Children's Home run by Essandore Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 1 SC066218 Registered provider: Essandore Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns the home, which provides care for up to six children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with learning difficulties and physical disabilities. There were six children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2023.

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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: SC066218 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2022 Full good 21/07/2021 Full good 13/02/2020 Full outstanding 06/12/2018 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home are happy. Staff spend time with the children and know them well. This has helped the children to build trusting relationships with staff. One parent said, ‘Staff are fantastic, and they keep me updated with everything. They go above and beyond. Although our child is nonverbal, a picture says a thousand words. They are full of smiles, and their face lights up when they see staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for children moving into the home is good. The manager visits the child and speaks to parents and other professionals to ensure that she has identified the needs of the child and that the staff have the skills and knowledge to meet these needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of each child’s method of communication and always consider their views. Staff support children in developing their communication skills verbally and through Makaton and the Picture Exchange Communication System. This enables children to make day-to-day decisions about their lives. Both staff and parents said how proud they are of the progress that each child is making in developing their communication. One professional said, ‘The child is always happy, smiling and content when I see them at the home. The home is working with the school to help the child develop their communication skills by learning some Makaton. The child is now able to communicate about their future and were they want to live.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school and are supported in their education, and they are making progress. Staff have built up positive working relationships with school staff. There is regular communication between staff in school and at the home. This is providing consistency for children, and they are settled and enjoy going to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have access to a variety of activities in the home and the local community. Children are given choices and their interests are considered. Children have recently been on an annual holiday. One child spoke enthusiastically about their experience of going away and how much they enjoyed it. The holiday has given children positive shared memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the complex health needs of the children. They are working closely with other professionals to ensure that these needs are met. There is ongoing training with health professionals, and staff are supporting children to manage lifelong conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family time and have built up close working relationships with family members to ensure that the children regularly see the people important to them. All parents spoken to said that staff support family time and keep them updated on the children’s progress so they feel fully involved in their lives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 4 Staff celebrate children’s achievements. Staff have created memory books full of photos of the children attending activities, their achievements and spending positive time with their families, which the children enjoy looking at. There are also photos all around the home of the children taking part in activities and having positive experiences.

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

Children receive a high level of supervision and support that is in line with their assessed needs. Keeping children safe is a priority for staff and is integral to daily practice.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans address their vulnerabilities and include clear strategies for staff to follow. The risks identified are understood and are managed by staff. Support and care provided by staff help children to stay safe. There have been no missing-from-home incidents.

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

Positive behaviour is constantly promoted. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques to meet the individual children’s needs. Staff are calm and nurturing in their support.

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

Physical intervention has taken place on two occasions and is only used when necessary to protect children from causing themselves harm due to their needs. However, staff do not record each staff member’s role in the hold or a clear description of the event. There is a lack of management oversight to enable staff to learn from the incidents. In addition, not all consequences have been recorded.

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

The manager reports all safeguarding concerns to relevant professionals. However, the manager has not followed up to request the outcome when concerns have been investigated by other agencies.

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

The home environment is child-friendly, clean and tidy. There are age-appropriate toys and games for the children. Some parts of the home are showing signs of general wear and tear. The manager is aware of these, and there are clear plans in place for the refurbishment of the home. However, shortfalls identified, including a heater that is not secured to the wall and a grid without a cover, could cause harm to a child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and child-centred and knows the children well. She is developing systems to help her have oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. The manager has completed a comprehensive review of the quality of care, which includes feedback from others, the strengths of the care provided and areas for improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 5 The manager has developed positive working relationships with other professionals and families. Several professionals said that the manager has been instrumental in all professionals working together to improve the outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team that shares the manager’s aspirations for the children. There is a strong ethos of teamwork and staff feel supported. Staff are given the opportunity to play an active role by taking on extra responsibilities. This gives them shared ownership, builds on their confidence and helps in their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is mandatory and specialised training available to all staff to help them meet the needs of the children; all training is up to date. New staff receive a thorough induction that provides them with a detailed programme of training and guidance in their new role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular supervision, annual appraisals and regularly attend team meetings. This gives staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice and to continue to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to the complex needs of the children, a high level of staffing is needed. Recruitment is ongoing, and currently there are agency staff working with the children. The manager has ensured that she consistently uses the same agency staff members. She also ensures that any agency staff working at the home have completed appropriate training and have the necessary skills to meet the children’s needs. All appropriate recruitment checks are completed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished, and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they obtain the outcomes of the safeguarding concern raised with school and the investigations they undertook.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that the heater in the sensory room is secured on the wall and the grids in the back garden have appropriate covers. 31 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 31 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 7 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that any consequences used are appropriately recorded.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that factual recordings of restraint used show a clear description of the hold used and management oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 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: SC066218 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Harrison Latham, 97 Tulketh Street, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1AW

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Inspectors

Simon Jones, Social Care Inspector Pam Nuckley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066218 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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