Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Amber Valley

Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 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 privately run home is registered to provide care for one child. The home’s statement of purpose describes the care as being for a child with EBD (social and emotional difficulties) and associated complex needs.

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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: 30 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Inadequate 28/10/2019 Full Outstanding 24/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home is situated in a semi-rural location and provides solo accommodation in a peaceful and tranquil environment. The child has lived in the home for just over six months and is making suitable progress. A committed and supportive staff team provides a good level of care to the child, and this helps to build secure and nurturing attachments with her. Consequently, she is feeling safe in her home and making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spoke with the inspector about her daily lived experiences. She is happy and likes the home and the staff who care for her. The child has a flair for drama and dance. Her natural talents are encouraged and supported by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular key-work discussions help the child to build emotional resilience and to have empathy with the feelings of others. The views and wishes of the child are captured in meetings and throughout daily discussions. This helps the child to feel valued and listened to. She has regular discussions with staff about her behaviour and how staff can support her when she becomes upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the child is not currently in full-time education, the staff team has designed a creative timetable to ensure that daily routines are maintained. Face-to-face tutoring takes place in the morning at the local library. Afternoon sessions include a range of activities that help to provide physical activity and/or educational experiences in the community. Identifying an education provider who can provide full-time education would ensure that the child engages with peers of her own age to help her develop her social interaction and engagement. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Physical health needs are met, and the child is registered with local primary care services for all her health needs. She is an active child who enjoys swimming and dance. Staff are appropriately monitoring the child’s intake of snacks and fizzy drinks to ensure she develops healthy eating habits and learns about healthy meal choices. Weekly dramatherapy sessions with the in-house therapist provide an emotional outlet for the child in a safe and secure environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A coordinated approach between the provider and the placing authority that focuses specifically on the child’s future living options is required. This would help the child to feel secure in her environment and help to build stronger attachments with her carers.

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

Risk assessments and individual behaviour support plans are detailed and written with clear instructions for staff to action. Consequently, there has been a significant Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 4 decrease in self-injurious behaviours. Staff are supporting the child to develop her emotional resilience and verbalise her feelings when upset.

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

Staff are aware of the child’s triggers and apply the actions in the individual support plan appropriately. Staff have involved the child in identifying effective strategies to help her manage her behaviours. For example, the manager used a child-friendly film that the child could relate to about a girl who turns red when she becomes angry. The child can relate to the child in the film and told the inspector how the film has helped her.

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

There has been an increase in physical incidents and assaults on staff. One trigger is the use of agency staff, and the child has spoken of her unhappiness about this. The manager has listened to the child and taken appropriate action to help minimise the use of agency staff. Current staffing levels are high, and the use of agency staff has been necessary to support the team.

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

The child’s emotional health needs are met by a multi-agency team around the child, including a therapist and psychologist. This ensures effective monitoring and management of behaviours. Focused discussions with the staff team feed into behaviour management strategies. Therefore, the individual behaviour support plan is frequently updated. The manager is developing consistency with the staff team to ensure that everyone follows the same protocol. The manager has taken steps to ensure that a core staff team works sensitively with the child.

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

The local authority designated officer reported no concerns and said the provider works openly and honestly with the local authority. All allegations have been notified and advice given.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is currently managed by an interim manager who is in the process of submitting a formal application to Ofsted for registration. The home’s manager has worked for the provider for several years. Therefore, he has a good understanding of the wider organisational culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates excellent knowledge and understanding of the child’s needs. He is child-focused and nurturing in his approach. This level of understanding ensures that staff are responsive to the needs of the child. The manager acknowledges that it has been a challenging time recently for all staff. The therapist provides additional consultation if required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is evidence of clear and detailed recording and management oversight of children’s records. This includes recordings of significant incidents, key-work recordings and individual behaviour support plans. The manager is learning from, and adapting to, the needs of the child to help inform his practice and develop the team further. Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 5 Staff have regular supervision. Supervision records are detailed and include reflective discussion. Reflective discussions give staff the opportunity to discuss complex behaviours and evaluate the effectiveness of their actions in managing behavioural challenges. Following significantly challenging incidents, staff have an opportunity to receive individual sessions with the company therapist. This ensures that staff are supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has, when necessary, challenged his staff effectively during supervision sessions. The manager places a strong emphasis on the cleanliness and tidiness of the home and stresses the importance of a safe and clean environment for children to feel cared for. A collective team approach and emphasis on team- building and working together help to ensure that staff are focused on the care needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff would benefit from specialist disclosure training as the child has made some new disclosures about her past trauma. Specialist training would also ensure that staff have the skills to manage any new disclosures effectively, and that disclosures are accurately recorded in detail and balanced with providing emotional support to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers act on the internal and external monitoring. This helps to improve their practice through evaluation. Any actions set by the independent person are swiftly actioned by managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 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;

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ix)) 31 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of agency and temporary staff is minimised. No more than half the staff on duty should be agency staff and contingency arrangements should be in place to ensure continuity of care. This will help to reduce incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.18)  The registered person should ensure that the necessary support is given to children to enable them to access their education or training. This includes identifying a suitable education provider to ensure that the child has contact with children of her own age to support her social and emotional engagement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13)  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to specialist disclosure training to help them provide additional support to the child and to support their

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Recommendations

training needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 7

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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 for children’s home: 1214270 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 DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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