Esther House

Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 1 SC474150

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides therapeutic residential care for up to four children aged 12 to 18 who experience social and emotional difficulties. The organisation also has a registered school, and teachers provide education in the home. Only the social care provision was inspected. At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 23 May 2018 and is suitably qualified.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 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.

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good

Date of last inspection: 19 September 2023

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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: SC474150 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/09/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Good 06/07/2021 Full Good 09/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 3

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improvement to be good

Children who move into the home consistently experience bullying, and while staff and managers have attempted to address these concerns, the pattern of behaviour has been persistent for a sustained period of time since the last inspection. Consequently, this has impacted negatively on children’s day-to-day experiences and emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

The staff team recognises that the children’s relationships in the home need to improve and is motivated to find solutions to resolve this. The management team has recently made some changes to the household dynamics, and while the early signs are positive, it is too soon to determine whether this will have a longer-term impact on improving children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide sensitive support to children in response to their emotional and mental health needs, and children value the care they receive. Children have developed good relationships with familiar staff and seek their support and assistance.

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improvement to be good

Children are engaging in education and benefit from individualised learning. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s educational needs and support their preferred ways of learning.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are well supported, and they receive the help and care they require.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to develop their understanding about the wider world and recognise the importance of children learning about diversity and difference.

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improvement to be good

Children’s wishes and feelings are valued, and staff ensure that they feel heard. Children maintain important relationships with their families and friends, in accordance with their individual plans.

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improvement to be good

The physical home environment is well decorated and appropriately personalised. Children feel a sense of belonging and connection. One child contacted staff to ask to be brought ‘back home’ after spending agreed time away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Harmful peer relationships have impacted on children’s physical and emotional well- being. While staff have intervened appropriately and attempted to mediate between children in the home, the impact of this has been limited, which has prevented children from always feeling safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 4 A distinct similarity in the presenting needs of children living in the home has undermined the ability of staff to support children to build healthy relationships with each other. Consequently, there is an unhealthy competitive culture between children in relation to their presenting needs and seeking support from staff.

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improvement to be good

Children can identify trusted staff in the home and value the relationships they have with them. Staff recognise the important role they have in children’s lives and provide positive support and encouragement to the children to reduce risks towards them from outside the home.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff are proactive and demonstrate a good safeguarding response. Staff actively search for children and use a range of strategies to determine their whereabouts. Children frequently keep in contact with staff during unauthorised time away from the home.

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improvement to be good

There have been several safeguarding concerns that have not been appropriately notified, and this has prevented important regulatory oversight. However, all other safeguarding processes were followed.

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good

The management team is transparent about the difficult experiences that children have had in the home since the last inspection. More recently, managers have been focused on providing resources for children to help them improve their coping strategies and to provide support for presenting challenges in their lives.

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good

Children’s needs have not been suitably scrutinised by the management team when determining who should live in the home. This has undermined the ability of staff to provide children with the care and attention they require. In addition, managers have not demonstrated that they have learned from the experiences of children who previously lived in the home, particularly in relation to bullying.

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good

The home manager has not undertaken a quality of care review within regulatory timescales. Leaders and managers have not demonstrated sufficient progress from internal monitoring and quality assurance procedures. More recently, there has been an improvement in this area, and the management team is motivated to continue these improvements. For example, recommendations in the independent person’s report have reduced in the past few months.

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good

Staff have a strong sense of working together, and morale in the team is high. Staff have reflected on the difficult period of time that the home has experienced and are motivated to ensure that improvements are made. Staff are clear that the training they receive is of high quality and supports them to do their role. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 5 Staff in the home receive consistent reflective supervision underpinned by good safeguarding practice. All staff who have joined the home have been suitably vetted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children will be provided with effective support in order to prevent them from causing physical or emotional harm to each other. 16 August 2024

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; 16 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 7 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children will be supported as best as possible to fulfil their potential and live in harmony with each other.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person will demonstrate that the presenting needs of each child are fully considered when determining which children are suitable to move into the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person will actively use feedback from children and adults who know them best to understand their experiences and monitor the quality of care they receive.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; 16 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 8 understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(ix)(xii)(xiii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person will ensure that staff are working proactively to restore and improve children’s relationships through a range of strategies and restorative practice.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 16 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 9 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a))

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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: SC474150 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, White House Court, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1FD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 11 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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