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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 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 privately run home is registered to provide care for one child. The home’s statement of purpose describes the care as being for a child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has recently submitted their resignation. A new manager has been appointed and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

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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: 1214270 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/05/2022 Full Good 30/11/2021 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Inadequate 28/10/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a peaceful and tranquil environment for the child. The child said that they feel happy in the home. They are able to personalise the communal areas of the home and their bedroom. This gives the child a sense of belonging and pride in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff know the child well. The child has positive relationships with the staff. The child is supported to enjoy a wide range of activities that help to build their skills and confidence. A parent said that the trust the child has in the staff has made an enormous difference to their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving into the home, the child’s school attendance has significantly improved, and they now go to school regularly. This has helped the child to have a consistent, stable education. The child’s education timetable is split between formal education, which gives them opportunities to develop learning in core subjects, and informal education activities led by staff from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s aspirations and ambitions are well supported. The staff team has worked closely with education professionals to support the child to secure a work placement and a college course in areas they hope to pursue as a career. The child’s teacher was complimentary about the input from the care staff and how the child is currently thriving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child was able to bring their pet house rabbits with them to the home. This helped them to have a smooth transition into the home. The additional responsibility of looking after the rabbits has been positive and the child’s incentives have been built around this. The pets also bring a source of comfort and companionship to the child to help them with their emotional well-being.

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

Staff take time to understand the child’s vulnerabilities and identified risks so that they can offer safe care. The child has individual behaviour support and risk management plans, which are used by the staff to ensure consistency of care for the child. The child is currently subject to a deprivation of liberty order and the manager and staff have worked well to allow the child to address the concerns within the order to identify progress while managing the risk effectively. The child’s social worker was very positive about the level of support and planning relating to these risks.

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

Staff understand the child’s needs well and are trained in de-escalation techniques to avoid incidents. As a result, the child rarely has to be held to ensure their safety. When used, any holds are done in a manner that helps the child to feel safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 4 Debriefs always take place with the child and staff to help maintain positive relationships and to identify any learning for the team.

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

The manager ensures that all allegations are investigated in line with local and internal procedures and are concluded in a way that is helpful to the child. Allegations and safeguarding concerns are reported promptly and appropriately to the relevant authorities. Direct-work sessions take place with the child to support them following any incidents.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment procedures to ensure that staff are recruited in a safe way. A good-quality induction programme is in place to ensure that all new staff have completed mandatory training, which includes safeguarding courses. This means that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

The home uses bedroom door alarms during the night. This practice is agreed by the child’s social worker. However, agreements are not always reviewed in a timely manner, which may limit the child’s right to privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is undergoing a period of transition. The registered manager has recently submitted their resignation and is in the process of leaving the home. A new manager has been appointed. She already works for the provider and has a good understanding of the organisation and culture. She is being introduced to the child and team in a sensitive way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and family members are positive about the difference the team has made to the child. One parent said that ‘the communication with the team has been excellent, and they are very professional’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is supported by the organisation’s therapy team. The therapy team offers individual and collective staff sessions to allow staff to explore therapeutic approaches to help the child in the best way possible. This ensures that the nurturing approach is delivered in line with what the child needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive training to develop the necessary skills to understand and meet the child’s individual needs. Training is responsive. For example, staff have completed specific training to ensure that they are skilled in helping the child with their particular needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed. New staff said that they are well supported by the manager and enjoy working in the home. The manager has, on occasions, worked shifts to cover staff sickness, but the rota does not include the actual times when he was on shift. The rota needs to be reflective of all staff hours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals and actively take part in team meetings. When the manager is away from the home, senior staff undertake supervision sessions to ensure consistency of practice. Any shortfalls with staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 5 practice are appropriately addressed by the manager. However, the home’s workforce development plan is not up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses monitoring tools effectively to help track the child’s progress and to oversee practice in the home. However, some documents need updating and the local authority care plan has not been received. This limits opportunities to ensure that all staff are aware of the child’s current and emerging needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 6

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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 care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 17 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all hours worked by staff, including the manager, are included on the roster. 17 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any limits to children’s privacy and access in the home, such as the use of bedroom door alarms, are for safeguarding purposes only. Any limits should be subject to a rigorous assessment of each child’s needs and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10) Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 7  The registered person should have a workforce plan that can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should include the necessary management and staffing structure (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s

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Recommendations

statement of purpose. (‘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: 1214270 8

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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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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1214270 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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