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

The home provides care and accommodation for a maximum of two children and young people aged from 10 to 17. It specialises in caring for children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, including, but not exclusively, mild to moderate learning disabilities. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2018.

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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 inadequate

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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: 30 October 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2018 Full Outstanding 01/08/2017 Full Outstanding 14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— protect and promote each child’s welfare; and treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(ii)(iii)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(1)(2)(c)(i)) In particular, the home should be clean, tidy and appropriately decorated. Broken furniture should be removed, and the property should be a homely environment for children to live. 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 4 develop positive relationships with them; engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare; help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the

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Requirement Due date

quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— develop the child’s interests and hobbies; participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences. (Regulation 9(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(ix)) 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 5 The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child

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Requirement Due date

protection policies; and that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(vi)(vii)(b)) In particular, when children go missing appropriate action is taken by staff to ensure the safety and well-being of children. 30/08/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and (2)(f)) 27/09/2019

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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 their full potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and (2)(h) 27/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— 27/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 6 employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32(1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(b))

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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improvement to be good

One child is currently resident at the home. The placement of two other children ended several months ago because managers and staff were not able to meet their needs. There are some shortfalls in the management of the home and the safeguarding arrangements. This has adversely impacted on the progress and experience of children. Children have not consistently been able to reach their full potential because management and staff have not always provided them with the warm and nurturing care that they need. Children are not always provided with stimulating opportunities that enable them to have positive, fun and fulfilling experiences. Not enough enriching and stimulating activities are taking place. This is a lost opportunity to improve the child’s physical and emotional well-being and to promote the child’s self-esteem. Management and staff do not always provide children with meaningful opportunities to

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improvement to be good

have their views, wishes and feelings heard. A child said, ‘They say they listen to me, but they don’t really. They don’t care about what I have to say.’ Notwithstanding these shortfalls, the child has an alternative educational package in place which is meeting their needs. They are also engaging with therapy and other necessary health services. This is progress given the child’s history. A social worker said, Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 7 ‘They are making progress and they are doing really well. There are incidents and issues, but generally they are managing any challenging behaviours effectively. Staff are working hard.’

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improvement to be good

Strategies used when children go missing are not always effective. On occasions, management and staff have failed to take a proactive approach to incidents. This has the potential to leave children at risk. In addition, when a child returned from a missing incident, management and staff failed to speak with them about why they had left the home. This is a missed opportunity to offer support to the child and learn about how such incidents can be avoided in the future. Risk assessments are well written and provide a detailed account about how children should be supported and safeguarded. However, despite their clarity, they are not always followed. These documents are therefore ineffective and fail to fully promote children’s safety. Because management and staff are not consistently able to manage difficult behaviours effectively, they do not provide children with a sense of safety. Ineffective behaviour

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improvement to be good

management strategies mean that management and staff are not proactive and do not pre-empt potentially risky situations. Significantly, weaknesses in behaviour management have resulted in a child’s behaviours escalating, further adding to their distress. Not enough key-work sessions have been carried out with the child currently in placement. Although work is required to begin to address some of the child’s complex needs, no such work has been completed. This has reduced the child’s ability to begin to understand and manage their behaviours. Physical intervention is rarely used in the home. When it is used, it is necessary and proportionate. Debriefs, however, lack any meaningful exploration of exactly what happened during the intervention. This does not promote learning or contribute to the development of behaviour management strategies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has previously demonstrated that she is a passionate and committed manager who is able to deliver excellent standards of care for children. However, previous high standards have dipped. Following a very unsettled period, the home was closed pending investigation of a significant safeguarding matter. Since it has reopened, the registered manager has failed to identify and act on significant shortfalls in practice. When concerns and shortfalls in practice have been identified, insufficient action has been taken to raise standards and address weaknesses. The manager has failed to ensure that the staff remain child focused. When staff debriefs are carried out, they lack reflection or consideration of how situations could have been dealt with differently. This has resulted in mistakes being repeated and staff Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 8

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

continuing to work in ways that are not effective. Staff morale is low. Several staff report feeling unsupported by the senior management team during the period that the home was closed. A high number of staff are not yet qualified. Although all staff are enrolled, they have not yet completed the level three diploma in residential care. The home needs recordation. Some furniture also needs to be replaced. The home is unwelcoming and not well maintained. This makes it difficult for children to invest in their home.

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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: SC489516 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Esland Ltd, Suite 1-5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Davinia Lawton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC489516 10 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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