Children's home run by Esland North Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All three children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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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: 21 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: 2539201 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2024 Full Good 25/09/2023 Full Good 03/05/2022 Full Good 21/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is personalised to them. Staff display children’s artwork on the walls around the home. Staff involve children in designing and decorating the living areas, and children’s bedrooms represent their hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop strong and trusted relationships with children. One child said that they love the staff who care for them. The child said they are achieving things they never thought they would achieve, including looking for a job and doing schoolwork. Another child said, ‘The staff are helpful, kind and caring.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in regular discussions that are tailored specifically to their needs. Staff encourage children to share their wishes and feelings about issues that are important to them. These include discussions about spending time with their family, school and activities. Staff consult with other professionals to help and support children to understand why they are in care. Staff are strong advocates for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have fun and engage in a variety of activities. Younger children are working through a ‘50 things to do before you’re 11¾’ activity pack. Staff record this well using photos that are developed for children to keep. Children have enjoyed picnics in the wild and watching the sunrise. One child said how they would rather just stay at home and ‘chill’, but when they go out with staff, they ‘really enjoy it’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school. One child has not been in education for some time and now engages well in tutor support. This is celebrated by the child, their social worker and their family. A family member shared how staff have persevered with the child. When children move into the home, staff consult well with education providers and ensure that children are enrolled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for when a child moves into the home is mostly detailed and robust. The manager considers the needs of children against the skills and experience of staff. Staff consult with children already living in the home about potential new children moving in. There has been one occasion where not all relevant documents about a child were received by the manager prior to the child moving in. The strength of the care planning was impacted as a result. However, the manager and staff have spent time reflecting and have adapted how they plan for future children moving into the home.

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

Staff understand the needs of children well. Risk assessments identify the challenges children may experience and how staff can best support them. Staff say risk assessments are helpful. However, staff place most importance on knowing children and developing positive relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

When children make allegations about staff, the manager promptly takes appropriate action. Procedures are followed, ensuring that the welfare of children and staff is considered. The manager ensures that children and staff are well supported and that appropriate professionals are consulted.

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

Staff clearly record detailed information about incidents involving children. This enables a clear understanding of what children may be struggling with. Staff take time to explore the feelings of children, with the aim of helping them manage their emotions more effectively.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Managers and staff respond promptly to complaints made by children. One child said how they might go and ‘vent’ with staff before bedtime and how they feel staff would support them going through the fine detail. Children feel listened to by staff. Senior managers’ responses to written complaints are not always written in a child-friendly way.

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

Health and safety around the home is well considered by managers and staff. Staff are creative in helping children understand what action to take should there be a fire. Staff place posters of fires around the home to help children think about how they would evacuate if there was a fire.

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

Staff are safely recruited. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who have been checked and verified as safe adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are reflective and committed to improving and sustaining good care for children. Learning from challenging behaviours for children is evident. Manager oversight considers how staff have supported a child and if there is anything they could have done differently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. One member of staff said about the manager support, ‘To say they dedicate their lives to the home would not be far from the truth. The selflessness, resilience, care and support that they provide staff is best in class.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and promote reflective practice. They explore the challenges and celebrate the strengths of and progress made by children. Managers provide regular professional supervision to staff. Personal and professional needs are explored. There is promotion of professional development. Managers use a variety of tools to help staff development, including scenario-based learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff to have good access to training. Training specific to the needs of children is provided. This helps staff develop their skills further in line with the needs of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff write records in a way that helps children understand their journeys. Staff ensure that language used is positive and free from jargon. Managers are committed to staff using caring language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is verbally reflective of their practice, that of the team and the care they provide to children. The quality-of-care report does not clearly evidence this reflective practice. The manager reflects on how they ascertained the views of the children. However, children’s views are not recorded in the report. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered person evaluates care provided to children and outlines a clear plan to improve and maintain the care provided. There should be reflection of the views of children, professionals and parents/carers to support further development. 14 January 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they and their staff engage proactively with the placing authority to contribute fully to the relevant plans for the child’s care on an ongoing basis and considered prior to agreement for a child moving into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.3) Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: 2539201 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2539201 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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Inspector

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Inspector

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