Children's Home run by Holywell Children’s Services Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 1 Registered provider: Holywell Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child is currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post and registered with Ofsted since September 2023. The manager is also registered for another home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 3

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improvement to be good

The child has positive relationships with the staff. Staff know the child’s interests and support them to engage in their hobbies. However, the team is large and there have been changes to key staff. The child has not had the opportunity to build and maintain meaningful relationships with all of the adults who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Staff have helped the child to personalise their bedroom. However, staff do not consistently ensure that the child has bedding on their bed and speakers to allow the child to listen to music at bedtime, which the child has identified as being beneficial in helping them with their night-time routine. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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improvement to be good

The child does not currently attend school, but has tutoring in the home. The child is making progress in their learning. The manager and staff have strongly advocated for the child to be able to attend an education provision. This led to a recent review of their education, health and care plan, resulting in applications being made to schools that can meet the child’s needs.

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improvement to be good

The child’s health needs are met. Staff understand the child’s individual health needs and how these may present. Staff share information with medical professionals to allow them to make effective recommendations about the child’s health. Staff ensure that all routine and specialist health appointments are up to date.

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improvement to be good

The child maintains their relationships with people who are important to them. Staff facilitate the child’s time with their parent and support the child’s face-to-face time with one friend in the community. However, the child does not have the means to speak with peers using technology, which makes it difficult to build new friendships with peers who they meet in the community. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks to the child and how to manage them. Risk assessments are clear and regularly updated. They contain strategies to prevent and respond to risk. There has been a significant reduction in incidents of self-harm because of the way that staff support the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive training to safely hold the child, when necessary. When the child is held, this is proportionate to the risk faced at that moment. However, some records of physical intervention identify that staff could have managed incidents differently, which may have resulted in physical intervention being avoided. The manager has Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 4 not consistently recognised this or challenged staff practice after incidents of the child being physically held.

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improvement to be good

Consequences imposed for the child are not consistent. One consequence was inappropriate and punitive. On another occasion, the child received two consequences for the same incident. Despite the manager reviewing these consequences, she did not identify the inconsistency and repetitiveness of the imposed consequences.

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improvement to be good

A missing-from-home plan is in place to support the child and staff with strategies to follow, should the child go missing from home. On the occasions that the child has left the home without permission, staff have followed the missing-from-home plan and located the child quickly, returning them safely to the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff search the child’s bedroom when there is a safeguarding reason to do so. When this is required, the reasons for the search are explained to the child and they are present. This helps the child to understand the actions of the staff.

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good

The manager has a good relationship with the child. The manager seeks the views of the child and uses their views to make changes in the home. For example, the manager introduced a card system when the child said that they occasionally struggled to verbalise their wishes. This assists the child to communicate effectively with staff.

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good

Monitoring systems in the home do not always identify shortfalls. The manager’s oversight of staff recordings does not consistently identify where staff practice could improve. As a result, there has been a missed opportunity to improve the quality of care for the child. A requirement has been made in relation to this.

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good

An independent person visits the home monthly. However, the visitor has not recognised where staff practice could improve and physical intervention was avoidable. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager or senior staff members. Staff who supervise others have received training to do so. Team meetings are monthly, and the manager uses them to discuss practice and deliver learning. However, not all staff have had an appraisal. This is a missed opportunity to consider staff development and improve practice.

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good

Staff do not have all training to meet the child’s specific needs, such as bereavement training. In some instances, training has not been refreshed in the timescale set by the organisation. Therefore, staff are not being supported to deliver the best-quality care for the child. The manager recognises that there are gaps in learning and has developed an individual training log to help them to track staff training. Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the provider must ensure that staff are provided with additional bereavement training, to support children who have experienced loss.

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Requirement Due date

The provider should ensure that the child’s bedroom has appropriate bedding on each night, and consideration should be given to the child having personal electronic items, such as a mobile phone and music player. 19 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19 (1)) 30 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 6 Specifically, the registered person should ensure that consequences for the child are fair and proportionate.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should consistently use their oversight of key documents to identify practice shortfalls and then meet the development needs of the staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should also ensure that staff complete and refresh all required training. 19 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 30 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to assess all relevant information and form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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 2663221 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holywell Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Scott & Wilkinson, Dalton House, 9 Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1WD

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home 2663221 9 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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