Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with emotional and social needs. Children may also have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 11 January 2023

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2023 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Three children have left the home since the last inspection. Two of these moves were unplanned endings, and one was a planned return home to family.

p.3

improvement to be good

Communication with children is not always effective in meeting their needs. One child said they feel the rules and decisions about certain topics change, and they are not consistent enough for the children to always understand what is required of them. The child feels that having the rules written down for them to see would be beneficial. Discussions about this took place with the child, but no written information has yet been provided to the child.

p.3

improvement to be good

Educational progress for children is mixed. One child, who is not attending their school provision, has limited structure to their day. The child is not supported to access learning at the home. The manager is exploring education options for this child with external professionals. The other child attends tutoring several times a week.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s moves to the home are mainly supported. One child experienced an emergency move so was unable to have an agreed transition plan. This was an internal move from another home within the company, so information was able to be gained quickly about the child. Another child had a clear transition plan in place. The child was able to meet staff before moving. The child who had a planned return home to their family experienced a positive ending. They made progress in areas such as regulating their emotions, which meant a return to their family was safe and possible.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s health is supported, and they access therapy. A member of the clinical team supports children to identify a therapist they feel they could work with. Staff support children to attend therapy sessions.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children’s identities are supported. One child attends regular youth clubs that support their identity. One of these clubs is in their home area, and staff support them to attend this to maintain links to their home area. The child also attends a community group that supports their culture.

p.3

improvement to be good

Restraints are used when necessary. Following the use of restraints, children are not always spoken to about the reason for the use of the restraint. Debriefs with staff do not always happen promptly. Management oversight of the restraint is not always Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 4 completed promptly. This could leave children and staff feeling unsupported and prevent managers from assessing whether the restraint was proportionate.

p.3

improvement to be good

When a child makes an allegation against a member of staff, the local authority designated officer and the child’s social worker are informed; however, allegations against staff are not always appropriately explored.

p.4

improvement to be good

There have been some concerns about the dynamics between children. Certain risks for one child were known at point of admission. However, staff were not provided with the appropriate training to manage this child’s risks in a timely manner when they moved to the home.

p.4

improvement to be good

The staff have made some medication errors. These have been reported appropriately, and health advice has been sought. Training is identified, and staff have their competencies to administer medication checked again following errors.

p.4

improvement to be good

There has only been one missing-from-home incident since the last inspection. When incidents occur, staff use de-escalation techniques in line with children’s behaviour support plans.

p.4

improvement to be good

Safer recruitment is followed for new members of staff. Temporary staff are not used at the home. This enables children to build relationships with staff who consistently work at the home.

p.4

good

The manager is experienced and qualified. However, the management oversight of the home is not yet effective or of a good quality. The actions taken following incidents or allegations are not always clear and well recorded. This could mean that important information is missed and not followed up. The manager is aware of some of the areas for development.

p.4

good

Lessons learned exercises are not always identified. The manager completes oversight but does not always identify whether staff actions were effective or what different actions staff could have taken. After children receive consequences, the manager evaluates whether these are proportionate. However, there is no review about whether the consequence was sufficiently effective. Therefore, staff could be repeating ineffective actions due to lack of management oversight.

p.4

good

Notifications are not always made to Ofsted in a timely manner. Following an allegation being made against a staff member, there was a delay of almost two weeks before a notification was sent to Ofsted. This limits Ofsted’s oversight of the home.

p.4

good

Appraisals for staff are undertaken. However, the staff appraisals lack feedback from professionals and children. This means that there is no objective overview of the staff member’s performance and the areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 5 Team meetings take place regularly. This supports staff to develop their knowledge and reflect on their practice. A therapeutic clinician spends time with the staff and the manager monthly to hold discussions about the children and support staff to think in a therapeutic way. Supervision sessions take place regularly. Staff talk positively about the support they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 6

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.6

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.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that clear actions are taken and recorded following allegations being made about staff members, that consequences are reviewed to ensure that they are effective and that staff receive training in managing bullying. 3 May 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff— 3 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 7 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are informed about decisions in a way that they understand.

p.7

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”)—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

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)(b)(i)(c)) 3 May 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 7 June 2024

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children are not participating in education, they are engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that annual appraisals include, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 8

p.7

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: 2553861 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Kathleen McGowan

p.9

Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2553861 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspector

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.10

Inspector

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

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10