Children's Home run by Esland South Limited in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 1 SC425418

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Registered provider: Esland South 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 one of a group of privately owned homes run by an independent provider. It offers care for up to 4 children with complex needs who require specialist support.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved out, and no children have moved into the home. There was 1 child living at the home at the time of this inspection. They were not spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since May 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 requires improvement to be 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: 18 November 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: SC425418 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Good 11/03/2025 Full Outstanding 30/10/2023 Full Good 08/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, the children have made some progress. They have built relationships with some staff, enjoyed activities with staff and increased education attendance and engagement. This has all helped the children feel valued and listened to. Incidents have reduced and professionals and staff have no safeguarding concerns. Some improvements have been made under leadership and management. However, some issues are yet to be addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop trusting relationships with children and place great importance on helping them experience stability, belonging and positive endings. When children move on from the home, staff ensure that these moves are meaningful and celebrate children’s achievements. For example, one child was able to share a farewell gathering with current and former staff members, recognising the significant relationships they had developed. Another child continues to visit the home following their move and spoke positively on a radio station about their experiences. As a result, children leave with positive memories, a sense of being valued and lasting supportive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with the children. Positive relationships with the staff have contributed to the progress that the children have made. The children are making good progress from their starting points. Staff encourage children to understand the importance of education. This has helped the children make progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to enjoy a wide range of activities, helping them to experience positive childhood opportunities. This is particularly important for children who have experienced significant trauma and disruption. Through these experiences, children develop confidence, build positive memories and regain a sense of childhood. Staff also promote age-appropriate independence skills, enabling children to develop the confidence and practical abilities needed for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Photographs of children and staff displayed throughout the house create a warm and homely environment where children feel valued, included and that they belong. As a result, children experience a greater sense of security, identity and connection to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work proactively with external professionals, including mental health services, to access the support children require. This coordinated approach promotes children’s physical and emotional wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 4

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

Staff have a sound understanding of children’s individual needs, vulnerabilities and risks. They use detailed risk assessments and personalised plans to guide their practice and ensure children receive consistent, safe and effective care. Their knowledge of each child enables them to respond sensitively and appropriately, helping children to feel safe, understood and protected. Professionals speak highly of the safeguarding practice within the home.

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

Staff feel confident reporting and escalating child protection concerns. They understand the whistleblowing policy.

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

There have been no complaints or allegations against staff. Physical interventions are rare and managed well. When missing-from-home incidents occur, staff generally respond well and multi-agency working is effective. Lessons learned are carried out when there are concerns either with incidents or staff response to incidents. As a result, staff have been able to successfully intervene meaningfully and support children to stay safe.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed. Staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures help promote the safety of the children by reducing the potential of unsuitable adults working with them.

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

The children’s guide is child-friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

During this inspection period, management oversight was provided by several different managers, resulting in a lack of consistency for both staff and children. Staff described periods of uncertainty during these changes in leadership. One social worker reported that there were frequent changes in management without clear explanations and stated that communication was poor at times. They also expressed concerns that some care planning decisions were made by staff without sufficient consultation with the local authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not benefit from regular team meetings, which limits opportunities to share information, reflect on practice and maintain a consistent approach to meeting children’s needs. This has weakened communication across the staff team and affected their ability to work cohesively. Similar leadership and management shortfalls were identified at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Records within the home are generally maintained and kept up to date. However, weaknesses were identified in some records relating to staff development. Although these documents contained recent review dates, the information recorded was not always current or accurate. As a result, records do not provide a reliable overview of staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 5 performance, development needs or the effectiveness of support provided. This limits leaders’ ability to accurately evaluate practice and identify areas requiring improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In addition, not all staff have received an annual appraisal of their performance. This means opportunities to formally review practice, recognise strengths, set objectives and identify development needs have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Despite these challenges, staff remained committed to meeting children’s needs and maintaining day-to-day stability. The current leadership team has since provided greater consistency, helping to rebuild confidence and establish clear direction for both staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some staff hold a relevant qualification. Those who do not hold a relevant qualification are working towards one within the agreed time frames.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from sessions with the in-house clinician, who supports the staff team to understand the impact of trauma on children. Staff also receive regular supervision that is reflective of their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 24 August 2026

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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 develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 5 (a)(d)) 24 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 7 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and is used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. In particular, the registered person should ensure that the workforce plan contains accurate information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 8

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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: SC425418 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland South Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Mitchamson

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC425418 10 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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