Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 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

The home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and 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

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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 18 December 2024

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Good 04/12/2023 Full Good 18/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Shortfalls in staffing mean that the child has been cared for by waking night agency staff who have not responded consistently and safely to the child. Waking night agency staff do not understand the child’s needs and risks and the child does not know the adults who are caring for them. This has negatively impacted on the child’s experiences, progress and safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Emergency services have been required to support the staff. The child barricaded themself in their bedroom on two occasions, one of these was when waking night agency staff had fallen asleep. Appropriate action has not been taken to ensure that the child is unable to barricade themself in their bedroom in the future. This does not demonstrate that the home is a safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child’s bedroom was very untidy at the time of the inspection, with lots of clothes strewn over the floor. During the inspection there was a lack of storage space for the child to store their clothes due a previous incident. Furthermore, a lighter was observed in the child’s bedroom, which poses a risk to the child and others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child moved out of the home in a planned way, and the child made progress from their starting point in all areas. The new child’s move into the home was well planned, and they had the opportunity to meet staff beforehand. This ensured that the child had a welcoming and positive start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child said they are happy living at the home and have built trusted relationships with most of the staff. Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them, and family and friends are welcomed into the home.

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

Recent safeguarding practices in the home have been extremely poor and have had a negative impact on the child’s experience and progress. Management oversight of safeguarding practice is not sufficiently robust and does not identify and address all shortfalls in practice.

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

Staff do not follow the child’s risk assessment, which has resulted in the child experiencing significant harm. On more than one occasion, waking night agency staff have fallen asleep while on shift. This has resulted in a number of serious safeguarding incidents where children have been at risk of significant harm.

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

All known risks are not included in the child’s risk management plan, and the plan does not include guidance for agency waking night staff to follow to keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 4 When concerns were shared in relation to agency waking night staff falling asleep, the manager took immediate action to ensure that appropriate agencies were informed in accordance with the home’s safeguarding policy. However, the decision to have additional waking night staff in place was not made until this issue was raised during this inspection and further discussions took place with the child’s placing authority.

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

There was a delay in staff contacting the police to report the child missing from home on one occasion. Although there has been some learning and reflection on this, it is not included in the incident report, but this was recorded in the member of staff’s supervision record.

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

Staff understand the risks associated with children going missing from home and take appropriate action, including looking for the child and collaborating with other professionals to ensure they are helped to return home safely.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted as required by regulation.

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

Safer recruitment practices in relation to agency staff are not sufficiently robust. There is a lack of professional curiosity in relation to agency staff and their skills and experience. However, for permanent staff, safer recruitment practices ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed at the home.

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

The manager took swift action during the inspection to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place to address the shortfalls identified in safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have failed to maintain effective management oversight of the home. There is a lack of reflection by the manager following incidents, which means that shortfalls in staff practice are not always identified and addressed. Additionally, there is a lack of professional curiosity by the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The use of agency waking night agency staff has had a detrimental impact on the child. While leaders and managers recognise the shortfalls and have taken action to address this, the child has experienced an unacceptable standard of care and been placed at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child did share with the manager that an agency waking night fell asleep which was investigated and there was no evidence on the first occasion. The child then took it upon themselves to take photographic evidence, and appropriate action was undertaken by the manager and concerns shared with the agency and safety plans put in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager supports the team to foster good working relationships with external professionals and the child’s family. There is good communication and partnership working to ensure that the child’s needs are understood. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 5 Team meetings are held on a regular basis, and staff have access to regular therapeutic consultations with a qualified psychotherapist. This provides the opportunity for staff to reflect on the children’s care needs and risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular reflective supervision, which gives staff the opportunity to discuss the child’s progress and opportunities to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of care reports provide a review of children’s experiences. However, the opinions of staff are not included or considered in the reports. This reduces opportunities to ensure that the feedback from staff is being used to develop practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and 9 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 7 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all staff have all the information they need and understand each child’s individual needs and risks;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff understand how to identify escalating of emerging risk and respond quickly to keep children safe;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all staff have access to electronic recording systems; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that children’s bedrooms are maintained and furnished to a safe standard.

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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

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; and 9 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 8 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that there is sufficient staffing in the home at all times;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all staff, including agency staff, have all the information they require to understand the child’s individual needs and risks;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that there is oversight of the quality of care in the home, and that action is taken to safeguard children following incidents in the home.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the opinions of staff are considered in the quality of care review. (Guide to Children Homes Regulations, including the quality standards page 65, paragraph 15.2)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2648027 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2648027 10 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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