Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who have emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by an experienced and registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Outstanding 16/06/2021 Full Good 25/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 3

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outstanding

The children enjoy a good home environment that is maintained to a very high standard. Children enjoy their home and are proud of it. They have their own rooms that are personalised, reflecting their tastes and interests. The children have plenty of space to play and explore and areas for privacy should they require some quiet time. The home is well maintained, providing children with a cosy and comfortable place to live.

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outstanding

The manager and staff work exceptionally hard when considering the admission of new children into the home. This includes thorough assessments of the needs of children already living in the home. Children are helped to establish and maintain positive relationships with each other. As a result, this limits the number of incidents and consequently there are no concerns with bullying. Children’s relationships are a real strength. Children are encouraging, supportive and show respect to each other.

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outstanding

Staff encourage and support children to develop their independence skills. This helps to prepare the children for adult life. There is excellent planning for children when they are due to move on. Children receive the emotional and practical help for the next stage of their lives from staff who are dedicated to them. A social worker commented on how impressed he was at the level of staff knowledge of the child’s needs. He believed this had been crucial to finding the right home to meet the child’s needs when they moved from the home.

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outstanding

Children are seen and treated as individuals. Assessments of the children’s needs are comprehensive. This informs the care, guidance and support that children receive. Staff are responsive to the changing needs of the children. For example, one child did not speak for some time. The managers and staff used creative ways to communicate with the child, using varied forms of communication. When the child did start to speak again, their confidence and self-esteem had increased considerably.

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outstanding

Children are making very good progress in their emotional and psychological development and well-being. Staff are proactive in seeking a range of therapeutic support from external agencies. Staff also use psychological services provided within the organisation. Managers use research-informed practice and theoretical models. Used in conjunction with advice and guidance from the clinical psychologist team, this means that care and support to children are constantly evolving.

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outstanding

Children and staff have excellent relationships. Children are comfortable, playful and relaxed in each other’s company. Children spoke very highly of staff and have developed strong bonds with them. Children said they have staff they trust and can confide in with any worries or anxieties affecting them. Children’s physical and emotional well-being are promoted with lots of fun physical activities, such as Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 4 martial arts, swimming and walks in the country. One child has decided to undertake a sponsored walk for a hospital and is being encouraged and supported by staff in this activity.

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outstanding

Managers and staff have high but realistic expectations for children. Children are supported with their education and work experience. One child has been supported to obtain work experience in a day nursery. This child said: ‘He loves it.’

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outstanding

Staff are highly supportive of children in maintaining their relationships with their families. This includes helping parents to better understand the needs of their children. Parents can visit their children at the home and engage in supportive and positive activities. This helps children to maintain crucial relationships important for their identity and for the future.

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outstanding

Children said they like their home and feel safe with staff. The strength of relationships between staff and children mean that children confide in staff, sharing any worries or concerns they may have. As a result, the number of concerning incidents is low. Staff manage children’s unwanted behaviour through positive distraction, for example, calming and supporting children through conversation and humour. This means staff rarely resort to using physical intervention as a means of behaviour management. Overall, there is some excellent practice to keep children safe.

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outstanding

Managers and leaders ensure robust processes are in place for the safe recruitment of staff. Immediate action has been taken to address incidents when staff have not adhered to the codes of conduct and expected levels of professionalism. Managers do not tolerate staff practice falling below expectations.

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outstanding

All the children have robust individual risk assessments. These are reviewed monthly or following an incident. Staff have a detailed understanding of how to keep children safe. The staff have an excellent understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. This is because they know the children so well. For example, staff can access key information quickly from the grab summary cards which are displayed in the office. Children are safe in this home and making excellent progress.

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outstanding

Children can have unsupervised time away from the home. Children keep in contact with staff as agreed according to their independence and levels of risk. The staff always know children’s whereabouts. Staff know who children are spending time with, as would be expected of any good parent. The staff are dedicated and vigilant and, as a result, children are safer.

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outstanding

Children rarely go missing from care. If this does happen, appropriate steps are taken to find the children quickly to ensure they return home safely. The managers work with external professionals to ensure return interviews are completed. The Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 5 managers and staff learn lessons from missing from care incidents by monitoring and review, to avoid repetition.

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outstanding

Managers and staff proactively educate and support children about risk and work to build confidence and self-esteem. Children are settled, content and happy. They do not have to resort to worrying behaviours such as substance misuse, alcohol use or anti-social behaviour to make their needs known, because they can talk to staff and know they are cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is committed, dedicated and focused on improving the outcomes for children. As a result, children have the best possible experiences while living in this home. An equally committed deputy manager supports the manager very well and together they are an exceptionally good management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are motivated and committed. Staff said they enjoy their jobs and the support from managers is effective and of a high quality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The managers are ambitious and strong advocates for the children. There is positive partnership work with a range of external professionals and parents. This partnership work supports effective professional relationships which benefit the children. As a result, children’s care is individualised to meet their needs. Professionals say that managers go ‘over and above’ to make sure children receive the care they need to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers are positive and have high expectations of staff. They promote a culture of aspiration and ambition for staff and children alike. They ensure staff are provided with regular and effective one-to-one supervision. Team meetings are held regularly. They are dynamic and provide staff with the opportunity to share and learn from practice. The children benefit from excellent collaboration and joint approaches from the managers and staff to provide consistency across all aspects of care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The managers are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. This also applies to the staff team. Managers have a systematic approach to quality assurance. They collate a wide range of information with detailed evidence. Managers analyse this information to make any improvements that may be required. As a result, managers and staff know the areas that are working well and the areas for development. They celebrate the achievements of children and staff. Managers and staff are proud of the progress made by children and committed to continuing to help them achieve these successes. Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 6

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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: 1257013 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

Angela Duffus-Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1257013 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 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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