Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 1 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 is a privately run children’s home. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties, and those who may have moderate learning disabilities. The manager is registered with Ofsted and suitably experienced.

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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: 28 September 2021

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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: 2505378 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/09/2021 Full Good 10/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive thoughtful and personalised care from staff who are passionate about their well-being. Two children told the inspector that they are happy living at the home and want to remain there until they are adults. The children were observed to be relaxed and comfortable in the home environment, and they all told the inspector that they have staff that they like and get on well with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers make measured decisions about which children move into the home. This means that despite the three children being very different to one another, they are well matched. Managers ensure that when children are ready to move on, their transitions are well considered and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities. Staff promote children’s interests and skills and support them to become more independent. Children get to see their family and other people who are important to them. Staff understand that family is important, and they do what they can to promote and support children to enjoy the time they spend with their loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy living in a well-maintained, comfortable and homely environment. Their rooms are personalised, clean and tidy. The home is spacious, and this allows children the space to spend time away from each other and have one-to-one time with staff. High staffing levels in the home ensure that staff are always available to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children have educational provisions in place. One child has recently returned to full-time education, and his attendance is slowly improving. Another child receives home tuition due to their specific needs. Staff support this child with home-learning opportunities. However, these interventions are not always planned or recorded. This means that there are gaps in their record of educational achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have regular conversations with children about their care needs. Not all these conversations are documented or recorded in detail. As a result, staff are not able to evidence all the good work they have completed with children.

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

Managers put in place risk assessments and care plans that help staff support children’s needs. These include advice from in-house clinicians, as well as staff drawing on their own experience of the children they care for. As a result, staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, and measures are in place to minimise risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 4 Staff understand the risks posed to children very well. They know the children exceptionally well and provide good support to help them manage their behaviours. Children are assessed and receive more specialist help in relation to their behaviours and emotions. The staff work well with the children’s social workers and specialist health services to ensure that services are put in place.

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

Due to the complexities of children’s early life experiences, at times children show risky behaviours. When these occur, staff respond with compassion and understanding. The supportive relationships the staff have with the children have meant that there have been no physical interventions in the home.

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

The high level of support provided to each child means that they are safe and feel safe in the home. As a result, children do not go missing from home or place themselves at risk in the community.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding duties and responsibilities, and managers take swift action if there is ever a concern regarding a child. Staff always ensure the safety of children in their care.

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

Generally, the recruitment processes and procedures for new staff are thorough. However, on one occasion, managers failed to verify the reason why a member of staff left a previous post working with children. This has not compromised the safety of children as all other checks have been completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high aspirations and expectations for the staff team and the care it provides to children. This is reflected in the staff team, whose members do their best to meet the individualised needs of each child. All managers and staff have a detailed understanding of the children’s presenting needs and difficulties. They work at the pace of each child and promote children’s needs extremely well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are motivated and competent. They receive regular supervision and reflective practice sessions with their manager. The induction of new staff into the home is well considered. All staff spoken with felt supported in their role, which helps create a supportive environment better equipped to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a comprehensive range of training available, which staff have completed. This means that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to safely care for the children. All staff have either obtained or are working towards the required residential childcare award within the required timeframes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have developed comprehensive plans for the children, which focus on their needs. They speak about the children in a warm and positive manner and are driven to support children to achieve positive outcomes. This caring and motivated approach is also present in the staff team. As a result, the culture of the home places children at the centre of what they do. Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 5 Managers and staff have developed strong relationships with all relevant professionals. As a result, there is good communication between them, which promotes children’s welfare. The feedback from professionals was overwhelmingly positive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff plan and document any informal education provided to children who are not in full-time education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 25, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that full schedule 2 checks are completed for any new staff recruited to the home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff capture all key conversations and work completed with children. In addition, staff should support children to access and contribute to their records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2505378 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: Esland Ltd, Suite 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Richard Matthews

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2505378 8 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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