Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to three children with social and/or emotional difficulties and associated complex needs. There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At this home, staff are referred to as adults. This is reflected in the report.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 26 September 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2023 Full Good 19/07/2022 Full Good 21/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with adults who understand their individual needs. Adults talk about and to children with respect and work with them to help them pursue goals and manage difficulties. This supports children to make progress from their individual starting points, whether this be joining a football club, succeeding in their GCSEs, or seeing their friends more.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are engaging in education. Adults communicate well with education colleagues to promote progress and to ensure that children have the right support. Adults help children to make plans for their future, explore career options and help to identify training. This helps children to enjoy learning, achieve and aspire. One child has developed their own business plan. Another has significantly increased their time in education and enthusiasm for learning.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s important relationships are valued by adults. They are supported to spend regular time with family members. Adults work hard to make sure this goes well, travelling with and supervising family time when needed. Family members are positive about the care children receive and the way the home supports time with their children. One parent recently sent a card to thank adults for all their ‘time, care, love and support’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well by adults. For instance, they help children to build on their independence skills. Recording of this support is sensitive and written to the children. This helps children to make progress with the things that matter most to them and ensures that they have a sensitive record for later life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to. Regular children’s meetings and one-to-one key-work sessions help children to express their wishes, participate in decisions and plan activities. ‘You said, we did’ forms provide a record of how children’s views have been acted on. This helps children to feel heard and respected.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Adults respond appropriately when children have had significant accidents or difficulties with their health. This has helped children to recover and to feel nurtured and cared for. One child said, ‘They are lovely, caring people. They were really there for me.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The overall home environment is homely and child friendly. Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms and to make decisions about how the home is decorated. This helps children to feel that they belong and have a sense of ownership of their home. Two of the communal areas would benefit from redecoration and there are missed opportunities to celebrate children’s experiences and achievements in these areas. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 4

p.3

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

Adults understand the risks to children in their care and the action to take when there are safeguarding concerns. Risk management and safety plans are kept up to date so that adults are aware of and respond to children’s changing needs. Adults support children to understand risks, such as those related to going missing from care, unsafe relationships and online activity. This shows that children’s safety is a priority.

p.4

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

Adults respond well when children go missing. They maintain good relationships with partner agencies to ensure that there are coordinated responses, information is shared promptly and plans are reviewed. For one child, this has supported a significant reduction in missing-from-care episodes. However, return home interviews have not always been completed and adults do not always challenge the local authority about this.

p.4

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

One child has experienced a significant incident related to online risks. Although known risks were considered and appropriate action was taken by adults at the time, this was a negative incident for the child. Learning has been identified from this incident and the manager has supported the team to reflect and access relevant training. This shows an openness to learn and bolster safeguarding practice.

p.4

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

Adults respond to challenging behaviour constructively. Strategies are in place to promote positive behaviour. Physical interventions are rarely used. When they are, this is only when necessary and there is good attention to repairing relationships between children and adults. This helps children to feel safe and enjoy secure relationships.

p.4

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

The manager promotes an ethos of safeguarding and child-centred practice. When there have been allegations against adults, complaints made by children or concerns about practice these have been followed up thoroughly. Other relevant agencies are consulted when required. This helps to ensure that children feel listened to and receive safe, attuned care.

p.4

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

When new adults come to work in the home the manager ensures that safer recruitment practices are used. This helps protect children from adults who may be unsafe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experience registered manager and her deputy. They are fully involved in the children’s lives, and have a good knowledge of their needs, starting points and progress. Both are dedicated about being trusted individuals for children and adults. This supports a culture of care and provides positive role modelling for others.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are changes happening to the leadership team. The registered manager is due to move on from the home and the current deputy will take on the management role. Although this may bring challenges, leaders have considered the potential impact these Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 5 changes could have on children. Therefore, a gradual handover period is planned, and children have been given the opportunity to share their feelings about the change.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults maintain good relationships with others who support children. Social Care professionals are positive about the home’s care, communication and the progress children are making. There is a sense of collaborative working to promote the needs of children. This helps children to receive effective coordinated care. One professional spoke positively about the communication they receive from adults.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults are positive about working in the home and the support from managers and colleagues. They are supported through regular one-to-one supervision and input from a psychotherapist. Team meetings are used imaginatively to promote learning and positive team dynamics. This means children are more likely to be cared for by adults who are well resourced and emotionally resilient. However, the content of supervision sessions is not always recorded. This detracts from support and accountability.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is staffed by a stable team of adults who are suitably qualified and trained. Use of agency staff is minimal. Adults have completed mandatory training as well as training specific to the needs of the children living in the home. This helps to ensure that children receive care from familiar adults who are well equipped to respond to their needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders understand the importance of management oversight and have effective systems in place to support quality assurance. This includes regular monthly visits by an independent person, to which the manager consistently responds. The manager completes twice yearly quality of care reviews which inform planning for the home. However, there is not a system in place for gathering the views of parents to inform these reviews. Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. This is in relation to prompt attention to redecoration, displaying children’s photos and showcasing children’s achievements in the communal areas of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are given the opportunity to have an independent return home interview when they return from being missing from home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that a timely and accurate record is made of the content of supervision sessions for adults. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that all relevant individuals, including children’s

p.6

Recommendations

parents where appropriate, are consulted when carrying out the six-monthly quality of care review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

p.6

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: 2624054 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Mitchamson

p.7

Inspector

Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2624054 8 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.7

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8