Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 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 run children’s home. It provides care for up to three children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, and those who may have moderate learning disabilities. The manager is registered and suitably experienced.

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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 11 February 2021, to carry out a monitoring 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: 10 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build genuine, caring relationships with children. Staff understand the importance of these relationships, and they understand children’s needs, wishes and aspirations well. Children feel cherished and fully supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the barriers to children’s learning and the impact of trauma on a child’s ability to thrive in education. Staff work with children to increase the children’s self-esteem and confidence. They sensitively support children to enable them to engage in education, while addressing the barriers that have stood in the way of children learning. As a result, all children make progress from their starting points in education. One educational professional said: ‘The structure and routine has allowed [the child] to develop into the person they are today. [The child] is doing really well, and it’s testament to those guys.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional well-being and mental health improve over time. This is due to the skill and competence of the staff, who are trained to support children using a therapeutic approach. Staff know each child well and understand the child’s life experiences and how these affect them. Children become more confident, secure and able to manage their strong emotions as a result of the nurture and support they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been decorated throughout, and internally the home is maintained to a good standard. Children enjoy living in a spacious, comfortable home and they have been supported to personalise their bedrooms. This means that their rooms reflect their individual personalities and preferences. However, externally, the lawns, paths and patio have not been maintained to the same standard, and are not inviting areas to use. The manager is working closely with the maintenance team and the landlord to agree plans to improve these areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s daily diaries lack emotional warmth and do not capture children’s progress and experiences. The home has recently transferred to an IT-based system for storing records. This remains in the early stages of development. The manager identified that the recording function is not being used to its full potential, resulting in records being descriptive and factual, without the love and warmth previously captured in the written records. The manager is working closely with the team to develop the system and improve recording.

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

Comprehensive risk assessments are in place for each child, and risk management strategies are well understood by staff. Assessments provide guidance for staff on how to apply the therapeutic model and incorporate guidance from the organisation’s clinical consultation team. These assessments are regularly reviewed Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 4 to enable children to take age-appropriate, well-managed risks as they develop safer behaviours.

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

Staff ensure that there is good communication, structured routines and clear, consistent boundaries. This has resulted in fewer incidents of children going missing from the home, less damage to property and a reduction in the number of allegations made.

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

Staff use de-escalation and calming techniques effectively. Consequently, physical interventions have not been used for a substantial period of time. They are only used when a child is placing themselves or others at risk. When physical interventions are used, managers thoroughly review the records that are kept of them, to ensure that the interventions are safe and effective.

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

Staff support children to start managing responsibilities and risks for themselves, where this is deemed suitable. For example, one child is now allowed to spend some time on social media to communicate with friends and family. This was previously a risk, due to concerns about the child going missing from the home. This activity enables the child to learn how to manage risks safely, while there is a support network around them.

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

Staff benefit from a rigorous programme of safeguarding training. The scope and depth of this training provide the team with a very good understanding of safeguarding issues. Training enables staff to recognise and respond to a range of safeguarding situations.

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

Children are confident about making complaints. Complaints made by children are promptly acknowledged and addressed by the manager. The manager ensures that a letter of response is sent to the child, and keeps the child apprised of the process throughout. All complaints are thoroughly investigated and concluded.

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

The requirement previously set in relation to the reporting of incidents has been met. All professionals have spoken highly of the manager’s approach to safeguarding children. The manager has returned from maternity leave, and is providing the team with strong leadership and direction. She has supported the staff to regain their confidence, and is working in partnership with professionals to safeguard children effectively. The manager recently worked closely with a social worker and a designated officer to implement an allegation protocol for one child. This has remained under regular review, and has resulted in an improvement in how allegations are managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is extremely ambitious for the children, while recognising the complexities of their emotional health and providing the time and space for them to develop and thrive. She offers inspirational, supportive leadership with good plans to develop the home further. Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 5 The management team is one that is both strong and committed. The management team members have a shared vision for the home, and they cascade this to the staff, ensuring that they are all working together. They have stabilised the home and supported the children and staff team to work, who now work well together. A social worker said: ‘Their approach is one of commitment to children. Love and care is what the home provides.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective quality assurance systems in place, and has access to detailed analysis of the care provided. This supports the manager to have a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Robust plans are in place to ensure continual improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, some records of supervision are brief, and do not include reflective practice or guidance to support staff to continue to develop in their roles. Despite this shortfall being identified, staff shared that they feel well supported by the management team. One staff member said: ‘The manager boosts morale and has always been so supportive of the team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive in-depth, tailored training to meet children’s individual needs. Staff can readily describe how the training has positively influenced their practice, and they are able to adapt their practice to meet the needs of children in their care. However, there have been delays in some staff being enrolled to study for the relevant level 3 qualification. A new provider has been identified, reducing further impact of this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All requirements from the previous inspection are met. Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This is in relation to ensuring that the written records of supervision provide staff with feedback on practice, and provide thorough records of the topics discussed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external and agency staff, have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). This is in relation to staff not completing the qualification within the relevant timescales. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph

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Recommendations

10.12)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. This specifically relates to the maintenance of the home’s garden and external areas not being to a suitable standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s daily diaries capture the emotional warmth, memories and journey of the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2505378 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North 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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Inspector

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2505378 8 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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