Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 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 by a private company. It is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child spoke to the inspector about their experiences of 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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has experienced a positive move back to the care of their family and one child has moved into the home. The child living in the home said that they are happy and have developed positive relationships with the team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s physical and emotional health needs are met. The child is supported to attend regular health appointments and has access to the organisation’s clinician. The clinical team has played a key role in delivering training to the staff team to support the child’s individual health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends an alternative education setting on a reduced timetable and is making progress. However, leaders and managers have not been proactive in challenging professionals to ensure that the child receives sufficient support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported to develop and maintain important relationships and has been provided with opportunities to enjoy a variety of activities, such as a summer holiday, bowling, trampolining and going to the cinema.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is involved in discussions about their care. They are listened to and their views are regularly sought. There is good communication with parents and professionals, who speak of the positive progress made by the child since living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to develop skills they will need to support themselves in the future, such as cooking and budgeting. This is helping the child to prepare for future independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is maintained to a good standard and repairs are addressed without delay. The child has helped to rebuild furniture they have previously damaged. This has supported the child to invest in the home and take ownership of their environment.

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

Staff know the chid well and understand the risks that the child may face. However, risk plans relating to online safety do not provide clear guidance for all staff members to follow, especially regarding using electronic devices. Despite this shortfall, there has been no impact on the child’s safety.

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

Incidents of missing from home do not occur frequently. When the child has been missing from home, staff have followed the child’s individual plans and supported them to return home safely. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 4 Direct work takes place regularly to support the child. However, variable recording practices mean that there are missed opportunities to highlight discussions about important subjects, such as staying safe online.

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

Staff provide the child with consistent responses that encourage positive behaviour. Physical intervention has been required on one occasion. The manager ensured that the child and staff involved received a debrief. Additional training was also sourced to support the team of staff and develop their confidence in the use of physical intervention techniques.

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

Safer recruitment practice is followed, and staff have received appropriate induction and training for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a registered manager and a deputy manager who are child centred in their day-to-day practice and value the views and wishes of the child. One staff member said, ‘The support we receive from managers has been instrumental in encouraging us to be the best we can be.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious. He supports the team to consistently deliver good-quality care for the child through regular supervision and reflective practice exercises. Actions identified during these are used to develop and improve staff practice. This means that staff are helped and encouraged to learn and develop in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly. Staff are supported by a clinician during each meeting to review the child’s progress and identify any further areas that may require support. This ensures that the child is supported and receives individualised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from adults important to the child and professionals is overwhelmingly positive, and the staff have been praised for their consistency, challenge and advocacy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 5

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments contain clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce the risks to children. 6 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 6 help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is a clear plan in place to support children who are not attending education full time.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that key-work sessions are purposeful, evaluative and recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 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: 2648208 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 and 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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