Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Derby

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 1 SC478986

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Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It provides care for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home can offer care provision for up to five children, over two sites. The accommodation comprises the main house and a separate lodge. The main house can accommodate up to four children and the lodge can accommodate one child.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an experienced manager leading the home, who is registered.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

Children are benefiting from significant improvements to the home. Children’s bedrooms have been redecorated and two children have new bathrooms. Another child has a new kitchen. Shared areas of the home have also been upgraded with calming colour schemes, new furniture, soft furnishings and lighting. Children have been consulted about the improvements and say they are enjoying their new environment. Leaders and managers have plans in place to continue with the improvement programme. This shows their ongoing commitment to ensuring that the home is maintained to a good standard.

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The care of children

The manager and staff are supporting children to make good progress in education. One child has achieved over 90% attendance which is a significant achievement. The manager and staff have worked with relevant agencies to support another child to attend a bespoke education timetable. This has enabled the child to start formal learning again after a long period out of education. Children continue to enjoy a range of activities including playing team sports. This enables children to experience a sense of camaraderie and success.

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The care of children

Children have strong relationships with the manager and staff. They can talk about their problems, knowing they will be listened to and offered help. Children are supported to attend health appointments which means their anxieties about medical procedures are reducing. The manager and staff ensure that children receive help from specialist agencies where necessary. As a result, children get the right support which enables them to make good progress.

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The care of children

Managers and staff regularly consult with children about their wishes and feelings. They are committed to supporting children with achieving their goals. For example, children have been supported to increase the amount of time they spend with family and friends. This has helped them strengthen their sense of identity and feelings of security.

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The safety of children

Managers have made improvements to children’s risk management plans. They are now clearly written, including relevant and detailed information about risks and how they are to be managed. Plans are kept up to date and risks are regularly reviewed and adapted when new risks emerge or reduce. Children have been involved in developing their behaviour management plans. This has helped children to understand risks that impact on them, and they are gradually becoming safer. The staff are managing children’s behaviour well. Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have ensured that staff have received training to enable them to Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 3 manage incidents more effectively. As a result, there has been a considerable reduction in incidents for children. One child said he is proud of himself for achieving this and said that staff have helped him with this process.

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The safety of children

One child has been involved in a serious incident during the night. This was due to a member of staff failing to follow required checks in the home. Leaders and managers responded to this incident in a robust and timely manner. They took decisive action to prevent further incidents. A learning exercise was also undertaken to analyse practices in the home which could be strengthened. As a result, strategies to ensure the safety of children during the night are under the close review of leaders and managers.

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The safety of children

The manager and staff respond well when children are missing from care. This is a particular issue for one child. The staff are proactive in searching for the child and ensure that all relevant agencies are informed. Return interviews and direct work sessions are carried out in a timely way. This means that important information can be gathered about missing incidents and used to assess risks of harm such as exploitation. The manager and staff are supporting the child to understand these risks to help him keep safe. They are also working closely with external professionals to find strategies to reduce missing incidents. This demonstrates their ongoing commitment to increasing safety for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home. They know the home’s strengths and areas for development. Managers have been working hard to address the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. Some of these have been met at the time of this inspection. This has improved the quality of care provided for children. The registered manager has made changes to the team to ensure staff are motivated and committed to promoting a positive ethos in the home. The manager has implemented initiatives to sustain staff morale in the longer term. This has included a team-building day and recognition of positive practice through an ‘employee of the month’ scheme. Children are benefiting from having a more unified staff team, for example increased consistency in approaches to their care. There is now a deputy manager in post who is working well alongside the manager and responsible individual. She has implemented new systems for the oversight of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

staff supervision and training. Supervision is now arranged and communicated to staff well in advance of the sessions. Staff are encouraged and directed to attend training which is integral to their role. These processes have increased oversight and accountability in relation to the care that children receive. Leaders and managers are working towards meeting the remaining requirement and recommendation. These will be reviewed at the next full inspection. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/07/2021 Full Good 08/05/2019 Full Good 04/09/2018 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 5

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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 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all staff understand and complete the required night-time checks, documenting these when completed. In addition, ensure that the manager has oversight of this process to ensure that children’s safety during the night is maintained. 6 December 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 6

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Richard Matthews

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC478986 7 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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