The Newman Holiday Trust

children and parents

Outstanding The residential holiday scheme provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the scheme, including provision of care, contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding because:

 Children and young people make excellent progress in a very short space of time, particularly with developing their confidence and self-esteem. This has a significant impact on their everyday life after the holiday.  There are consistently very positive comments from parents about the significant benefits of the holiday for children and young people and for their parents, carers and families.  Children and young people have an extremely positive experience and access activities that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to try.  Interests and talents are discovered and children and young people find out about what they enjoy and what they are good at.  Volunteers give up their time year after year because they are highly motivated by the significant progress that children and young people make.  The holiday organisers are inspirational and creative, and ensure that children and young people’s experiences are at all times extremely positive.

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outstanding because:

 The volunteer team are extremely enthusiastic, energetic, well trained and prepared. Their excellent quality of care adds to the already positive experiences for children and young people.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): No recommendations are made as a result of this inspection.

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children

The Newman Trust is a charitable organisation that operates six one-week holidays per year at designated venues in England and Scotland. It provides holidays for up to 22 children and young people at each venue who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities or sensory needs.

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Outstanding

Holidays are planned carefully for each child or young person, fully taking into account their complex needs. Young people are very well prepared. They and their parents/carers receive a home visit from a holiday organiser to establish extensive information from the outset. The highly detailed care plan and risk assessment is based on this information. As a result, volunteer helpers understand how to meet children’s and young people’s needs exceptionally well. Parents and carers feel very involved from the point of referral and during the holiday. They regularly receive reassuring telephone calls, texts and pictures about their child or young person’s achievements. Children and young people are fully able to reflect on their holiday now and in the future, whatever their communication method, because of this excellent level of communication. There are also diaries kept with the support of a helper, which can either be visually presented or written. Some

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Outstanding

contain objects of reference and mementoes of the good times for children and young people to share with their families. Volunteers come back to the holiday scheme to work year after year because of what the children and young people get out of it. One said, ‘children have a fantastic time and make lots of progress’. Volunteers thoroughly enjoy their work and are truly motivated by children and young people’s enjoyment and progress. They all have examples of where they have made a positive difference to a child or young person. Parents’ comments consistently include high praise for the holidays. Comments highlight particular areas of progress, for example with self-esteem, confidence and developing skills for the future. One parent said ‘it is brilliant, we were surprised that they were more independent when they got home’. Another said ‘I know he is having a great time because I can see from his face on the pictures they sent me’.

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Outstanding

Comments and feedback from children and young people are very positive. One child recently told a volunteer that they want to ‘rewind so that they can do it all again’. Young people’s facial expressions and body language show that they are very happy, relaxed and have freedom to be involved in activities at a level that is right for them. One professional who referred a child now volunteers for the trust and reported that she had seen a ‘huge amount of progress’ in the child developing friendships and self-esteem, despite these areas being really challenging for her in the past. This developed confidence will assist her in the future, demonstrating that the holiday has lasting effects for children and young people. Volunteers report that children and young people ‘come out of their shell’ and become more confident by the time they go home. Some were reported to be very shy in the first two days and not wanting to speak, then later in the week were said

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Outstanding

to be leading reflective sessions and speaking out in front of the larger group. The extremely wide range of activities is consistent and improves from holiday to holiday. New activities such as ‘it’s a knockout’ and singing books have been introduced this year to complement activities such as swimming, horse-riding, theme parks, music sessions, dog therapy sessions and talent shows. Volunteers are extremely child-focused and work with individuals to bring out their confidence in a range of different activities and social situations. Young people learn about what they are good at and volunteers celebrate their progress at every opportunity. Young people feel very proud because they are highly praised for their achievements, significantly raising their confidence and enjoyment. Volunteers are also extremely creative about how they deliver activities at the holiday venue with the clear focus on significantly benefiting children and young people. For example

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Outstanding

they use technology and each other’s skills to create a talent show, which is professional and a rich real-life experience for children and young people. Volunteers work as hard as they can on this, even providing bags of homemade popcorn, because they know how significant the impact can be. Volunteers’ efforts really do make children and young people feel special. A session at the end of the day helps children and young people to reflect and be reminded of all their high achievements. These sessions are reported by all to be very emotional because of the realisation of very significant progress. The sessions are highly creative and involve the use of ‘light up balloons’, which children and young people take to bed with them on the last night to symbolise their best attributes. There is a personal gift and a written personal statement about the young person’s best achievements, which is awarded to them showing them that they are

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Outstanding

extremely well valued for who they are. The locations of the holidays ensure that there is room for children and young people to be with their one-to-one helper and to be with each other in larger groups. The grounds of the holiday scheme are extremely pleasant and allow for children and young people to run around, be active and be children without the usual restrictions of daily life. Young people’s health needs are extremely well protected and a volunteer nurse supervises all the healthcare. Medical procedures are carried out effectively, with privacy and dignity fully protected. Medicines are given according to very clear instructions and generally children and young people are assisted extremely well by the volunteers, learning to come to terms with their medical conditions. All children and young people unanimously agree that they thoroughly enjoy their holiday. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

Children and young people’s safety has an extremely high priority. Their individual safeguarding needs are very well assessed and each volunteer understands well what they must do to protect each individual and the group. The risk assessments are of a very high quality, particularly for trips, where all eventualities are well considered. One risk assessment for a trip to a theme park contained information about the nearest hospital and set out how risks in the local area could be reduced, as well as risks at the park itself. In addition, the steps that need to be taken to reduce risk are robust and protective for individuals, for example the positioning of the school nurse on activities off-site, so she can be very easily contacted. The likelihood of a child or young person being missing is low because of the very high volunteer levels. The one-to-one levels are supplemented by floating volunteers to complement the organisation and safety of activities and trips. While the risk of

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Outstanding

young people going missing is low, volunteers are very clear about what they would do if this should happen; they would see it as a very serious situation, given the children and young people’s complex needs. Volunteers are also very clear that they work in a team where there is a culture of being honest and open and, as a result, would not hesitate if they saw a safeguarding situation saying that they would tell their manager immediately. Volunteers have an excellent knowledge of safeguarding issues because of the extensive training programme, which equips them with the skills they need. As a consequence young people are exceptionally well protected. The holiday venues are carefully selected. The safety of the buildings is established prior to the holiday schemes running, although this is not always easy to evidence. The scheme managers are aware of this and plan as a priority to better evidence an

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Outstanding

audit trail for their own monitoring. E-safety is considered. However, there is low risk of an e-safety issue happening on a holiday. This is because children and young people are involved in other activities, rather than working from a computer. Children, young people and their parents all report that they are safe while on their holiday and their sense of safety increases because they learn to take new risks to develop their skills and experiences. Staff encourage this and do not let any form of disability stand in the way. Some young people have been horse-riding for the first time and discovered their talent and interests. One volunteer told the inspector that this had been reported to one young person’s parents, who then encouraged this to develop further in between holidays. This young person is now enjoying this as their hobby, enriching their life experience. In addition, young people with complex

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Outstanding

medical conditions have experienced fast theme park rides and swimming for the first time, giving them confidence that they must not be deterred by their medical condition and encouraging them to aim high. This will equip them in the future to have higher aspirations, having an impact on their wider life after the holiday. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

The registered manager is a registered general nurse. She has been a holiday manager for eight years and therefore has the level of experience needed. She delegates the day-to-day management of the holidays to holiday organisers. The organisers are all volunteers and they are highly committed to making sure that they are available to run the holiday and continue to do this in their own time, year after year. Their commitment enthuses the rest of the helpers, all of whom are volunteers themselves. They are visible to the children and young people and other volunteer helpers throughout the holiday and are close at hand to advise, support and encourage. A new volunteer reported that ‘they are amazing’. Other volunteers also made very positive comments about the holiday organisers, including that ‘the managers are brilliant’. A particular strength is in the collective volunteer team, all of whom repeatedly attend the holidays because they know that it greatly benefits the

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Outstanding

children and young people. Some volunteers have been involved with holiday schemes for decades, saying that it is a highlight of their year. One volunteer helper said they could ‘see what it does for the kids’, and another said ‘it’s a really wonderful week’ for children and young people. Led by the holiday organisers, the volunteers work extremely well as a team at the same time as working with their designated child or young person. The level of supervision is excellent, with high levels of support available to children and young people at all times of the day and night. Staff have a highly creative approach and always find the best way for children to learn and grow. The trust invests time to ensure that new volunteers are introduced each year, including younger adults who might be interested in volunteering in the future. This sustains the future of the trust and the holidays it provides. This also means that

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Outstanding

there is a constant flow of very skilled volunteers. There is an immense feeling of camaraderie within the volunteer group during the holiday. This creates energy and an extremely energetic and enthusiastic approach to children and young people. Young people ‘feed’ off this approach, creating an ethos of fun, respect and considerable enjoyment. Volunteers are well trained through the Newman Trust before the holiday starts and the fact that they do this in their own time is testament to their commitment. Observations of volunteers’ practice clearly confirm that training has equipped volunteers well in their role. Volunteers arrive the day before the young people, giving them the opportunity to become completely familiar with the young people’s needs. They are fully conversant with their designated one-to-one child or young person’s particular needs as well as other children and young people on the holiday.

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Outstanding

This protects young people’s health and safety and enhances their development. For example, all staff knew about the seizure procedure for one young person and about another young person’s difficulty with their behaviour and making friends, so that they could be supported to make excellent progress. The trust’s selection process ensures that the children and young people who will most benefit from a holiday are selected. Managers reported that the volunteers for that holiday are then chosen according to their skills and talents to ensure that the right competencies are available to look after individuals and the whole group. The trust is keen to ensure that learning takes place from each of the holidays so that improvements can be made. The views of parents, volunteers, referrers, children and young people are instrumental. Feedback forms are issued to all and feedback obtained is used to continually develop the holiday provision. New ideas

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Outstanding

are used; for example this year the trust has contacted each volunteer individually by telephone to ascertain their views. Three additional questions have also been added to their questionnaire to ensure that the holiday can consistently and continually improve. Improvements this year as a result of feedback from others include better use of music sessions and the development of a songbook which is more meaningful and useful for the children and young people. There has also been better scrutiny of new volunteers and different activities organised, such as ‘it’s a knockout’. There are a number of holidays that run in the summer months and after the holidays have taken place the organisers meet with the trustees to share what went well and what could be improved, leading to further improvements. Excellent relationships are forged in the community by the trust to ensure that there are a wide range of fantastic opportunities for young people during their holiday. The

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Outstanding

local fire service spoke about good organisation and relationships with them. They said this allows them to come back year after year to show young people their equipment, allowing them to have fun and learn about how the fire service operates. Also local businesses get involved and are enthused when they see how young people benefit from their donations. One local business was invited to come to see children and young people during the holiday and because of the high level of appreciation will be more likely to help with fund-raising again in the future. The inspector observed the welcome he received, with ‘three cheers’, ‘for he’s a jolly good fellow’ and a rousing round of applause for his efforts. Recruitment procedures are robust and work continues to ensure that all volunteers are checked to make sure that they are suitable to work with children. There have been further improvements to recruitment this year, with a stronger procedure for

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Outstanding

the scrutiny of new volunteers including a more formal interview demonstrating that the trust is dedicated to further development.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences of children are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against ‘Inspection of residential holiday schemes for disabled children: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences of children attending the residential holiday scheme. Inspectors considered whether the work of the residential holiday scheme is founded on safe care and individualised support. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children and each other, and discussed the effectiveness of care given to children. Wherever possible, they talked to children and parents. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the residential holiday scheme knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with The Residential Holiday Schemes for Disabled Children (England) Regulations 2013 and the National Minimum Standards. the guidance Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's

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Information about this inspection

website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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