Children's Home run by Esland South Limited in Bexley

Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 1 SC387684 Registered provider: Esland South Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home provides care for up to six children who may experience emotional and/or social difficulties. The home offers planned, emergency and respite placements.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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: 8 February 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/04/2019 Full Good 26/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to form close and trusting relationships with staff. One child said, ‘Staff are good, they look after us and keep us safe.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can express their views about their day-to-day care through key-work sessions and in weekly meetings. For example, children helped to choose how the lounge in the home would be redecorated. Staff remind children of their right to have an independent advocate and promote this. Consequently, one child is supported by an advocate and another child is waiting for an advocate to be allocated.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that it is important for children to maintain relationships with the people who are special to them. Parents and other family members are warmly welcomed into the home, and staff support and arrange for children to spend quality time with their family when it is safe for them to do so.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to live healthy lifestyles. Staff ensure that children attend health appointments and take their medication as prescribed. When additional support is needed to promote children’s health, staff ensure that there is a good multi-agency approach and make referrals to relevant services such as child and adolescent mental health services. Children are also supported by staff to have a healthy diet and participate in physical activities, such as swimming or going for a walk in the local park. Furthermore, children are provided with opportunities to participate in a range of activities in the home and the community. For example, one child attends a drama group.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children and support and encourage them to attend and do well in their education. Two children are in full-time education. However, one child who is no longer attending their college course is supported by staff to find an apprenticeship course. Children are supported by staff to learn valuable independence skills such as cooking.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, comfortable and decorated to a good standard. There are photos of the children displayed throughout the house. This adds to the homely atmosphere of the home.

p.3

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

Children say that they feel safe at the home and they know there are trusted adults who they can talk to if they have any worries. The manager and staff work hard to ensure that children are protected from harm. Staff work with children to explore risks and vulnerabilities and to help them to learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, children receive key-work sessions on issues such as self-harm, substance Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 4 misuse, the dangers of being missing from home and their involvement in offending behaviour.

p.3

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments are reviewed regularly. They include all known risks and set out specific actions of how staff should respond to and manage these risks.

p.4

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

Children who go missing from the home experience a well-coordinated response and staff work collaboratively with families and key professionals to safeguard children. Staff take action to contact children and encourage their safe return home. However, this is not always effective in decreasing the number of missing from home incidents for one child.

p.4

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

The good level of attention from staff and clear boundaries set for children have resulted in a low number of significant incidents. There have been no incidents requiring the use of physical intervention since the last inspection.

p.4

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

The manager and staff demonstrate a good understanding of the procedures to be followed when an allegation is made. Any allegations are reported to relevant safeguarding professionals and followed up appropriately. This demonstrates that staff are able to respond to safeguarding concerns relating to other staff and managers.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment processes were followed for the one new member of staff appointed since the last inspection. This demonstrates that only suitable staff are employed to work at the home.

p.4

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

The bedroom door sensor for one child is activated during the night, despite there not being a safeguarding reason for this. Furthermore, the child’s risk assessment for this measure is not regularly reviewed and updated. Therefore, the rationale for the ongoing use of this restrictive practice is not known.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager. The leaders, managers and staff demonstrate a genuine commitment to the children in their care and strive to make a positive difference to their lives. There is a stable core staff team in place, providing a consistent level of care and a family-style home environment.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records show evidence of management oversight. This demonstrates that the manager has a good understanding of children’s needs and progress which helps her to make child-centred decisions.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The feedback provided by staff about the leadership of the home is highly positive. Staff reported feeling supported, valued and appreciated. Staff appreciated that leaders and managers are approachable. Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 5 Staff benefit from induction, regular supervision and appraisals. Staff have access to training relevant to the needs of the children in their care. Team meetings are used as learning and development opportunities.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. For example, the recording of rewards has improved a recommendation from the independent person who completes the monthly quality assurance visits.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the children’s guide is in a format accessible for all children that the home is suitable for, as per the home’s statement of purpose. The current format of the guide is only suitable for older children. The manager informed the inspector that she is in the process of reviewing the guide.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have addressed all the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should regularly review the use of bedroom door sensors to ensure that they are only used when necessary to safeguard a child. 9 December 2022

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is age appropriate and in an accessible format for each child that the home is considered suitable for, as outlined in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards (2015)’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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 for children’s home: SC387684 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland South Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Aneta Wasilewska, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC387684 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: http://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