Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Preston

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 1 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

A private company owns this home. The home provides care for up to 2 children who may display complex behaviours because of their experiences. The home provides care to children for up to 12 weeks to enable their care needs to be understood before they move to longer-term care arrangements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2025 and holds a relevant qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection. The child spoke with the inspector.

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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: 26 February 2025

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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: SC480161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/2/25 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 5 children have moved into and out of the home in keeping with their individual care plans. On the day of this inspection, one child was preparing to move on. The child spoke with the inspector and gave very positive feedback about both living in the home and the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from nurturing relationships with staff, which helps them to have a positive experience of living in the home. One child said that staff made him feel welcome from the moment he arrived and that he felt safe. The child added that staff are calm and offer hugs when needed to help him feel better. As a result of the care provided by staff, children feel valued and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers take time to gather and consider relevant information before children move in to help ensure that children can live together well. A considered approach to understanding children’s individual needs has contributed to children receiving care that has helped them to feel safe and well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers receive support from an in ‑ house therapist to strengthen their understanding of each child’s individual needs. As a result, children benefit from being cared for by skilled adults who provide individualised support that helps children with complex needs feel safe enough to begin talking about their feelings and develop strategies to manage these safely. As a result, some children have made good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from staff who place a consistent focus on their engagement with education. This ensures that learning is part of each child’s daily routine and is approached in a way that takes account of children’s abilities and interests and feels achievable and positive. One child told the inspector about his daily routine and described how, once he had completed his education tasks, staff supported him to take part in fun activities. Overall, this balance of structure and reward has helped children to stay motivated and engaged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For the most part, children live in a home that is warm and welcoming. Children’s artwork is on display in the lounge, which helps to reinforce their sense of belonging. Since the last inspection, there was a period of increased risk which required items to be temporarily removed from some areas of the home to support children’s safety. This did impact on the homeliness of the environment. However, managers have ensured that a warm, personalised feel has since been reinstated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 4

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

Children have experienced some unsettled periods and there has been an increase in incidents. Managers and staff work hard to respond effectively to changes in children’s needs, taking appropriate action to support children. Support from the home’s in-house therapist, alongside adherence to protocols, has ensured that the support provided to children in these periods has helped to de-escalate situations. Managers work well with partner agencies to ensure that children with escalating and complex behaviours have access to care that meets their individual needs. When physical intervention has been used, this has been as a last resort to keep children safe. Managers’ and staff’s responses to significant incidents are proportionate and appropriate. A consistent and nurturing approach from staff supports both children and staff to remain safe. When children have shown signs that they might hurt themselves, staff have responded promptly and effectively to

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

increase children’s safety and have obtained both therapeutic and medical advice when required.

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

Appropriate action is taken in response to allegations and complaints. Information is shared with relevant safeguarding agencies and there is a multi-agency approach to keeping children safe. There was one complaint about a member of staff during this inspection period. Managers ensured that relevant professionals were alerted and the investigation protocols were followed. Children were supported to understand the process and outcome, although this complaint was later withdrawn.

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

Children are supported to learn about dangers and have engaged with a range of topics to help them understand and identify risks to keep themselves safe. For example, staff completed additional work with children following an online safety incident to increase children’s understanding about how they can keep themselves safe online.

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

On one occasion, a child known to self-harm gained access to a knife during an activity, placing the child and others at risk of harm. Safeguarding systems provide managers with timely oversight of incidents and concerns, and this enabled them to highlight the shortfall in practice quickly and take action to address unsafe practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes in the leadership and management of the home. The previous registered manager progressed into the role of responsible individual, and the former deputy has stepped into the registered manager role. These internal transitions have ensured continuity, as leaders have a strong understanding of the children, staff practice and the team culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported by a committed staff team, with newer members working confidently alongside experienced colleagues to provide consistent, nurturing care. Staff have benefited from additional training that has strengthened their ability to respond effectively to children’s individual needs as they have evolved. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 5 Managers and staff liaise regularly with the provider’s therapist to support their understanding of each child’s lived experiences and to ensure they use the home’s therapeutic model of parenting effectively. This enables a tailored approach to care that is consistently supportive, attuned and empathetic to meet children’s individual needs. As a result, children experience care that appropriately responds to their individual needs and helps them feel safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported through reflective team meetings and regular supervision. One member of staff said that they felt well supported by managers, both professionally and personally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have a good understanding of the strengths of the home. Monitoring systems are in place to support managers’ prompt identification and response to practice shortfalls. This is supported by active monitoring and oversight from the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents told the inspector that children build trusting relationships with the adults who care for them and that communication from staff is consistent. Consequently, they are kept fully informed about their child’s progress. One parent said that although their child has now moved on, staff have continued to keep them in mind and stay in contact to offer ongoing support. As a result, children experience care that extends beyond their time in the home and reflects managers’ and staff’s genuine commitment to their continued wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities to follow safeguarding polices in place to keep both children and staff safe. 1 May 2026

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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: SC480161 7

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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 Ltd, Suite 1 & 5 , Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Neil Harcourt-Poole

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Inspector

Sharon Douglas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC480161 8 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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