Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection. Inspectors spoke with the child about their experience of living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 14 September 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child likes ‘everything’ about living in the home. Staff have built up positive relationships with the child and take the child out for lots of new experiences that reflect the child’s interests. Consequently, the child feels well supported and cared for.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a warm home that is clean and well maintained. The child has personalised their own bedroom and has toys, books and belongings spread throughout the home. In addition, the child’s photos and artwork are displayed around the home, showing the child’s interests and personality.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to remain active and support them to take care of their health and hygiene. When needed, staff take the child to health appointments and ensure that they take their medication. Staff complete training to ensure that they are able to meet the child’s individual health needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has excellent attendance at school. Staff communicate well with other professionals to ensure that the child’s needs are met. Staff have been proactive in challenging professionals and advocating for the child’s rights to ensure that the child receives the education they are entitled to.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to spend time with people who are important to them. The child’s family visit the child at the home and in the local community. This promotes a positive and relaxed atmosphere for family visits. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members to ensure that they can work together for the child. One family member said of staff, ‘They care for [the child] exceedingly well.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are supported by a clinical psychotherapist to better enable them to provide trauma-informed care for the child.

p.3

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

The trusting relationships that the child has been helped to develop with staff enables them to feel safe. The child said that they ‘love living here because staff are all great and really kind’. Staff are consistent in their responses and provide clear boundaries along with nurturing care. The child understands why rules and boundaries are in place.

p.3

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

Staff talk to the child about the difficulties they have to help them to learn how to be safe. Staff teach the child how to understand and manage their emotions. This is done in a fun and engaging way and has led to a reduction in risks for the child.

p.3

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

Risk plans are useful for staff and are kept up to date. The child has not gone missing from this home, but a missing-from-care plan is in place to guide staff Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 4 should this happen. However, staff do not fully understand what they would need to do should the child go missing. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

p.3

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

Staff know the child well. This enables them to support the child effectively to calm when the child’s feelings become overwhelming. Due to these positive relationships, staff have not had to hold the child to keep them safe.

p.4

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

The child knows how to make a complaint. The child has not made any formal complaints but has told the manager when they have been unhappy with staff practice. The manager has responded to these concerns thoroughly and effectively and has informed the child of the outcome. This supports the child to feel listened to and heard.

p.4

good

The manager is dedicated and child-centred. She advocates for the child to be provided with all the opportunities they deserve. Staff feel valued and say that their manager ‘goes above and beyond’.

p.4

good

The staff team has remained stable, which has maintained consistent care for the child. The manager has ensured that staff are provided with training to help them to care for the child.

p.4

good

Staff are appropriately qualified. The manager provides regular supervision for staff and holds monthly team meetings. Staff say that these are useful meetings that consider the needs of the child. There is some evidence of reflective discussions in supervision sessions, but staff are not yet supported to reflect on their practice during incidents.

p.4

good

The manager positively balances the safety of the child alongside encouraging staff to allow the child to take measured risks. This enables the child to build up their independence and to try new things at a pace that is right for them.

p.4

good

The quality of written records is varied. Some records are clearly written with good attention to detail. However, other records do not give a clear account of discussions or actions. This does not enable the manager to consistently ensure that actions are being followed through.

p.4

good

The manager makes use of independent monitoring and has good oversight of incidents. However, when considering potential triggers for the child, the manager does not always consider staff practice leading up to the incident. When the manager does identify shortfalls in practice, these are not always followed up appropriately. Similarly, when senior managers have identified gaps in practice, these have not always been actioned in a timely way. Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff fully understand what action to take when a child goes missing.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 16 January 2024

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.5

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.5

Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 16 January 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(g)(i)(h))

p.5

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have consistent oversight in running the home and that identified shortfalls are followed through in a timely manner.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are provided the opportunity to regularly reflect on their practice, including in team meetings and following incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of consistent, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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: 2649743 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspectors

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2649743 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

Inspectors

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

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn.

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8