Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 1 SC488223 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 children’s home is privately owned. The home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides medium- to long-term care for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since October 2022. An interim manager is in post and is in the process of applying to register with 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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2022

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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: SC488223 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Full Good 19/11/2019 Full Outstanding 25/04/2018 Full Outstanding 06/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have built secure and trusting relationships with staff. This in turn makes them feel safer, more secure and happy, which brings improved outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in all areas of their lives. Evidence shows that since living in this home, the children have developed their self-confidence, which enables them to better communicate their views and express their feelings and thoughts openly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to attend routine health check-ups and emotional support services. Additionally, a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise are promoted. This positively supports the continued good health of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are proud of their achievements in learning independent life skills. These include learning how to cook and bake, undertaking personal care tasks, helping around the home, doing laundry, and cleaning and tidying their own bedrooms. The children continue to build on these skills with the help of staff. These skills will help them to better care for themselves in adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s educational needs, working closely with education professionals. Children attend education placements that promote their continued learning. When children struggle to attend education, staff provide continued support and encouragement. This makes sure that the children are better able to carry on learning. However, not all personal education plans detail clearly the attendance rates, grades and attainment goals for the coming year. This does not provide the staff with all the relevant information they need to better promote and support children’s academic progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to take part in social and leisure activities of their choice. Their hobbies and interests are promoted. They enjoy spending time with friends, playing basketball, going to the gym, participating in boxing sessions, eating out, having birthday celebrations and going on trips out and holidays. These opportunities ensure that children have positive childhood experiences that promote good social skills and build their self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation is part of everyday life for children. They are involved in decisions made about activities, meals, seeing family and friends and the decoration of the home. Children are supported to attend their care reviews and take part in monthly children’s house meetings with staff. This consultation empowers children to make decisions about their daily life and their future, and they feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a warm, homely environment. The decoration and furniture are of a good standard. There are photos, ornaments and soft furnishings in Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 4 communal rooms. The children have made choices about the decoration of the home and their bedrooms. A home gym is currently being created, reflecting children’s interests. However, the inspector noted that a number of window frames around the home are showing signs of wear and tear. The paint is peeling off, exposing the wood below. This detracts from the otherwise good environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving on to semi-independent accommodation have received good, continued support. Pathway plans have been implemented to best prepare the children for moving on.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised by staff, with decisions being made that put their safety first.

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

Clear rules and boundaries are applied effectively in a nurturing way. This helps children to feel safer and secure. As a result, children are able to better regulate their anxiety and emotions. There have been no instances when children have had to be held to keep themselves and others safe. Staff have made good use of their PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) therapy training. This has enabled staff to better respond to children and de-escalate potential heightened behaviour.

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

Consequences for poor behaviour are rarely used. Children respond well to reflective discussions and the guidance given by staff. This has assisted children to make better choices in the future.

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

Children have occasionally gone missing from home. Staff follow the missing-from- home procedures correctly, making every effort to find the child to ensure their safe return. Local authority social workers complete return home visits with the child. This ensures that the children’s well-being and safety are checked.

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

Appropriate action has been taken when allegations have been made by a child. The local authority designated officer said, ‘The contact with the manager has been appropriate, and I have found her to have a good knowledge of safeguarding steps that have been implemented.’

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

Safe recruitment checks are undertaken before staff start to work with children. These practices make certain that the adults working with children are suitable to do so.

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

Staff are fully aware of the identified risks and vulnerabilities for each child in their care. Detailed written support plans and risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance on how best to protect children from harm. The new manager has instigated further changes to reduce the factors that put children at risk of harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has maintained good management oversight since the registered manager post became vacant. The home is currently managed by an interim manager and the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from strong leadership, good support and clear direction. When staff shortfalls have been identified, appropriate action has been taken to address matters and clarify work practice expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive formal supervision and attend monthly team meeting and a team around the child meeting. These provide staff with regular, formal support, where discussions and agreed plans for the running of the home and care of the children are agreed. Daily shift handovers take place to further ensure that staff have up- to-date information and plans for the care and support that children require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a core group of experienced staff, and new staff have joined the team in the last 12 months. The staff benefit from the training they receive. This increases their childcare knowledge and skills. Training covers topics such as safeguarding, physical interventions, professional boundaries, child trauma, self-harm and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, some of the training undertaken has not been recorded. This is a missed opportunity to showcase the full range of training that the staff receive and keep the manager up to date with the training data they need to inform future planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a monitoring system that includes health and safety, the care planning of children and leadership requirements. Action has been taken to implement the recommendations that were made at the last inspection. This oversight through internal and external checks assists in maintaining the good quality of care provided to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to understand each child’s education and training targets and their next steps for learning. In particular, clear grades, targets and attendance rates should be detailed in each child’s personal education plan to help the child and staff be clear on the next goals to be achieved. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home supports the aims, objectives and ethos as described in the home’s statement of purpose. In particular, window frames that show signs of wear and tear should be maintained in good order and repair. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.23)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and

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Recommendations

20). In particular, the records should be regularly updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home in order to demonstrate the continuing professional development of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC488223 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, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Debbie Foster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC488223 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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