Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 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

A private company owns this home. The home opened in December 2023. The home provides care for up to 2 children who may display complex behaviours because of their experiences. The home offers short-term placements of 12 weeks to children to assess their care needs before they move to longer-term care arrangements.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in September 2025. A new manager was appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There have been no children living in the home since July 2025.

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This monitoring visit

On 13 August 2025, Ofsted issued a notice of decision to vary the conditions of registration of the home. The home was not in operation, and there were no plans to admit children to the home. The variation to the conditions was that the provider must inform Ofsted of their intention to admit children 3 months before a child moves into the home.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has advised that they wish to accommodate children again. The purpose of this monitoring visit was to review the home’s readiness to open.

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This monitoring visit

The home is well maintained, warm and welcoming. High-quality soft furnishings contribute to a nurturing atmosphere. Children’s rooms are comfortably furnished, and staff prepare welcome baskets which contain items for children to enjoy. Modern window restrictors have replaced old fashioned restrictors on the outside of the upstairs windows. While the old restrictors have been disconnected, they have not yet been removed, which detracts from the homely appearance. The manager has a clear plan to address this. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 2 Systems for monitoring health and safety in the home are effective. Audits by external professionals help to ensure that any issues are identified, and the manager ensures that action is taken in response. The home is safe for children to live in.

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This monitoring visit

Staff benefit from the support of a therapeutic lead clinician who provides individual workshops to staff that are tailored to children’s needs. These are dynamic sessions that allow staff space to reflect on practice and identify what is working well and what needs to change. This helps to ensure that practice is continually developing and that staff provide tailored support.

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This monitoring visit

The previous registered manager was dual registered for this and another home. She resigned from her post at this home in August 2025 to focus on the other home. The manager who has been appointed was previously a deputy manager in the same organisation and understands staff and the home well. He is experienced and qualified.

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This monitoring visit

Staff turnover is low, and all staff either hold or are working towards the relevant qualification. This helps to ensure that the staff team has a consistent baseline of knowledge, skills and professional competence for their roles. There are sufficient staff to care for children in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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This monitoring visit

Staff benefit from a comprehensive range of training, including training which is individualised to children’s needs. Training takes into account the short-term nature of children’s time at the home and includes the types of risk children can experience.

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This monitoring visit

Safer recruitment checks are robust. This helps to ensure that only suitable staff are employed to work with children.

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This monitoring visit

The requirement and recommendations from the last full inspection were not reviewed at this visit. One new recommendation has been raised. The requirement and recommendations will be considered at the next inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Following this visit, it was agreed that the home is ready to admit children and the 3-month condition can be lifted. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 4

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they obtain information on a child’s health needs, including relevant health assessment records, in order to inform their understanding of a child’s health needs when they move into the home. 22 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, including in relation to consequences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. The person conducting the debrief should be independent from the Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 5 incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and

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Recommendations

supportive environment that meets the needs of its children. In particular, where window restrictors are required, children’s homes should seek as far as possible for these to be unobtrusive in order to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 6

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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 & 5 Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Neil Harcourt-Poole

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Inspector

Laura Norcop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 2742639 7 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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