Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children between the ages of 10 and 17. It is set over two buildings on the same site. The children will have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 18 and 19 November 2020, to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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: 25 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress in education is a key priority for the manager and staff. Children attend the right schools to meet their learning and behavioural needs. Children have good attendance and good attitudes to learning. It is fundamentally important to the manager and staff that children are school-ready. This helps children to remain on track so that they can make consistent progress with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children and staff are strong. Children spoke with confidence about how well they get along with staff, and feel cared for, supported and safe. Staff spend good-quality time with children, because they understand this is important in the development of strong bonds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are content and enjoy their lives. They get to undertake a range of activities, such as sports and games, and they particularly enjoy baking, with regular baking competitions taking place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are heard, listened to and respected by the manager and staff. Regular house meetings take place, at which children can raise any issues they feel are important. Staff complete good-quality key-work sessions with children, focusing on important topics which help children to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff develop carefully considered plans for children who are coming to live at the home, and those who are leaving. Admissions are planned, to ensure minimal disruption for the children who already live in the home. Likewise, those who are leaving are well supported with plans that take place over time and at the right pace for the child. The manager and staff understand the importance of careful planning to making transitions successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to live healthy lifestyles. One child has lost weight in a planned way, and has now developed a real enjoyment for cooking and baking healthy food. Hazards to children’s health, such as smoking, are not tolerated. One child who smokes is on the verge of quitting because this is not the culture in this home.

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

Staff and managers place the welfare and safety of children first. They have good awareness and understanding of the children’s individual vulnerabilities, risks and needs, and take effective action to keep children safe.

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

Staff manage children’s behaviour well. Staff incentivise and motivate the children to behave well, and always identify children’s strengths and celebrate achievements. However, staff have had to physically intervene at times, to prevent harm to children Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 4 and staff. When this has occurred, it has always been undertaken in line with procedures. All incidents of restraint are reviewed in depth by the manager.

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

The manager and staff always know of children’s whereabouts. Children do not go missing. There are no concerns about exploitation of any kind. This is because the staff are watchful and vigilant, as any good parent would be.

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

A very detailed location risk assessment has been completed by the manager. Useful information has been obtained from involved agencies, so the risk to children from the surrounding areas is understood and clear actions are in place to address this if required.

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

The manager and staff have not always made certain that some areas of the building are fully safe. These issues should have been identified through routine checks, and so a statutory requirement is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong management team. The managers show real commitment to the children by developing creative and personalised approaches to their care. Managers are ambitious for children, and consequently children make good progress and have clear plans for their futures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers take action to prioritise the safety of children. They are confident about using the whistle-blowing policy. For example, when staff became concerned about a colleague’s behaviour, they reported this to managers immediately. The manager took swift and decisive action in dealing with the concerns, so that children were not at any risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are happy and motivated in their roles. They have trusting relationships with the managers, and receive support through good-quality induction and supervision. Children are the focus of supervision; however, staff also feel comfortable talking about their own strengths and challenges. This helps to maintain a positive and calm atmosphere in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Where serious events have occurred, she has instigated thorough learning events and implemented change to improve practice. An example is a recent placement review, which identified a clear action plan to improve the admissions process and staff training at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers take pride in how they, as a team, involve children in their care planning. They regularly consult with children and, where they can, act on what children say. Children’s lives have improved because of the care they receive, and they have considerable trust in the manager. Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 5

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is set to ensure that the building is maintained to prevent potential hazards to children. 15 July 2021

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 6

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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, Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspectors

Phillip Morris, Social Care Inspector Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 7 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report children’s home: 1257013 8

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