Children's Home run by Esland North Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 1 Registered provider: Esland North 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

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 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 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: 2784699 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, children have made progress from their starting points. The children benefit from positive trusting relationships with a dedicated staff team. The staff show a strong commitment to the children’s individual needs. This helps the children to feel valued and listened to.

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Summary of findings

The children enjoy a wide range of activities inside and outside the home. Children receive warm, nurturing and consistent care in a friendly and supportive environment. As a result, they feel safe, develop emotional resilience and make positive progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home. At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home, and all spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care that reflects their interests, preferences and assessed needs. Their bedrooms are maintained to a good standard. The staff regularly monitor and support children to keep their rooms clean and tidy. This helps children to develop a sense of ownership, responsibility and comfort in their personal spaces. The children’s artwork and craft projects are displayed throughout the home, contributing to a welcoming and personalised environment. The staff support one child, who has a particular interest in animals, to care for the home’s tortoise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed trusting and positive relationships with the children. They know the children well and consistently demonstrate caring and nurturing interactions. There is a relaxed and positive rapport between staff and children, characterised by warmth, mutual respect and affection. These relationships provide children with a strong sense of security and belonging and contribute to the positive progress they are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of education and maintain children’s best interests at the centre of their practice. They are persistent and creative when addressing educational challenges and work closely with relevant professionals to ensure that children receive support tailored to their individual needs. As a result, children can access education in ways that encourage engagement and achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carefully consider opportunities for children to pursue their hobbies and interests. Children enjoy a wide range of activities, including ice-skating, cadets and community outings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals provided positive feedback about the care and support that children receive. They highlighted strong partnership working and attributed children’s positive progress to the consistent, nurturing care and support provided by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 4

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children’s needs, including their strengths and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are detailed, regularly reviewed and include clear support strategies. These contribute to children’s consistent care.

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

When children struggle with their emotional wellbeing, staff take effective action to keep them safe. This sometimes includes physical intervention, which staff use when they have exhausted all other options to help children manage their safety. Incidents are reviewed and staff and children have conversations afterwards that support reflection and learning. This helps children to feel reassured and strengthens staff confidence.

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

Children’s behaviour is managed fairly and consistently using restorative and relationship-based approaches. Consequences are proportionate and clearly linked to behaviour. Children’s positive choices and achievements are routinely recognised and praised. This balanced and nurturing approach helps children to understand the impact of their actions, make safer decisions and establish positive daily routines.

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

Managers maintain safer recruitment processes for staff. Agency staff checks have recently improved and ensure that all staff have had appropriate suitability checks before working at the home.

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

Children’s records show thoughtful and consistent use of the therapeutic model, supporting children to feel understood and to build trusting relationships. However, the records are not consistently written in a child-friendly style and are not always clear about further actions.

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

Leaders and managers respond swiftly to concerns about staff practice. Immediate safeguarding actions are taken when necessary. Managers ensure that children’s safety remains a priority throughout any investigation. Learning from incidents is used effectively to strengthen staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager. The manager knows the children well and has a good understanding of their individual needs and risks. The manager is ambitious for children and provides clear direction to the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to mandatory training as well as training that reflects the individual needs of the children. Leaders and managers emphasise staff development and support staff to complete their diplomas. Staff spoke positively about the opportunities for progression in the organisation and express a desire to remain working for the company. There is a notable investment in staff that has helped to build a skilled and knowledgeable workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision sessions in line with the organisation’s policies. These regular sessions include reflective discussions about practice and provide opportunities for staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 5 to share any worries. These also ensure that staff receive regular feedback on their performance. Safeguarding scenarios are used to test staff understanding and identify any areas for development. This helps to ensure that staff remain confident in their roles and can safeguard children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and consultations with the therapist. These sessions provide staff with therapeutic insight into the children’s needs and suggest ways for the staff to improve their practice. Significant incidents are reflected on during team meetings. This ensures that staff remain up to date with any risks for children and understand any actions that they need to take.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides effective oversight of the home. She reviews areas of practice regularly. The manager maintains good oversight of the home through regular handovers with staff, reviewing incidents, key-work sessions and children’s meetings. Actions are clearly recorded and monitored to ensure these are completed. Any staff practice issues are addressed with staff in supervision sessions or team meetings, as appropriate. This helps to ensure that staff practice is monitored and improvements are made as necessary. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 6

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Recommendation

 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. In particular, incident records must be clear and specific about the actions needed to support children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2784699 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: Suites 1 & 5 Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Mitchamson

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Inspector

Tam Musvaire, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2784699 8 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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