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

Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 1 SC489516 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

The children’s home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for a maximum of two children aged between 10 and 17 years. It specialises in caring for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or moderate learning disabilities .

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Information about this children’s home

There is an experienced manager in post. She registered with Ofsted during this inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/06/2021 Full Good 06/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/10/2018 Full Outstanding 01/08/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child currently living at the home. He is very settled and has excellent relationships with staff. They spend lots of time with him and know him very well. The child says that the staff are ‘family’ to him. The child is encouraged to pursue a range of interests and hobbies. He is a member of a club and also takes part in regular exercise. Staff encourage him to eat healthily and have good routines. As a result, the child is in good health and speaks proudly about this. The child is making very good progress due to the diligence of the manager and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that the home is well maintained. It is clean and tidy with a highly personalised bedroom for the child. The home has recently been repainted in many areas and there are several photos on display of the child enjoying holidays and days out. This helps the child to develop a sense of belonging and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to attend school and has 100% attendance. He is studying for his GCSEs with staff providing good levels of motivation. He has recently been offered a college place and has aspirations for his future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has ensured that the child is supported with his emotional well-being. He is receiving help from specialist agencies to ensure his needs are met. For example, he is currently receiving some direct work about healthy relationships. When new needs emerge, the manager ensures that assessments are undertaken. This helps to keep the child’s care plan relevant and up to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff undertake regular one-to-one sessions with the child about important issues. These have improved over recent months with management oversight. Managers are keen to make further improvements, such as including the child in writing their records where possible. This can help children feel more involved in their care planning.

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How children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers and staff have managed some significant safeguarding issues relating to self-injurious behaviours since the last inspection. Overall, incidents have been managed well, and children have been protected from harm. There was one incident, some time ago, when staff did not respond in a timely way. The child was not harmed; however there was potential for this. Leaders and managers have undertaken work in the home to ensure that this does not happen again. The staff involved no longer work at the home and there is a new management team. Ofsted is assured that the child living at the home is safe.

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How children and young people are helped and protected: good

The child living at the home does not go missing from home. This had been an issue for children who lived at the home previously. Staff have responded well to missing- from-home incidents and work with other professionals to return children home Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 4 safely. They are alert to issues of concern, such as the risk of exploitation. These concerns are shared with relevant professionals to ensure children are not placed at increased risk of harm.

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How children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have been required to undertake room searches to help keep children safe. These are undertaken appropriately in response to concerns about children’s welfare. The children are informed and records are kept.

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How children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager and staff use their experience and knowledge of the child to manage his behaviour effectively. Staff are consistent in their approaches, which is helping the child to understand and respond to boundaries in a positive way. This has also helped to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents. The use of physical interventions is minimal. The child told the inspector that staff have helped him to become calm by ‘talking me out of it’ and that he can also calm himself now. The child is learning to manage his feelings in healthier ways.

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How children and young people are helped and protected: good

There are good links with relevant safeguarding agencies. Concerns raised by children are reported to relevant agencies and investigated appropriately. Thorough recruitment processes are in place to ensure that children are cared for by safe adults. The manager and staff understand all the procedures required to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has experienced several changes in manager since the last inspection. This was due to a series of significant personal circumstances. These changes have been mitigated by good oversight from the responsible individual. The child has felt the impact of this. However, the security offered by the staff team has mitigated this period of change. There is now an experienced manager in post who fully understands the importance of re-establishing stability for the child and staff. She has made a strong start, and the child has a positive relationship with her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have recruited a resilient and confident team. Staff are happy in their work. They speak positively about the child, manager and their colleagues. They benefit from a good range of training relevant to the child’s needs. There is also regular clinical support to help the team maintain a therapeutic approach to behaviour management. Staff receive regular supervision that is focused on the child and encourages staff to reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers give careful consideration to children moving in and out of the home. They ensure that the needs of the child living at the home are prioritised. Managers have learned from previous experiences when key information about children’s needs had not been provided before children moved into the home, impacting on their safety. Managers brought this to the attention of relevant professionals to prevent similar situations happening in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed very good relationships with a range of professionals. She acts as a strong advocate for the child. For example, she recently involved the Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 5 office for the children’s commissioner when the child was unhappy with a particular situation. This ensured that his views were heard and acted on. The situation was resolved positively. The manager is able to exert influence to improve the quality of children’s experiences. Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate that a child is in any way at risk of harm. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home’s Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12).  The registered person should ensure that staff record information about direct work with children in a way that is helpful for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home’s Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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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 for children ‘s home: SC489516 7

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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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Children ‘s home details

Responsible individual: Kathleen McGowan

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Inspector

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children ‘s home: SC489516 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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