Children's home run by Esland South Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 1 SC024089 Registered provider: Esland South Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children. According to the home’s statement of purpose, these are ‘children who are experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities’ (social and emotional difficulties).

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 27 July 2021.

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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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Inspection dates: 2 to 3 June 2021 and 23 September 2021

Following the full inspection on 2 and 3 June 2021 and subsequent internal quality assurance process, Ofsted invoked the incomplete inspection protocol and returned on 23 September 2021 to secure the evidence base.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

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: SC024089 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2019 Full Outstanding 19/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/10/2018 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 3

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improvement to be good

This inspection found a mixed picture with regard to children’s experiences. During this inspection period, some children have raised concerns in relation to the conduct of some staff members. Children’s records do not demonstrate that these issues have been investigated by leaders, or that outcomes have been shared with children. Monitoring and oversight of the home have been poor during a challenging period. Despite these shortfalls, children have made progress.

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improvement to be good

Leaders recently decided to accept one child, despite gaps in the knowledge and skill set of the staff team with regard to this child’s complex needs. Specific training in working with children with complex needs and who have experienced extreme trauma has been planned for the staff team, and training in working with children who have autistic spectrum disorder conditions is also being offered. Although such gaps risk delays in some aspects of the child’s ability to make progress, the focus of the staff to develop this child’s vocabulary is particularly noteworthy. Many new words have been learned by the child, who can now verbally communicate more effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children’s accounts of their experiences of living in the home are variable. Two children are hoping to leave the home very soon and return to their families. One child expresses a distrust of the staff and has declined their offer to support her at a scheduled meeting to investigate her report of being assaulted at school. In some aspects, children say that they are listened to by the staff. For example, they requested that house meetings be less formal, and this now happens in practice. The children have also helped to make improvements to the children’s guide for the home and this makes it more meaningful for them.

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improvement to be good

Children have engaged in some meaningful key-work sessions, which help them address the issues which matter most to them. There are some examples of how key-work sessions help to educate children about risk-taking behaviour, such as substance misuse and unhealthy relationships. However, the quality of records of key-work sessions is inconsistent and has dipped since the introduction of a new recording system. As a result, there are missed opportunities to demonstrate consistently how individual key-work sessions support children’s overall care plans.

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improvement to be good

Staff undertake effective direct work with the children with regard to risks related to the use of social media. They respond swiftly to any concerns and educate the children about the risks associated with its use. This approach helped one child to inform staff when she felt unsafe. Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 4

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improvement to be good

Managers have failed to take decisive action with regard to children’s reports of poor staff conduct. During this inspection, one child reported that a staff member spoke to her using inappropriate language. The complaint is not included on the child’s record, there is no evidence of an investigation by the manager and the child has not received any feedback about her concerns. The child’s risk assessment does not adequately describe the steps staff should take in the event of the child making an allegation about staff. There is also no recorded rationale for not investigating some complaints. As a result of these shortfalls, the child does not have an accurate record of her time in care. More significantly, children are at risk of experiencing a culture of not being listened to when they are making complaints.

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improvement to be good

All staff, including bank staff, receive safeguarding training. However, one member of bank staff spoken to during the inspection could not correctly describe the steps they would need to take if they had safeguarding concerns about a colleague.

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improvement to be good

Children’s individual vulnerabilities and associated risks are, on the whole, well understood by staff. There has been a marked reduction in the self-harm and episodes of going missing of two of the children. One child experienced a mental health crisis during her time at the home, and this led to a severe eating disorder. Managers and staff worked in partnership with other professionals to give the child the right support. The child has now developed other strategies to help manage her emotions. Children’s risks reduce over time as a result of the sensitive support they receive from staff.

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improvement to be good

Regular staff are alive to the risk of child sexual exploitation. On one occasion, a staff member intercepted a letter which had been sent to a child from an unsafe adult she had met in the community. Professional curiosity on the part of staff kept the child safe from further harm.

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improvement to be good

There is now a system in place to ensure that actions identified in fire risk assessments are addressed without delay. All the recommendations arising from recent fire risk assessments have been met.

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good

Bank staff do not receive the support they need to carry out their roles safely. One member of bank staff told the inspector that she had not had supervision in the three months she had been working at the home. The registered manager stated that a meeting had taken place, but it had not been recorded. As a result, there are no records which demonstrate how the registered manager is making sure that all staff know how to safely meet children’s needs in line with their care plans and risk assessments. Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 5 The introduction of a new system for storing records has had an impact on the whole team. The task of changing from one system to another has been overwhelming for the registered manager and has taken a significant amount of time to coordinate. Steps are being taken to make the storage system more streamlined, but in the meantime some records are missing, and some are being

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good

stored in multiple places. This is causing confusion for managers and staff. It is affecting their ability to complete records and access all the information held about the children.

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good

There are shortfalls in management monitoring. One example relates to the oversight of records of children’s key-work sessions. The inspector found several examples where, following a review of the record of the key-work session, the registered manager had identified further actions for the key worker to take. These actions were not followed up by the key worker. The registered manager does not have effective systems to ensure sufficient oversight.

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good

Managers have not made sure that risk assessments fully demonstrate how new children’s needs are considered alongside those of children already living at the home, nor whether any adaptations will be needed to make the environment safe before the child arrives. The risk assessments do not demonstrate that careful risk assessment and matching take place.

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good

The system for recording staff training attendance does not currently demonstrate that staff have received training that is relevant to all the needs of the children that they are looking after. Staff are being offered a range of training courses to give them the knowledge and skills they need, but this is undermined by a shortfall in training records.

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good

Senior leaders have recognised gaps and shortfalls relating to the leadership of the home. Early intervention, including the appointment of a regional manager, has led to a sharper focus on the development needs of the home. A deputy manager has been appointed to strengthen the management team. Both measures indicate early positives which are not yet embedded, and so the impact is not fully known.

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good

Leaders and managers have demonstrated a sound understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Staff have demonstrated good care practice. As a result, there is a firm basis for improvement in the quality of care to be made. Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 6

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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—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, records of key-work sessions should demonstrate focused discussions about supporting children in line with their care plans and risk assessments. 30 November

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 7 The registered person must ensure that no child is subject to any reprisal for making a complaint or representation. (Regulation 39 (3)(4))

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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 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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that impact risk assessments demonstrate how new children’s needs can be safely met and are considered alongside those of children already living at the home. 30 November

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. 30 November Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 8 (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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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: SC024089 9

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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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Inspectors:

Suzy Lemmy, Social Care Inspector Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC024089 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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Inspectors:

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Inspectors:

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Inspectors:

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