Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 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 children’s home is privately owned and provides care for three children. According to the statement of purpose, this home is for children who are experiencing social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager. There is a member of the senior leadership team overseeing the management and leadership of the home while a manager is recruited.

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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 home to conduct a monitoring visit on 16 February 2021. The report is published on the Ofsted 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 requires improvement to be 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: 29 October 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 2 Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two children who have lived in the home for more than three years continue to make good progress from their starting points. They are supported by a team of staff that know them well. They help the two children to spend time with their friends and family and socialise in the community. As a result, the children have developed a range of interests and hobbies that improve their physical health and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children currently living in the home are both doing well because they have developed a good sense of belonging and permanence in this home. The staff maintain clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries. This has helped the children to develop confidence in the staff and to form positive attachments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children either attend college or school. Their attendance and attainment have gradually improved in recent months. For both of these children, this is noteworthy progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate well for the children, and by doing so they are ensuring that the children’s views and wishes will remain central to their plans. Records capture the requests made by both children to remain living in the home. However, inspectors found that some records contained institutionalised language and terminology, and children’s memorabilia was not collated in a way that would help children understand their time living in the home.

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

Since the previous full inspection in October 2020, two children who moved into the home have left. Despite the efforts by staff to support these two children, the leaders and managers acknowledged following monitoring visits by Ofsted that these children were not a good match, and their placements were ended.

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

The two children currently living in the home do not go missing and staff do not use physical intervention. Well-constructed care plans provide the staff team with strategies for supporting the children, and as a result, serious incidents have significantly reduced in number. However, some risk assessments are out of date and could be misleading. This is because both children have made good progress and some risks referred to in the documents are now obsolete. This oversight did not have an impact on the safety of the children.

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

Staff have worked hard to support one child to feel safe when in the community. As a result, this child is now enjoying an increased level of unsupervised time at college and there are plans in place for this child to return to the care of their family.

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

Staff undertake a range of training courses in safeguarding matters. Online courses are provided while staff wait for facilitated face-to-face courses. This ensures that Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 5 staff have some knowledge of safeguarding practice, and that there are clear protocols in place to support the staff if they have to report a concern.

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good

Since the previous inspection in October 2019, the registered manager has resigned, and a replacement manager has subsequently left. When the home has been without a registered manager, a member of the senior leadership team has led and managed the home. Members of the senior leadership team confirm that they have successfully recruited a manager and are in the process of appointing this person.

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good

The repeated changes of manager have been challenging for the staff team. Despite these changes, the staff team has continued to work well and maintain a focus on the improvement of children’s outcomes. Staff confirm that they have received regular supervisions and meet regularly as a team. Records of these meetings are comprehensive and detailed.

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good

Staff are either qualified to the appropriate level in residential childcare, are currently undertaking the relevant course or are new to the home. This means that the children receive support from suitably qualified staff.

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good

External monitoring takes place and the independent person visits the home monthly. They provide an account of progress and identify any shortfalls in the home. Leaders and managers act to address any concerns raised. However, the inspectors found that there is limited management oversight of some of the records and not all risk assessments reflected the current risks and therefore were not wholly purposeful. This means that staff are not always provided with clear guidance on how to respond to children’s needs and requests.

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good

Senior leaders have reviewed several of the home’s documents, including the home’s development plan and the children’s guide. However, the inspectors noted that both documents made reference to the unsuitable routine involvement of the police in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 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)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager making sure that there is a system that monitors the home’s records effectively. This includes all risk assessments, care plans, and the progress and outcomes of the children. 31 December

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Recommendations

 The leaders must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age- appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. Furthermore, leaders should ensure that it is in a format that is understandable and clear on the role of the police. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  Leaders and the manager must make sure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 7

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Recommendations

the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2519260 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Claire Drummond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2519260 9 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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