Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 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 home was registered in March 2022 and is run by a private company. It provides care for one child with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an interim manager in place. A new manager is due to start in November 2022.

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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 inadequate

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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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 3

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improvement to be good

There is one child currently living at the home. The home is welcoming and well- decorated. The child’s bedroom is personalised and furnished to a good standard.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child’s health needs. This includes support provided by the organisation’s psychologist. The child is registered with all of the primary healthcare services. Staff help the child to make healthier food choices.

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improvement to be good

The staff support the child to see his family. This allows the child to maintain important relationships in his life and helps with his sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

The child has a detailed care plan which contains current information. However, some of the language used in the plan is not child-friendly and does not help the child to understand what his aims and goals are.

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improvement to be good

Staff have built good relationships with the child. However, there is not a full staff team in place and staff from other homes within the company work at this home. This affects opportunities for the child to build and sustain positive relationships and has affected his continuity of care.

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improvement to be good

The staff support the child to enjoy hobbies and interests. The child has the opportunity to go out on day trips and attend activities, giving him a range of positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

The child is making limited progress in education, and a school place has not yet been identified. Some action has been taken to address this. However, managers do not challenge partner agencies to ensure that they are working together to meet the child’s education needs.

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improvement to be good

The child’s case records do not include all the information that staff should have about the child. This is particularly in relation to local authority and education documents. The absence of information hinders leaders’ ability to demonstrate how care planning supports children to make progress against the placing authority’s expectations.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are detailed but not all risk levels are up to date. This means staff do not have an understanding of the current risks they need to manage. Some documents contain conflicting information, which resulted in staff giving different accounts when asked by the inspector how they would manage risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 4 There has been one occasion where risk assessments were not followed by staff. The incident led to the local authority initiating a child protection enquiry. The staff members did not report the concerns to the manager. Appropriate action was taken by the manager when he became aware of the incident. However, not all strategies identified to ensure that this does not reoccur have been put into place.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage challenging behaviour effectively and encourage the child to reflect on his behaviour in a constructive and supportive way. Inappropriate behaviour is challenged or de-escalated. Staff reinforce clear boundaries and provide daily routines for the child.

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improvement to be good

A consequence for negative behaviour has been used on one occasion. This was not recorded, which means that the child did not have an opportunity to understand why it was put in place. The manager had no oversight of the incident, which is a missed opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of behaviour-management strategies.

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improvement to be good

Managers recruit new staff safely. Staff are thoroughly vetted and assessed before any appointment is confirmed. These safer recruitment procedures make sure that children are protected by preventing unsuitable adults from working in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a home that is physically safe and secure. Staff complete regular health and safety checks and follow a range of safety procedures to protect children from potential hazards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has had several changes of manager since it was registered. The current manager is working in the home on an interim basis until a new manager starts later this year. The changes in management have hindered progress in achieving the aims of the child’s care plan, particularly in relation to his education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a good training programme in place to provide staff with the necessary skills to meet the complex and challenging needs of the child. However, only one staff member has a relevant residential childcare qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When agency staff are used, they are not always inducted to the home. Some agency staff have not received training specific to the child’s needs. This fails to adequately equip these staff to meet the child’s needs and potentially increases the risk of harm to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

All staff receive supervision. However, the quality of this is not consistent as meaningful reflection on staff’s practice does not always take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager needs to record the actual hours worked by staff, including the manager and agency workers, on staff rosters in accordance with regulation. This is also to ensure that accurate records are kept in case there are any safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 5 Regular changes in management mean that there are gaps in the overall monitoring and review systems. This weakens the analysis and evaluation of the care provided for the child and how this affects the child’s outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 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, the 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to challenging the local authority about the delay in securing education provision. 20 December

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 20 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This is particularly in relation to ensuring that risk assessments are up to date and reflect current risks. Leaders and managers should ensure that staff are aware of the risk- management strategies and follow them, and that staff report any safeguarding concerns to the manager.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that there are sufficient staff in the home who are experienced and qualified, and that the workforce is stable to provide continuity of care. Leaders and managers should ensure that agency staff have the correct training and induction to the home. Effective monitoring 20 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 8 systems should be in place to drive forward improvements in the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to ensuring that all consequences are recorded and that records meet with the requirements of the regulation. 20 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 9 The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to ensuring that the child’s local authority’s care plan, review minutes and personal education plan are on file. 20 December

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to the manager ensuring that all hours that all staff, including the manager and agency staff, have worked are recorded on rosters. 20 December

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect on their own feelings and behaviour and how their feelings and behaviour may affect the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: 2649743 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2649743 11 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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