Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 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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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

Date of last inspection: 16 October 2024

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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: 2648208 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/10/2024 Full Good 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 moved out of the home and one child has moved in. The manager identifies when staff are not able to meet children’s needs. He works with local authorities to find alternative placements that are better suited for the child’s needs. The manager has reflected on children’s experiences of moving in and out of the home and has implemented more thorough plans to ensure processes are improved. The staff are continuing to support the child until a new home has been identified to ensure the child has a positive move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend health appointments. When required, referrals have been made to specialist health services. Staff are strong advocates in ensuring that children’s health needs are assessed and understood. The in-house therapists also provide support and guidance to staff, enabling them to reflect on and understand the children’s current and emerging needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education. One child who has left the home completed their GCSEs during their time of living here, and the child currently living in the home is being supported with tuition in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities inside and out of the home. The child enjoys playing football, going on bike rides and playing with Lego. Photos of these experiences are kept for the child to look back on and remember positive memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is supported well by staff in line with the children’s plans. This supports children to maintain relationships and their family identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the physical home environment is well maintained. Prompt action is taken by staff to address and repair any damage caused.

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

The child said they can identify adults in the home who they can talk to. They have only lived in the home for a short period and are continuing to develop trusting relationships.

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

Safeguarding incidents are dealt with effectively by staff and managers. The child’s risks and vulnerabilities are understood by staff. However, one new member of staff was unsure of the whistle-blowing process, and not all known risks have been included in the child’s risk assessment. This is something that the manager took swift action to address.

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

Staff understand the risks associated with children going missing from the home. Staff take appropriate action, including looking for children and working closely with other professionals to ensure that children are helped to return safely. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 4 Staff manage incidents in the home well. Staff ensure that children are spoken to following all incidents. However, staff do not always engage children in meaningful conversations to develop their understanding and awareness of risk.

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

There has been one occasion when an agency waking night staff member was found asleep. However, additional staff were available to support the child during this time. Concerns were shared appropriately with relevant safeguarding professionals including the local authority designated officer. The manager took swift action, which included having additional staff in the home during the night.

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

The manager has ensured that all serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted as required by regulation.

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

One child has been physically held on numerous occasions to safeguard the child and others. Managers have oversight of physical interventions and demonstrate professional curiosity to understand the underlying reasons for the children’s behaviours. Children are offered the opportunity to speak to someone after any incident, and staff are offered a debrief.

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

Professionals are complimentary about the care that the children receive. Staff have developed professional relationships with external agencies and are able to appropriately challenge others to ensure that children’s needs are being met.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place to ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused, caring and knowledgeable. He also manages another home nearby. The manager is supported by a deputy manager and together they have clear oversight of the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision. These sessions provide opportunities for staff to reflect on their own well-being, the child and on their practice. Staff speak highly of the manager and the support they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular training opportunities, including training in the home’s therapeutic model as identified in the home statement of purpose. These learning opportunities enable the team to better understand children’s different care needs and risks. However, agency staff are required in the home, and they do not receive the same level of training as core staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly, providing a forum to reflect on the children’s care. This improves consistency in staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 5 Children are cared for by a stable core staff team. The manager takes action to provide consistency in the use of agency waking night staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s suitability of the location review has not been undertaken when new concerns have become known. This does not provide staff with up-to-date information and help staff have a greater understanding of risks in the local area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have effective internal monitoring systems to enable them to evaluate the care to children. This ensures that there is continuous improvement in the care provided to children by the team. Consequently, the registered manager is able to identify opportunities to further develop the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 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

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that risk management plans include all known risks and clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 2 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 7 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

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff, including agency and bank staff, have suitable skills, training and experience.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work carried out in the home. This includes ensuring that meaningful direct work is being undertaken with the child. 2 January 2026

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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 2 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 8 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure a robust assessment is undertaken before a child moves into the home and to be more professionally curious.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.09)  The registered person should ensure that a review of the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises is undertaken at least once a year and if any new concerns arise. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulation, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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 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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Inspectors

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2648208 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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