Children's home run by Hennessy Living Group Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 1 Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to three of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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: 21 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2025 Full Outstanding 26/06/2023 Full Good 16/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusting relationships with staff. There is a consistent team of staff who understand the children’s needs and know them well. Children say that they can talk to staff about their worries. One child said, ‘It’s like a family, and they all treat me like their son.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with family and friends are promoted. Staff support children to maintain relationships with important friends, even when they live a distance away. Friends are welcomed into the home, including having sleepovers. When children spend time with family, staff talk to them about any worries and offer support. One parent said, ‘I have good relationships with all of the staff, and they are flexible to make sure that [name of child] doesn’t miss out on family occasions.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager carefully considers all new children who may come to live in the home, to ensure that their needs can be met. Children visit the home and get to know the staff and the other children before they move in so early relationships can develop. When new risks are identified, the manager reviews this promptly and works alongside other professionals to identify the right support for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are attending full-time education. However, staff work well with professionals and provide alternative learning opportunities to help children to make progress. Feedback from education professionals is positive about how staff work with them. This has helped to improve one child’s attendance at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to enjoy a variety of activities according to their likes and interests. The children’s views are taken into consideration and activities are provided to help them gain new experiences. For example, one child recently had the opportunity to experience a holiday abroad. This helps children to develop their social skills in unfamiliar surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop skills appropriate to their age and development that will help them into adulthood. Staff have helped one child to successfully move into independent living. The child said, ‘The support that staff have given me has helped me to feel prepared to move, and everything has gone well.’

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

Children’s plans provide staff with clear guidance on what steps they should take to keep children safe. Staff follow each child’s individualised positive behaviour plan effectively, to safeguard children when helping children to cope with difficult emotions. This was echoed in feedback from one professional, who said that staff are therapeutic in their approach and understand the children they work with well. Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 4 Physical intervention is rarely used to support children’s behaviour. However, staff are trained to hold them safely when needed. Records are clear and identify the steps that staff have taken to de-escalate situations prior to children being held. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on the incident, and they receive emotional support after they have been held.

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

When children’s behaviour negatively influences each other in the home, staff de- escalate situations through using activities and the relationships they have with children. Staff help children reflect on the impact their behaviour may have had and provide opportunities for children to repair their relationships. This helps children to learn boundaries and be more respectful of one another.

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

There has been an increase in missing-from-home incidents. When children do go missing from home, staff understand what to do. They follow missing-from-home protocols and actively search for children to help them to return home safely. When children return, they receive a warm welcome and appropriate support.

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

Staff have discussions with children to help them understand some of their risks. However, not all areas of concern are followed up, for example education around alcohol use and risks in the community. This hinders opportunities for children to reflect on these behaviours and consider strategies to reduce their risks.

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

On one occasion, staff members did not follow the safeguarding procedure or alert management to an allegation immediately. This prevented appropriate safeguards being put in place. After being informed, the manager promptly followed this up and took action to safeguard the child and investigate the incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an effective team of leaders who have high aspirations for the children that they care for. Feedback from professionals and families is positive about the support that children receive and how staff care about them. This contributes to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel listened to and supported. They receive regular practice-related supervision that considers staff well-being and offers them an opportunity to reflect on and learn from practice. The manager provides effective oversight and appropriate challenge to staff where required. This helps staff to continually develop the skills that they need to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers build positive relationships with professionals and family members. When children need additional support, the manager advocates well on behalf of children. Some professionals said that the staff communication is excellent, and that they consistently advocate for children. This helps children to get the right support in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 5 Staff receive training that helps them to be effective in their roles. Additional training is sourced to support staff to understand children’s individual needs. Furthermore, leaders and managers have recently recruited a psychologist to work alongside the team to further enhance staff’s knowledge and skills. Team meetings are used effectively in order to share and review what has been happening in the home. The children’s needs are discussed and any changes that have happened during the month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight does not consistently review the quality of care or identify patterns in children’s behaviours. Audits completed lack context of what is happening for the children and what actions staff have taken. Furthermore, management oversight of missing-from-home records does not include a review of trends or comment on the incident. This limits outcomes for children and opportunities for staff to learn. Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 6

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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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 13 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any concern must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills to support children to recognise their own risks so children learn safer behaviours to manage and reduce any risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 1216505 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Hennessy Living Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hennessy Living Group, 1b Rickleton, Bowes Offices, Lambton Park, Chester-le-Street DH3 4AN

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1216505 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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