Esther House

Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 1 SC474150 Registered provider: Benjamin Uk Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides therapeutic residential care to up to four young people aged 12 to 18 who have had adverse childhood experiences. The organisation also has a registered school, and the teachers provide education in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/08/2018 Full Good 15/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported the children to cope well during COVID-19 restrictions. They engaged the children in thinking about how to get back to normal by getting them to come up with a ‘post lockdown to-do list’. Children have been able to celebrate the lifting of restrictions by attending activities such as go-karting, cinema trips, mini golf, trips to a marine park and tree-top rope courses. Young people are supported via the provider’s ‘Diversion’ programme and group activities to complete this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people in the home have made progress in areas such as education attendance, reduction in substance misuse and reducing frequency of missing episodes. One young person in particular has made significant progress in their life. This is because staff worked very closely to help the young person’s parents think about how they can better support their child to live near to them. The young person is now preparing to move to a semi-independent placement near to their family. This was plan was previously not thought to be realistic when the young person first arrived at the home. The young person currently has a job and plans are in place for them to attend a college from September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s education is valued and promoted by staff. They use a range of incentives through the provider’s ‘token economy’ to encourage young people to attend. This has led to a significant increase in education attendance for three young people currently living in the home. This has resulted in one young person achieving a mathematics functional skill pass and two young people have secured college courses for September. Young people are proud of achieving their goals and they were keen to show the inspector their rewards.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained, and any defects or damage are noticed and repaired in a timely manner. This helps to create a homely, safe space for young people to live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When young people move on from the home, this is managed thoughtfully and sensitively by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people move on from the home in a positive and planned way. Staff are thoughtful and sensitive in the way that they help young people leave the home and settle into their new placements. The manager advocates effectively for children within the professional network and, in one example, a young person was better able to engage with his support network because the manager ensured that his right to be called by his preferred name and pronouns was upheld. This young person made considerable progress in relation to his emotional development and he is now able to make safer choices. This young person continues to keep contact with staff at the home regularly and this shows how much he values the relationships that he formed with them. In one example, a child moved in an unplanned way. This decision was not taken lightly and was necessary in order to ensure that the needs Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

of all children in the home were considered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have been supported to maintain contact with people who matter most in their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The manager has provided appropriate technology and outdoor space to facilitate this. This has allowed young people to build and maintain important relationships.

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

Young people in the home benefit from a proactive response from staff to risks in the community. The manager has a strong relationship with local police. This has helped the manager to have a good understanding of local risks and to ensure that there is a joined-up approach to managing risks if children are vulnerable to exploitation. This has helped to create well-informed responses when young people go missing. When a young person was at an increased risk of harm, the manager went to great lengths to identify individuals who presented a risk to a young person. He created an individualised safety plan and ensured that relevant information was passed onto other agencies in a timely manner. This meant that the child was safeguarded from the threat of exploitation on this occasion. Overall, the home’s effective response when children are missing from the home, has led to young people going missing less.

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

When new risks arise, the manager ensures that a safety plan is in place, so that staff consistently follow agreed strategies to protect young people from harm.

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

When young people do go missing, the manager always ensures that staff talk to them in order to understand why they did so and to check on their welfare. On one occasion, the manager identified that a young person required additional support in order to feel able to engage in conversations about their safety. This resulted in the young person being given an advocate to help them express their views about their care.

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

Young people who display self-harming behaviours are supported by staff through key-work sessions. Young people are encouraged to communicate verbally or through other media such as texting. Young people feel able to share their worries and concerns with staff. Because of the trusting relationships that they form, young people engage well with agreed strategies to keep them safe. One young person praised their key worker by saying, ‘She listens to me and is easy to talk to.’ The therapeutic team in the home works closely with key workers and children to provide additional support. This helps ensure that the care provided to children is well informed by specialists’ knowledge in order to promote their emotional well- being and safety.

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

Staff have helped young people to reduce or stop misusing substances. They have achieved this through educating them of the impact of this behaviour and setting clear expectations and boundaries. Staff use positive strategies to manage behaviour by providing incentives for young people in order to encourage them to make safer, healthier choices. Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 5 There have been no complaints from children or from people in the community. The manager is proactive in engaging with the community via the local parish council. Staff support young people to feel part of the local community, to develop a sense of social responsibility and to make a positive contribution to the area in which they live.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recently, the home has seen a reduction in staffing levels. This is due to staff moving to other roles within the provider’s service, or career progression. This has placed extra work on the core team of dedicated staff who are working tirelessly to support young people’s needs. At times, this has resulted in increased staff sickness. In these times, the manager has led by example and worked to fill these gaps, minimising the need for the use of agency staff. While the young people have been able to benefit from a consistent level of care from the staff, some areas of the home have suffered. For example, some areas of the home such as the laundry room and therapy room are dusty, and a planned fire evacuation drill was missed. The home has recruited additional staff to fill all the required vacancies. They are currently in the process of undergoing recruitment checks to ensure that they are suitable for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not always notify Ofsted when significant events occur, as required by regulation. This undermines our regulatory role of ongoing monitoring of safeguarding practice in the home. The manager does, however, work effectively with the professional safeguarding network to ensure that there is an appropriate response to concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager undertakes a regular review of the quality of care provided to children. He does not, however, submit this review to Ofsted as required by regulations. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He considers the views of children, parents and professionals to help him understand what is going well and to identify areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that supervisions are regular and provide staff with a safe space to reflect on practice. Staff are positive about the support and training they receive from the manager. Supervisions focus on the needs and progress of the young people. However, a greater focus on safeguarding in these sessions would allow staff to improve their knowledge and ensure that their care practice remains consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ‘hands on’ when necessary and models good practice. He ensures that the home’s therapeutic ethos and approach remain central to the way that staff provide care and support to children. He advocates strongly for children and ensures that their best interests are at the heart of care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safe recruitment processes are followed in the home. This is completed centrally by the provider and all checks undertaken are verified in a timely manner. This means that young people benefit from being cared for by staff who are suitably Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 6 experienced and of suitable character. Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 7

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 18 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 18 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a)) 18 August 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 8

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Recommendation

 The manager should ensure that supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14).

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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: SC474150 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Churchfarm, Station Road, Aldbury, Tring HP23 5RS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Inspector

Matt Nicholls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC474150 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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