Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home is registered to care for two children with social and emotional difficulties and who have experienced childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, two children were living in the home. These children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since January 2024. A new manager has been appointed from within the organisation and started in post on 1 February 2024. They also manage another registered setting. They have made their application to register with Ofsted; however, this was not within the required time frame.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home and have built positive relationships with staff. This helps them to accept help and support from staff. As a result, children have made good progress in many areas of their life. One child said, ‘It is good, I really love living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and one child has left the home. This was due to concerns that their individual needs could not be safely met in the home. Staff made efforts to promote a positive end to the child’s stay in the home. This included the staff preparing a book of pictures and images of the special memories the child created while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s holistic health needs. The children are registered with local health services. Staff help children to understand the importance of attending health appointments and living a healthy lifestyle. For one child, this has led to an improvement in good hygiene practice and being able to use strategies to manage this. For the other child, this has led to them having a better understanding of eating a varied and healthy diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in school and attend regularly. One child, who struggled to manage their emotions, has received additional support with their learning. Through the skilled work of staff this child has been able to develop their self-confidence and a positive outlook. This has led to school staff safely moving the child back into the classroom so they can take part in some of their mainstream lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well presented. When there is damage in the home, repairs are completed in a timely manner. Many areas of the home have recently been renovated to a good standard. The communal areas of the home are spacious and nicely decorated. Children personalise their bedrooms to reflect their unique personalities. There are pictures of their family members that adorn the walls. Children also choose their bedsheets and posters of their favourite cartoon characters. This helps them to feel comfortable in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with professionals to help children to develop their identity. This includes encouraging them to spend time with their family members. Staff have also helped children to explore the bereavement of a sibling. This means that children maintain important family relationships and can safely explore their feelings around loss.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views shape the care and support that they get from staff. They take part in a variety of activities based on their interests and hobbies. For instance, they go swimming, play football and ride their bikes. Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 4

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

Staff use a therapeutic parenting approach with children, in line with the home’s model of care. This is underpinned by the in-house clinician who guides staff practice and development in regular team meetings. This helps children to feel safe in the home, and they have staff who they can talk to if they have any worries. As a result of this good practice, children have not been missing from home or made any complaints about staff.

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

Incentives, consistent routines and boundaries enable children to feel secure and settled. Staff show trust in children and their developing ability to make safer decisions. Staff help children to understand the risks to them in the community, including road safety. As a result, children have an agreed regular time that they can go out in the community on their own. They have responded well to this and there have been no incidents or accidents arising from this.

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

Staff respond to challenging behaviour appropriately. Staff occasionally use physical intervention when necessary to safeguard children and others, and only as a last resort. The manager provides consistent oversight of these incidents and helps staff to continuously learn and develop their practice. However, following a serious incident where a child hurt themselves while being held by staff, the manager failed to notify Ofsted. This affects the regulator’s ability to monitor how effectively children are safeguarded. The manager acknowledged this during the inspection.

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

The recruitment of staff is thorough. The manager ensures that all necessary checks are undertaken. This means that staff who work with children are safe and appropriate.

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

The previous registered manager’s oversight and practice were not effective. The manager also failed to keep the wider professional network updated about incidents. As a result, there was a brief period when the team was not working together effectively and staff morale was low.

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

The recruitment of a new manager and a deputy manager has brought about a period of reflection. No children lived at the home during this two-month period. This thoughtful approach enabled the staff to rebuild their confidence and the home to be repaired and renovated. This also allowed leaders to reset standards in the home before children moved in. However, the manager has not kept the home’s statement of purpose under review or sent a revised statement to Ofsted in a timely manner.

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

Leaders and managers now develop efficient monitoring and review systems. The manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. They have worked hard to improve the leadership and management and the culture in the home. However, this work is in its infancy, with the full impact on the care and safety of children yet to be realised. Staff say that they feel supported by managers, have regular supervision, and that morale has improved. Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 5 The recruitment of staff for the home is ongoing. There is only one suitably qualified member of staff in the team. Some of the experienced staff, including the deputy manager, support those staff who have no experience. Further to this, there has been a reduction in the use of temporary staff. This means that children experience consistent care.

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

Staff complete training that includes additional training based on the children’s identified needs. This means that staff have the knowledge to keep children safe and well.

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

Professionals and children’s families speak positively about the staff and the manager. Their feedback reflects the good care and support that children receive while living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that staff are suitably qualified. 26 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 26 August 2024

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 7

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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: 2724044 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2724044 9 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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