Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 1 SC488223 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. The home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The home provides medium- to long-term care for children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A new manager started in post in June 2021. She is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

p.1

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 inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 9 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 19 November 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2019 Full Outstanding 25/04/2018 Full Outstanding 06/06/2017 Full Good 21/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the consistent care and support that they receive from the staff. The core staff team has built strong relationships with the children. This means that children start to thrive and progress in all aspects of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give great attention to the importance of children attending school and/or alternative educational placements. Each child’s attendance has improved, and they have passed foundation-level exams. When children have barriers to attending education, staff work tirelessly to get things back on track. This ensures that children continue to learn.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health of children is promoted. The children access all routine health checks and are encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. Staff are extremely aware of the individual needs of children and ensure that specialist support is in place for them. This helps to ensure that children’s physical health and emotional well-being are promoted.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Obtaining children’s views and suggestions is part of everyday life. This is achieved through general conversations, the children’s meetings, and key-work sessions. In addition, children’s opinions are sought for their care review. This helps to ensure that matters that are important to them are listened to and, where appropriate, acted on.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s confidence and self-esteem have grown because of new life experiences. Their interests and hobbies are promoted by staff. Children have good opportunities to try new social and leisure activities. These include caring for a pet rabbit, going to the cinema, attending boxing, the gym and free running.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to learn everyday life and independence skills appropriate to their age and understanding. As teenagers, they are involved in cooking, keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy and going food shopping with staff. Children are learning budgeting skills and how to use public transport, including train travel. Developing these skills helps children to learn the skills needed for adulthood.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children see their family on a regular basis. Staff recognise the significance of family contact and organise visits. This makes sure that children’s relationships are maintained with those who are important to them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has pursued a pathway plan from the local authority for a child who is due to move to semi-independent living. However, this plan lacks detail and does not include all the crucial information. The plan omits specific detail on what needs to be in place to support the child’s emotional and mental health. There is no detail about the support network that the child will need as a young adult. This has the potential to hinder the child’s move to the next stage of their life. Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 4 Children enjoy the comfort of a well-furnished home. Several areas of the home have been decorated and a new kitchen has been fitted in the last year. Children have personalised their bedrooms. However, there are some wear and tear issues around the home. In addition, there is a large wooden structure in the car park that is in a poor state of repair. These deficits detract from the otherwise positive

p.3

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

Children respond positively to the staff’s calm, reassuring and child-centred approach. The staff focus strongly on what the children are doing well. As a result, children’s self-esteem has improved.

p.4

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

Staff attend regular team around the child meetings with the qualified therapist. These meetings focus on the child’s presenting needs. Together, the staff and therapist agree on strategies to help safeguard the children and these are consistently applied in the day-to-day practice of staff. As a result, children are more emotionally settled and are much safer.

p.4

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

There has been a reduction in children’s risk-taking behaviour, such as incidents of self-harm or children going missing from home. This is a clear indicator that children are happy and settled.

p.4

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

Negative consequences and physical holds are rarely used by staff. The staff explain that holding a child only occurs when the child is in danger of hurting themselves or others. When physical interventions are used, clear records are kept in line with the regulations. All these records have been reviewed by the manager to ensure that the use physical intervention is appropriate and safe.

p.4

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

Staff are aware of each child’s vulnerabilities and the associated risks. The written risk assessments clearly detail the measures staff must take to reduce or eliminate the risks posed. The risk assessments are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to protect and safeguard the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from living in a well-managed home. The new manager is supported by senior residential care workers. Together they provide clear direction to the staff to provide consistent care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong communication system, which helps staff to provide effective and good-quality care to children. There are daily shift handovers, communication logs and regular staff meetings. A staff member said, ‘We work well as a team, supporting one another. We all want the best for the children.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is effective support and direction from the management team, including regular good-quality monthly staff supervision. New staff receive supervision on a two-weekly basis. The supervision sessions have a great emphasis on the care Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 5 needs of children, the development of staff, making sure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and that relevant training is provided. This helps the staff to meet the needs of the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The senior management team, along with the new manager, has made several changes and improvements after shortfalls were identified in aspects of the running of the home, for example, in the matching of a child’s placement and the implementation of some safeguarding protocols and record keeping. As a result, these practices are now more robust, and children’s needs are better met.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement made at the last inspection has been implemented. Ofsted has been notified of serious incidents without delay.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are maintained to meet the needs of the children. There is a minimum of two staff on duty to care for two children. There are currently four staff vacancies that are being recruited to. A core of established staff who know the children well work alongside new staff. This makes sure that consistent care is maintained.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive mandatory and specialist training, including behaviour management, medication, first aid, safeguarding, self-harm, drugs awareness and allergies. New staff receive induction training and work shadow shifts before commencing routine duties. This ensures that the staff are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is strong partnership working between staff and professionals. This provides the best support to the children. A professional said, ‘I have nothing but praise for the staff. They are committed and want the best for [name of child]. [Name of child] is making good progress. [Name of child] has clear boundaries and feels secure. They keep me in the loop at all times so we can all support [name of child].’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are thorough monitoring systems to make sure that good-quality care is maintained and provided to the children. There are internal and external audits that detect shortfalls and deficiencies. The manager promptly actions the omissions found. Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children. Remove the marks from woodwork and the paint splashes from floor surfaces. Repair or remove the large wooden building in the car park. Personalise all areas to enhance further the homely feel of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving both practically and emotionally. In particular, the pathway plan and the transition plan should specifically detail the work completed to support the child into adult mental health services. The plan should detail how the phased move will take place and the support network to be provided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

p.6

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: SC488223 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Debbie Foster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC488223 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8