receive regular supervision and relevant training. Staff say that the manager is approachable and supportive.  The manager is child-focused and positive. She demonstrates that she wants to learn and develop and has high aspirations for the young people in her care.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager must ensure that she has a detailed and complete understanding of the local authority’s expectations about a placement before accepting an admission.  Staff members are not clear about the purpose of negative consequences and have, on two occasions, used these inappropriately.  Young people’s case records are not signed and dated consistently. Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 3

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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

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure- that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(2)(c)) 23/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19 (1)) 23/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(b)(c)) 23/02/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress as a result of the good-quality care and individualised support that they receive. One young person described the home as ‘amazing’. Another young person said: ‘Staff help me a lot.’ Young people say that the staff are caring and they understand their needs. Young people have positive relationships with staff and this has helped them settle and start to form attachments. A young person’s social worker commented: ‘She has done very well here. I am proud of what she has achieved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are happy and settled. They say that staff want them to have fun. Staff are constantly offering young people opportunities to develop their interests and experiences. For example, young people go to the gym, play tennis, go to the cinema, go horse riding, have music lessons, and go shopping. One member of staff has a particular interest in art and music, and he is using his skills to encourage the young people to develop their interests and skills in this area. Young people’s self-esteem improves as a result of their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making progress with their education, having had disrupted Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 4 educational histories. If young people do not have a formal educational placement, staff ensure that young people engage in educational activities until an appropriate placement can be arranged. Staff also facilitate the involvement of tutors at the home so that young people can make the best of their opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health improves because staff ensure that young people have regular check-ups with universal services and they respond to any medical needs. Young people also have the opportunity to engage with therapy, arranged by the home, to meet their emotional needs. Young people are becoming calmer and more settled because of the care and support that they receive. One young person commented: ‘If I’m in a state, staff know how to calm me down and what to say.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have contact with people who are important to them. Staff facilitate and supervise both direct and indirect contact with parents and other family members. This ensures that young people can maintain relationships, even when they live at some distance away from their family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the home is the importance that staff place on listening to young people. Young people feel that staff are concerned about them and want to hear their views. Staff take every opportunity to spend time with young people. Staff raise issues with young people and listen to what they have to say. All consultation is well recorded and demonstrates the actions taken by staff and the manager in response to expressed wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into and out of the home are managed as well as possible. One young person had an excellent transition plan to ensure that she settled and her anxieties about moving to the home were diminished. The manager and other staff visited her in her former placement, some distance away, on two occasions. They provided her with written information about the home as well as verbal reassurance about what she could expect. She also visited the home on two occasions before moving in. This well-planned introduction to the home has ensured that she settled well. If young people move to the home in an emergency, they are also welcomed, provided with information and helped to settle. When young people leave the home, the manager works with the local authority to ensure that the move out of the home is carried out with the least amount of disruption possible. This includes extending the notice period to enable the local

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

authority to find the most suitable placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person was admitted to the home without the manager having a detailed understanding of the requirements of the local authority in relation to specific aspects of the placement. This could have had serious repercussions on the young person’s well- being and safety, although in reality it has not, and the young person is doing very well. This could have been avoided by ensuring that expectations were clarified at the start of the placement. The manager and senior managers have learned a lot from this experience and have identified how to prevent this happening again.

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

Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 5 Risk is well managed in this home. All risks are assessed, documented and regularly reviewed. This provides staff with detailed written guidance about how to minimise risk by outlining behavioural signs, triggers and patterns and suggesting strategies to use. As a result, young people are becoming safer. Their risk-taking behaviour, including going missing from care and self-harm, is decreasing. Young people feel safe at this home. They also have a good understanding of e-safety, and their computer use has the necessary safeguards.

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

Staff have a good understanding of what to do if a young person goes missing from the home, or is absent without permission. High staffing levels are instrumental in minimising this risk, although a young person who is no longer living at the home managed to leave the premises on a number of occasions. Staff follow young people and try to keep them in their line of vision. Each young person has an individual protocol, based on assessed risk, that staff follow in terms of how quickly young people are reported missing. The home also has effective links with the local police.

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

Staff have completed training in all aspects of safeguarding including sexual exploitation, radicalisation and self-harm. More in-depth training is scheduled in the coming weeks, including information about deprivation of liberty orders. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe from harm.

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

The manager understands the statutory framework that underpins how to respond to allegations of harm. Concerns are reported appropriately to the designated officer and children’s social care. This ensures that there is independent oversight of how these concerns are investigated and managed.

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

Staff have training in an approved method of physical intervention. This is used rarely, and when it has been used, this has been necessary and proportionate. Good behaviour is encouraged through the use of positive consequences. This far outweighs the use of negative consequences. However, two negative consequences were used in inappropriate circumstances. The manager accepts this and will ensure that staff have a better understanding of the purpose of consequences and the types of behaviour that should attract their use.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has only been registered since July 2017 and the manager and staff team are relatively new. The manager has experience of residential childcare and management within this company and is in the process of completing her management qualification. She is enthusiastic, child-focused and positive in her approach and wants to ensure that the young people have the best outcomes possible. The staff speak highly of her and say that she is approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. They are supervised regularly and they have access to relevant training. Staff complete a thorough induction when they join the home and this is being Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 6 supplemented with more in-depth training. When staff complete their probationary period, they are enrolled onto the diploma course. Communication is open and this is supported by monthly team meetings. This is an area that has improved in the last two months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective systems to ensure that she has good oversight of the progress that young people are making. There is regular monitoring of key-work sessions, weekly reports and incident records. She knows the young people well. The manager also understands the strengths and areas for development for the home. She is well supported by senior managers within the company and has regular supervision. The independent visitor conducts thorough monitoring visits on a monthly basis and these provide the manager with actions to address. Regular, formal consultation with young people and social workers also supplements this information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has positive and effective relationships with partners. For example, an education provider commented on how well they are welcomed when they visit the home, and how staff are effective in facilitating the tutoring sessions. Children’s social workers are happy with the communication. They receive weekly reports and are updated when there are any incidents. This ensures that all professionals work together in the best interests of the young people. However, if there are deficits in service provision, the manager is prepared to challenge partner agencies. She has been able to demonstrate this in relation to issues such as statutory reviews, education and social work visits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Tolerance, equality and diversity are promoted well. Issues are discussed at young people’s meetings and they are encouraged to consider what is happening in the world. One young person is keen to learn British sign language and she is being supported in this. Difference is valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s views are regularly sought and acted upon. They are encouraged to express their opinions about all aspects of their care. Young people influence the home’s decor, particularly their own bedrooms, and they are actively involved in planning the weekly menus.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One area highlighted for improvement is recording. Case records and reports are not always signed and dated and there are occasional discrepancies and a lack of detail. The manager had already identified this as a weakness and is providing training for staff to help them improve their practice in this area.

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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 differences 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 Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 7 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, 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: 1257013 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: 1257013 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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