Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 1 Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 19 August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be 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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 23 January 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Good 17/10/2023 Full Inadequate 08/12/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in the home are varied. Children do make progress in some areas of their lives. However, due to shortfalls in staffing and consistency, children do not always receive high standards of care.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff understand the value of education. When children are not accessing formal education, managers challenge external professionals and advocate in the child’s best interests. As a result, children’s education is a priority for all professionals in children’s lives.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are not met consistently. Staff support children to attend optician and GP appointments. However, staff are not promoting or supporting one child to have a healthy diet or to brush their teeth regularly. Although dental appointments have been arranged for the child, the barriers to the child attending have not been addressed effectively. This means that children are not supported to meet all their personal care needs.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff support the children to maintain relationships with members of their family. Children’s requests to increase time with their family are listened to and acted on by managers. Staff take the children to see their relatives who live a significant distance away from the home. This ensures that the children maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Care planning is not thorough for all children. One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. One child is planning to move out of the home to live independently. Managers have identified the relevant support from external services for the child. However, there is no clear plan of work for staff to follow to ensure that the child has the skills they need to live independently.

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improvement to be good

The home is generally well maintained, and the provider has ensured that major repairs have been completed. However, there are several smaller repairs that require attention throughout the home. This means that the children’s environment is not maintained to a high standard.

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improvement to be good

Staff know how to keep children safe. Managers complete a thorough assessment before children move in to ensure that their needs can be met. This also identifies how children can live together safely. As a result, the overall risks for the children living in the home are low. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 4 Managers and staff do not always implement clear expectations for children. One child is not supported by staff to follow the daily routine set out in their plans. This impacts on the child’s ability to feel emotionally connected and secure in their home.

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improvement to be good

Staffing in the home has not been sufficient. Children have experienced many changes in the staff caring for them, making it difficult for them to form trusting relationships. As a result, incidents for one child have increased, and another child has not settled into the home successfully. This is something that leaders and managers are aware of and are working to address.

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improvement to be good

Several new members of staff have begun working in the home since the last inspection. Leaders and managers ensure that safeguarding checks are completed so that those working in the home are safe and suitable to do so.

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improvement to be good

Staff undertake the necessary training. Managers seek out training that is specific to children’s vulnerabilities. This means that staff can identify and appropriately manage risks for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have a consistent approach when supporting children in distress. Not all staff follow the behaviour management strategies detailed in children’s individual plans. This means children do not always experience predictable and consistent responses from staff, to help them feel emotionally safe.

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improvement to be good

Records of restraint do not include the necessary level of detail to ensure that there is effective oversight of staff practice. This is a missed opportunity for managers to ensure that staff practice is safe and effective.

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

Staff say they feel supported by the manager and that she promotes their well-being. However, the manager is not always able to complete her management tasks as she regularly covers shifts in the home due to inadequate numbers of staff. This impacts on the effectiveness of the management oversight of the home.

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

Professionals are positive about the manager and say that she is proactive in her care of the children and listens to their wishes. This ensures that children’s views are heard and that they are advocated for.

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

Managers hold regular team meetings. They are often attended by the therapist commissioned by the provider. This supports the team to reflect on their practice and improve their care of the children.

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

Systems to oversee the quality of care being provided for children are not fully embedded. Oversight by managers is not thorough, limiting the identification of patterns and trends. This is a missed opportunity for managers to use information to improve the care of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 5 Managers use supervisions to support reflective practice. Supervision gives staff the space to identify areas for development in their practice. However, staff supervisions are not held consistently. This is something the manager is aware of and has recently put systems in place to address.

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

Staff rotas do not give an accurate picture of actual hours worked by the manager in the home. They also do not detail whether she is covering shifts due to staff shortages or fulfilling her substantive role as a manager. This means that leaders and managers do not have a full understanding of the management oversight in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are systems of monitoring in place that identify effectively shortfalls in staff practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the staff are working together effectively and strategies they use are consistent, that there are sufficient staff in the home to provide consistent care 6 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 7 for the children and that staff receive regular supervision as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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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— that staff—

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

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

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. 6 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 8 (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff can confidently and consistently establish and communicate the expectations of the home to the children, that staff have the skills to de-escalate behaviours in line with the home’s therapeutic ethos and that staff are supported to understand any barriers children may have to building relationships with them.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is a robust plan in place for children moving out of the home that enables them to live independently. 6 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 6 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 9 that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to attend dental appointments and understand the importance of oral hygiene and that children understand the benefits of eating a healthy and balanced diet.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they keep an accurate rota of the shifts worked by all members of staff, including the registered manager. The rota should indicate whether the registered manager is covering shifts or working in their substantive post. 06 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept that enable them and their staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 10  The registered person should ensure that children live in a warm and welcoming environment that has a homely feel, and that repairs are completed in a timely manner and the decor of the home is of a high standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2621334 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2621334 12 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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