Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 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 home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home’s statement of purpose promotes the application of a specific model of care.

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Information about this children’s home

An interim manager, who has applied to register with Ofsted, is in post.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have infused a sense of home and belonging for the child. In doing so, the child has been able to work through difficulties while maintaining positive relationships with staff. This has given the child much-needed stability. As a result, the child has made good progress in all areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide good support that nurtures the child’s ability to develop their independence, which has improved the child’s self-care. As a result, the child takes great pride in their bedroom and their personal appearance. Crucially, the child is starting to develop a positive sense of self. This supports the child to develop a stronger foundation to help them make more progress in their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has maintained good attendance at school. When difficulties arise, the interim manager works closely with education professionals to seek resolutions. For example, the organisation’s therapist supported the education staff to better understand the child’s needs. This intervention complemented the support plan that was in place to enable the child to remain at their current school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning in the home is aligned with the local authority’s goals that have been set for the child. There is a joined-up approach that supports continuity of care. Additionally, the child’s written plans that the staff compile and follow are meaningful and use child- friendly language. This has encouraged the child’s involvement in decisions around their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys an array of activities, such as trampolining, horse riding and trips to the coast. These activities enable the child’s relationships with the staff to grow and increase the child’s self-confidence. The staff capture special moments through taking photos that are later added to the child’s memory file. This will enable the child to have the opportunity to look back on their experiences of living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported well to eat a healthy and balanced diet. However, there is a lack of creativity around this aspect of the child’s care. Although external support has been sought, the work in the home is not yet promoting the desired outcomes for the child.

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

Influenced by the organisation’s therapist, the staff have embedded a therapeutic model of care that the organisation promotes. Therefore, the staff are more attuned to the child’s needs. This has seen behaviour management practices evolve. Positively, there has been no need for the staff to use physical intervention with the child since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 4 The interim manager manages the child’s allegations against the staff quickly and in line with the child’s plan. The interim manager investigates these incidents, after agreement from other safeguarding agencies, and is clearer and more confident to apply their findings in practice. This better supports external professionals to form an independent view. It also helps staff to carry out their role with confidence. Additionally, this practice has ensured that the child is appropriately supported while maintaining continuity of

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

Boundaries that surround the child’s access to the internet are age appropriate. Staff apply these boundaries around the use of mobile phones, which aids the child’s healthy sleep patterns. Additionally, the staff educate the child on the benefits and the pitfalls of accessing the online world, including social media platforms. Cumulatively, this approach strikes a good balance around the need to access the internet while better protecting the child against the common risks associated with this.

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

There is good communication between the staff and external professionals. This has enabled a dynamic approach to risk management. Additionally, the child’s written risk assessments and plans give clear information and guidance to the staff. This supports staff’s readiness to better protect the child. It also promotes accountability in the team.

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

Reports that are written following incidents that involve the children are clear and give good insight to the events and the cause for concern. This enables the interim manager and other interested parties to better evaluate and plan next steps that better support the child and the staff. However, there are examples when the interim manager’s oversight is ambiguous. In these instances, the interim manager has overlooked opportunities to further develop staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The characteristics of good leadership and management are not yet in place. There continues to be instability in this aspect of the home’s functioning. The organisation is taking positive steps to address this. However, at the time of the inspection, work in this area is incomplete.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is clear accountability in the organisation around the employment of new staff. However, in one instance, there was no due diligence to verify a member of staff’s qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are frequent and engage the staff to exercise their views. The agenda is targeted to discuss relevant care planning issues concerning the child, such as the interim manager’s focus to develop the use of more child-friendly language in the child’s written records. This has significantly improved this aspect of the child’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager ensures that the staff undertake online training in manageable amounts. This promotes better knowledge retention as the staff remain engaged with their training sessions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 5 The interim manager embeds learning through team meetings and in staff supervision sessions. These sessions are reflective and meaningful. The supervision sessions embed learning and give staff the emotional and practical support that they need to fulfil their obligations to the child. The interim manager’s support makes the staff feel valued and promotes cohesive teamwork. Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with the child’s individual health plan and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on having a nutritious and healthy diet. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care. This specifically relates to scrutinising the children’s written records and following up on any ambiguities around the child’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should oversee the principles of maintaining good employment practice, as set out in regulations 31 to 33. This specifically relates to verifying the applicant’s qualifications as noted on their application form. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: 2735196 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 Limited, Suites 1 and 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2735196 8 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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