Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2483823 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

The home is owned by a large provider. It provides care for up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered, for this home in May 2021.

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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 carried out under the social care common in- spection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF in- spections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 21 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. 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: 17 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2483823 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 29/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2483823 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for by staff in a settled and nurturing environment. Staff provide the children with considerable emotional warmth and affection, which is reciprocated by the children. Children have strong bonds with staff who they describe as, ‘amazing’, and ‘always listen to us and what we want’. The manager and staff ensure children have good daily routines and a healthy diet. Children, as a result, are making very good progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education on a full-time basis. Some children are achieving very good attendance, and they are progressing academically. Children are making friends and attending after-school clubs. The manager and staff ensure that children celebrate their strengths and achievements. This helps children develop self-esteem and build their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support children with their health needs, both physical and emotional. One child has a medical condition requiring specialist support. The staff ensure that the child understands the condition and encourage her to ask questions at her medical appointments. Consequently, the child is learning to advocate for herself, but in a manner that is supportive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in their care planning. They can look at their records and comment on the content of these records. Children attend meetings and are offered different ways to express their views, opinions, and ideas. They are regularly asked about their wishes and feelings. This helps children feel valued and that their views matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that children see family and friends. Sometimes, this means travelling long distances. Staff manage these situations very well. Staff provide good support to children and their families to make sure it is a positive experience. Consequently, children maintain important attachments to those people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop independence skills through taking on age- appropriate responsibilities. This is achieved through a range of activities, such as caring for pets, cooking meals, and doing their laundry. Children enjoy new challenges because they are well supported by the manager and staff.

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

The manager and staff work hard to maintain children’s safety. The manager gathers detailed information about the risks and vulnerabilities of the children when they move to the home. Children are included in this process. Information is clearly recorded in risk assessments and behaviour management plans. These are regularly Inspection report children's home: 2483823 4 reviewed and updated. As such, staff have accurate information, enabling them to protect children from harm.

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

Children’s behaviour is managed very well by the staff and manager. Children have good relationships with staff and one another. There are no incidents, and children do not go missing from home. Children are relaxed and happy and say they feel safe.

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

Children trust the staff and confide in them. They feel listened to and regularly share their worries and concerns with staff. The staff respond sensitively and work through a range of difficulties with children, offering reassurance and solutions where possible. Children make progress with issues such as self-harm and managing their feelings in more positive and healthy ways.

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

Children are safe online. The manager and staff have systems in place to monitor children’s online activity. There are daily checks of devices, and children also share any concerns with staff, for example if they receive unwanted messages. The manager and staff take swift action where required.

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

The manager and staff work effectively with external professional agencies to protect children. Concerns are shared with relevant professionals and communication is good. As a result, any concerns raised are quickly responded to so that risks do not escalate.

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good

There are some shortfalls in the leadership and management. Staff have recently raised concerns about some areas of the management of the home. Leaders and managers acted quickly and investigated these concerns. Most of the concerns raised were unsubstantiated. However, one area of concern was upheld. Leaders and managers are implementing a development plan for the manager to address the areas of practice that require improvement. The investigation has now been concluded.

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good

Leaders and managers implemented alternative management arrangements during the investigation. Staff say that the deputy and covering managers have provided good support during this period. However, the issues raised and the investigation process have affected the staff team emotionally. Staff say they have felt anxious about coming to work and team morale has been affected. Leaders and managers have attempted mediation meetings to resolve the difficulties. There has been some confusion about the purpose of the meetings, and some staff have not yet taken part. As such, the mediation process has not yet been fully effective.

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good

Leaders and managers have not always been effective in communicating management arrangements at the home. This has caused further anxiety in the team about who has day-to-day oversight of the home. Inspection report children's home: 2483823 5 The manager and staff have ensured the children have not been affected by the recent investigation. Staff have continued to receive regular supervision and training to ensure they can meet the needs of children.

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good

The manager has provided good support to some staff who have been away from work. This has helped staff return to work and maintain their roles. Staff have appreciated the manager’s approach and sensitivity in these situations.

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good

The manager has introduced some positive initiatives. There is a more structured format for the individual supervision sessions for staff. This helps to increase learning opportunities for staff. The manager has good oversight of the delivery of care through reviewing and auditing records. He has also extended the ways in which children feel, and indeed are valued. For example, the use of positive comment jars and developing a small, in-house cinema and games room have improved the quality of life for children. Inspection report children's home: 2483823 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that the manager’s development needs are met through his developmental plan. Additionally, support and guidance are offered to the staff team in order to resolve the impact and residual issues following the recent investigation. 16 March 2022

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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: 2483823 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

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2483823 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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