Esther House

Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 1 SC474150 Registered provider: Benjamin UK Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run and provides therapeutic residential care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2018.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: good Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/06/2025 Full Good 26/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/09/2023 Full Good 16/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 3

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Summary of findings

Two children have lived at the home for a considerable time and have made sustained positive progress. They have developed trusting relationships with staff, which has helped them to achieve positive outcomes in education and develop age-appropriate independence skills. One child moved in recently, and staff are working positively with him to help him settle in and feel safe and secure. Managers and staff provide nurturing care and maintain consistent boundaries with a focus on developing meaningful relationships that support children’s stability and wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

Children are supported and have positive and planned moves into the home. Managers and leaders are stable and maintain strong oversight of the service. They ensure that staff are well trained and are supported through regular supervision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff support them to reflect on their emotions when they are distressed, helping them to build healthy relationships with peers and adults. This has resulted in children experiencing stability and consistency in their lives. Staff have also achieved a significant reduction in episodes of children going missing from care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned moves into the home. Managers invest time in getting to know children and their needs to ensure that they can provide the right care and support from the outset. Staff carry out comprehensive impact risk assessments, with careful consideration given to the needs of the children already living in the home and those moving in. This helps children to experience smooth transitions and settle into the home well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage all the children to engage in education. They collaborate with placing authorities, schools and virtual schools to ensure that children have access to relevant education. Managers have ensured that children have successfully secured school places for the next academic year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to spend time with people who are important in their lives. Staff have collaborated with the local authority and family members to successfully facilitate contact between children and a sibling. As a result, the children have rebuilt and strengthened their relationship with a sibling whom they had not seen for a significant period. This has promoted positive family connections and improved the children’s sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their mental health and wellbeing and use effective strategies to help them reflect on their emotions. External agency support is also sought when Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 4 required. For one child, this has resulted in an improvement in their ability to express their views, emotions and advocate for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment requires several repairs and would benefit from regular deep cleaning to maintain appropriate living standards. The children’s bedrooms were observed to be unkempt, with significant amounts of dirty clothing left on the floor. One bedroom had a noticeable unpleasant odour, which was caused by the accumulation of dirty clothing. This raises concerns regarding the overall cleanliness and upkeep of the home environment.

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

Staff ensure that effective responses are in place when children go missing from care. When children leave the home without authorisation, staff are proactive in preventing children from leaving their sight. They consistently search for children and demonstrate persistence in locating them, including boarding trains with children, stopping buses and following taxis when necessary. Staff collaborate with external agencies to manage risk effectively. This has resulted in a significant reduction in missing-from-home episodes.

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

Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the risks that children face. They take a proactive approach to assessing, managing and reducing those risks. They respond promptly and effectively to children’s emerging needs, ensuring that safeguarding concerns are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity. For example, one child had been engaging in self-harming behaviours. Through observation and a thorough understanding of the child’s needs, staff and managers were able to identify the underlying cause of the behaviour and implement effective support strategies, resulting in the cessation of the self-harming incidents.

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

Staff work collaboratively with external agencies to manage risks associated with child sexual exploitation, seeking specialist support and interventions when required. They consistently follow safeguarding procedures and protocols, taking timely action to protect children and promote their welfare, resulting in improved safety and positive outcomes for children.

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

Staff work effectively with children to address substance misuse and vaping. Through key-work sessions and children’s meetings, they help children to understand the risks of these substances and how they can affect their health. While children’s misuse of substances has reduced significantly, vaping continues to be a concern.

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

Leaders and managers take complaints and allegations seriously. They carefully review the concerns and seek appropriate support from relevant external agencies. They carry out internal investigations and provide comprehensive responses to parents who raise concerns. This gives parents and professionals the reassurance they need about the care and safety of their children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable and consistent management team that has a clear understanding and vision for the home. Leaders and managers are reflective in their practice and take effective action to address identified weaknesses. They have successfully developed a committed staff team that provides children with stability and continuity of care. As a result, children have positive relationships with the manager and staff, helping them to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support staff promote a positive learning culture in the home. Staff receive regular supervision that helps them reflect on their practice and develop their skills. They speak positively about the support they receive from leaders and managers. Staff also access a range of training opportunities that are tailored to children’s needs and aligned with the home’s therapeutic model of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided to children. They regularly review practice and identify areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment procedures are robust, helping to ensure that suitable staff are employed. New staff receive appropriate induction and support, enabling them to develop the skills and confidence needed to care for children safely and effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are, however, some areas where management oversight requires strengthening. For one child, managers have not been sufficiently proactive in escalating concerns regarding the limited involvement and oversight provided by the placing authority. The child’s care has not been formally reviewed, and communication from the placing authority has been infrequent over an extended period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have not consistently submitted safeguarding notifications to the regulatory body within the required timescales. In addition, some notifications lack sufficient detail about the risks to children, the impact of incidents and the actions taken by staff in response. This is due to a lack of effective systems being in place during the manager’s absence. Leaders and managers have recognised the need to strengthen arrangements to ensure that regulatory requirements are consistently met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must challenge placing authorities when necessary to ensure that effective care plans are in place for children. 1 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing, homely and supportive environment for children. This includes attending promptly to redecoration or repair and celebrating children and their achievements in the communal areas of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious incidents are notified to the appropriate parties within 24 hours. The system should cover the action to take if the incident arises on a weekend or public holiday. This specifically relates to ensuring that notifications clearly outline the risks and actions taken during times when the registered manager is unavailable. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 7

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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: SC474150 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, White House Court, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1FD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Inspectors

Rose Joseph, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC474150 9 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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