Children's Home run by Esland South Limited in Bexley

Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 1 SC387684 Registered provider: Esland South 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 run home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people. The home’s statement of purpose states that care will be provided to young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home offers planned, emergency and respite placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted in February 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 November 2018

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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: 13 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/06/2016 Full Good 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 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

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2))

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Requirement Due date

This is with reference to the specific risk posed by gangs in the local area. 01/02/2019

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3 (14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 45 and 46, paragraph 9.31)

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Recommendations

 Staff should take account of information provided by return home interviews following episodes when a child has been missing. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress. This is based on their strong relationships with staff and a sense of mutual appreciation. Young people understand their individual care plans and engage well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people value their home. They enjoy a rich variety of activities including attending a local ‘rock’ choir. On moving on from the home young people continue to visit, and staff return in their own time to enjoy the warm and welcoming atmosphere.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Outcomes in the home are positive. One young person successfully moved on to foster care with her baby after giving birth. Others return home to family despite arriving at the home in crisis. One social worker commented, ‘The staff team really helped to turn things around when all seemed lost.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people achieve good outcomes in education. They are motivated by strong staff support and incentives such as tickets for a pop concert. One young person recently received an award from her placing authority for attainment and attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Behaviour management is effective and based on consistent principles. Staff support young people to think through and understand incidents and possible causes. Recently, this included young people writing a letter of apology to staff and helping to paint over damage to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy positive experiences when they meet up with friends and family. Staff work with parents to help improve the quality of these occasions by offering guidance on managing challenging behaviour. One young person recently moved to having unsupervised time with his mother, an achievement which he is rightly proud of.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people feel heard in their home. They reported that staff act quickly to respond to their concerns and wishes. Recently, this included the arrival of pet rabbits following a request from young people.

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

Risk assessments are comprehensive and offer a good overview of the needs of young people. Key areas of risk such as child sexual exploitation are explored in depth. Risk assessments incorporate the strategies of therapists, such as staff providing consistent positive reinforcement of young people’s good behaviour.

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

Case files include a ‘communication passport’. Passports outline possible messages conveyed by the individual behaviours of young people, and a suggested staff response. Passports are understood by both staff and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 5 Effective direct work allows young people to learn new skills. One young person has overcome his fear of needles and is now able to self-medicate. Staff support young people effectively to learn to manage their own behaviour and reduce their angry outbursts.

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

Multi-agency work is strong. It is based on good levels of communication and staff proactivity. For example, staff worked with a school to introduce a ‘time out card’. This card is used when the young person concerned feels unsettled in school.

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

Trusting relationships keep young people safe. Young people allow staff access to their mobile phones and work with staff to discuss issues around internet safety.

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

The times when young people go missing from the home have reduced. Staff follow an established missing-from-home procedure and attempt to trace the whereabouts of young people via close liaison with their family and friends. Despite this, the home does not follow up on potential concerns from independent return home interviews or evaluate the severity of missing incidents effectively. This fails to fully evaluate an important area of risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a strong registered manager. She has worked in the home since October 2015 and is well respected by staff and young people. The registered manager plans to complete her management qualification in February 2019.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All recommendations from the last inspection are met. This has led to improvements in managing medication and supporting young people who move on from the home. The registered manager is eager to continue to improve the quality of care provided to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s admissions procedure has been improved by a new assessment tool. Each admission considers the needs of those already resident in the house, to ensure that young people settle quickly in the home and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The risk assessment of the local area requires more information on the risk posed by gangs in the local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive, and the use of agency staff is limited. Staff are motivated by good levels of training and effective supervision. Staff benefit from bespoke training linked to the needs of young people. This included a recent course on supporting transgender young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers advocate strongly for young people. When concerns arise, meetings with key professionals are convened quickly and specialist assessments expedited. This ensures that young people receive the support that they require. Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 6 Recruitment practice is safe. Managers ensure verification of references and staff induction includes an assessed ‘shadow shift’. This preserves the stability of the staff team and ensures a full assessment of potential staff members and their ability to meet the needs of young people.

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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 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: SC387684 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland South Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Jennifer Chrysanthou

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Inspector

Barnaby Dowell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC387684 8 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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