Children's Home run by Hollybank Trust in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 1 Registered provider: Hollybank Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a charitable trust. It provides a mix of short breaks and long-term care for up to eight children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home on a permanent basis. No children were using the short-break arrangements at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are cared for by a dedicated and committed team of carers. They have created a welcoming and homely environment for the children to live in. The home is well resourced for the children to experience fun and comfort. The home sits within the same grounds as other provisions run by the trust, which provides the children and their families with a strong sense of community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and parents shared poignant examples of how the children were making progress. One parent spoke about their relief that their child now had access to expert medical support. A social worker highlighted how a child was now comfortable to socialise with the other children in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The carers have a working knowledge of each of the children’s complex needs. However, the carers look beyond the children’s disabilities. In collaboration with the children’s families, the carers learn about the children’s unique identities. This enables them to talk and write personably about individual children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children experience an array of activities. The carers are motivated to give the children lots of access to their community. These occasions are captured in photos, which adorn the walls in the home. The carers also share the children’s photos with their families. This enables family members to receive tangible memorabilia that they can share and refer to with their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good collaboration with health and social care professionals. The carers prioritise the children’s needs and they are assertive in seeking the necessary medical help for the children. The manager invites learning from health professionals when aspects of the child’s care need to improve, such as better oral hygiene regimes. This shows an open and collaborative approach to meeting the children’s complex needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a good flow of communication between the carers about the children’s needs. Senior carers take responsibility for holding monthly care reviews about specific children. Agreements from these meetings filter into the children’s care plans. Although, the carers had not supported a consultant’s request to keep a sleep diary for a child. This was an isolated shortfall in an otherwise effective care- planning system.

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

The children’s electronic records show prompt responses to events associated with the children’s health and well-being. This is a multi-disciplinary recording system used by the trust. There is consistent oversight from leaders and managers throughout the children’s respective records. This promotes accountability and transparency for the children’s welfare. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 3 The carers have developed an intuitive understanding of the children, and they have learned how to better communicate with them. The carers are patient and confident to support the children to make choices. The carers quickly respond when the children are in a state of discomfort. Cumulatively, this level of care improves the children’s quality of life.

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

There is good partnership working with the children’s respective local authorities. This means that there are clear expectations around who is responsible to deliver specific aspects of the child’s care. However, there has been one isolated instance, concerning a child’s arrangements to visit their family, that the manager has not escalated effectively. This made the child’s arrangements ambiguous and lacked clear decision-making and accountability.

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

The trust are innovative and creative in their efforts to operate an open and transparent home. Student paramedics from the NHS are invited, as part of their studies, to shadow the carers at different times of the day. There has been a visit from a member of the Royal Family to the trust. These efforts invite wider scrutiny of the care in the home. This reduces the risk of an emerging closed culture.

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

The manager makes extensive efforts to practice fire drills so that there is an embedded confidence in the team. Fire drills are not intrusive for the children as the carers often practice them with the absence of the alarm.

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

The senior carers are trained to perform minor medical tasks that are delegated to them by healthcare professionals. The senior carers are confident in undertaking these duties. Additionally, the manager oversees an organised system to manage and administer the children’s prescribed medication. The organised and confident undertaking of these duties ensures that the children’s health needs are adequately met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a conscientious approach to her duty of care to the children. The manager shows a commitment to learning and developing her skills as a leader. The carers talked about how they feel valued and supported by their manager. These managerial attributes have promoted a cohesive team of carers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The trust were forced into implementing their emergency contingency plan when an adult home in the trust flooded. Consequently, adults with profound learning disabilities moved in to the children’s home. All stakeholders were kept abreast of developments. Although short-break stays were suspended until new accommodation for the adults was found, the children’s care was not adversely affected. Senior leaders have since reviewed their emergency contingency plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers apply good emotional intelligence over their duty of care to their employees’ mental health. This has ensured that the carers have professional support to manage bereavement, loss and other emotive aspects that their role entails. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 4 There is good planning around the manager making a commitment to care for the children. This includes children who move in to the home on a permanent basis and children who access the home for short-break stays. The manager visits the children in their home environment prior to assuming care of the child. Additionally, the children visit the home as part of the planning process. This enables the children and their parents to feel prepared for the move, and for the carers to feel ready and able to support the child through this significant transition.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The trust’s efforts to create an open and transparent setting have been undermined by the manager’s review of care report. The report was not a credible document as significant chunks were copied from an example template. This was the manager’s first attempt at writing the review of care report. However, leaders did not give the necessary level of support to the manager or scrutinise the validity of the report.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is visited by an independent visitor each month. Although there is good scrutiny of the children’s written records, there is little evaluation of the visitor’s interaction with the children. Although the manager has raised this, this challenge is not reflected in the visitor’s report. Therefore, the manager’s evaluation of the visit is not made clear to stakeholders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a statement of purpose that provides an overview of the care that the children will receive in the home. However, the explanation around the use, if needed, of physical interventions is ambiguous. Additionally, there is no information to explain how the children’s transitions into adulthood are managed. Therefore, it is difficult for stakeholders to hold the trust to account on these aspects of the children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 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, The 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5)) 15 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should set out in the statement of purpose the essential care that is delivered in the home. Important aspects of the child’s care, such as preparing the child’s transitions and the use of physical interventions with children, should be made clear in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 6 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with each child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child, including their social worker, clinicians and other health professionals. In particular, the registered person should oversee the consultant’s request to provide a sleep diary for one child before the child’s next appointment.

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Recommendations

Additionally, the manager should ensure that they are in receipt of the child’s current contact plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to relate to the children in the home and assess all of the relevant information concerning the child’s care. The registered person’s evaluation of the independent person’s findings should be clearly recorded in the independent person’s report. (‘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: 2719792 7

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Inspector

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. Inspection report for children’s home: 2719792 8 If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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

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Inspector

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspector

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Inspector

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