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

Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 1 SC478991 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 is registered to provide care for up to four children with a learning disability and associated complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager voluntarily cancelled his registration with Ofsted in May 2022. There is an interim manager in post, who is yet to submit her application to Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 07/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/02/2020 Full Good 13/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child lives in the home. Staff have developed a positive and warm relationship with the child, and they are cared for by adults who know them well. Staff are skilled in meeting the child’s needs, and their experience of supporting children with learning difficulties is continuing to develop. As a result, the child lives in an environment where they continue to thrive, and they are supported effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to access a wide range of activities and interests in the community. In addition, children are able to go regular holidays. As a result, the child has lots of opportunities in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health needs. Staff understand the importance of ensuring that children access appropriate health services. The child’s vaccinations are now up to date and their dental health has improved. This practice ensures positive health outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s education. The school speak positively about the staff and the care offered to the child. There is good communication between education professionals and the staff, which results in the child being supported effectively. As a result, the child has made significant progress and they are attending school regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of maintaining family relationships. For example, staff support the child to have quality family time with the important people in their life. This helps the child to maintain family ties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communal living areas in the home have improved. However, staff areas require improvement and maintenance. This impacts on the overall quality of the physical environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s guide is not in an accessible format that can be easily understood by children with learning disabilities. In addition, it does not provide an overview of the day-to-day routines of the home. As a result, it is not a child-friendly document that reflects the care that they can expect to receive while living there.

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

Staff are now well trained and experienced in recognising and supporting children when they become distressed. They have a good understanding of the child’s behaviours and how to manage them effectively. Consequently, the child is continuing to develop skills to manage their emotions and incidents are not as lengthy or upsetting for the child. Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 4 Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks and how to manage them. Their risk management practice is now permissive rather than restrictive. This ensures that the child’s liberty is not deprived unnecessarily, and that dynamic risk assessments take place where appropriate. This practice is good, and it ensures that children are cared for well.

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

Staff and the manager follow approved medication protocols. They ensure that the arrangements for the safe keeping, administration and storage of medication are good. There are good medication auditing systems in place, which supports safe practice.

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

The location risk assessment is a well-detailed document. It provides a good overview of the risks in the local area and includes consultation with other agencies and the child. It also considers specific risks relating to the child and strategies to manage these. This supports good safeguarding practice.

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

Physical restraints are used as a last resort to safeguard the child. The recording of physical interventions has improved, and detailed debriefs with staff and the child are regularly taking place. However, staff do not provide sufficient description when stating actions taken to reduce or describe the measure. This hinders the manager’s monitoring of physical restraints.

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

Leaders were not able to provide the regulator with information to reflect that they had conducted appropriate inquiries into the integrity and good character of an individual who has worked for the organisation. This undermines the ethos of good recruitment practice.

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good

The home has no registered manager. There is a new manager in post, and they have yet to submit their application with the regulator. As a result, the regulator has not been able to assess that they have the necessary skills, experience and knowledge to manage the home. The service manager’s oversight has lessened the impact on the home. However, the home has lacked consistency of having a registered manager and this has had an impact on the monitoring and reviewing systems.

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good

Some staff working in the home have not attained the relevant qualification within their required timescales. Despite this, children receive care from people who understand them. However, some improvements could be made to increase staff expertise.

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good

The review of quality-of-care report provides a good overview of the progress that the child has made and the strengths and weaknesses of the home. However, it lacks consultation from professionals, families, staff and children. It also lacks Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 5 evaluation and analysis. This impacts on the effectiveness of internal monitoring and reviewing systems.

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good

Supervisions of staff have improved. These are more regular, and they support reflective practice. However, for one member of staff, leaders have failed to update a risk assessment to ensure that their health needs and the impact they may have on the day-to-day functioning of the home is carefully considered. As a result, on one occasion, staffing arrangements have had an impact on the care provided to the child.

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good

Leaders and the staff are good advocates for the child. For example, leaders have advocated that staff ratios are reduced to reflect the progress that the child has made, and they have taken a measured and considered approach when managing the child’s risks and needs. In addition, the child’s records are now individualised to them, and contain accurate information. Consequently, positive outcomes are being achieved.

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good

Professionals comment positively on the quality of care provided by the home. They say that there is good and effective communication with the staff. Professionals have shared that, despite not having a registered manager, the home has continued to provide consistent care to the child. This has ensured that the child has continued to make progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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 (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that the newly appointed manager submits their application to the regulator in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and the manager must ensure that monitoring and reviewing systems are thorough and consistent in all areas of practice. 31 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

An individual may only carry on a children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5). 18 November Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 7 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of the matters in paragraphs 1 and 3 to 6 of Schedule 2. (Regulation 26 (1) (6)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that they provide the regulator with information to reflect that they have conducted appropriate inquiries into the integrity and good character of an individual who has worked for the organisation.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma").

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered persons must ensure that all staff have attained the relevant qualification within the required timescales. 31 March 2023

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that staff record a detailed account of physical restraints, including the description of the measure and steps taken to avoid the measure. 31 March 2023 Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 8

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Recommendations

 The registered persons should ensure that the physical home environment is maintained well. This specifically relates to leaders ensuring that staff areas are also homely, and that good health and safety practice is followed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.9).  The registered persons should ensure that the children’s guide is provided in an accessible format, and should help children to understand what happens in the home. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered persons should ensure that they maintain good employment practice that safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. In particular, leaders and the manager must ensure that risk assessments of staff are updated to reflect that they have considered how their health needs may impact on the day-to-day functioning of the home. (Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered persons must ensure that the review of quality-of-care report includes consultation and feedback from children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. They must also ensure that this is analytical and evaluative, and that the report is used as a tool for continuous improvement of the home. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: SC478991 9

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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 Ltd, Suite 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Mazviita Makiyi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478991 10 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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