Children's Home run by Holden Knight Healthcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 1 Registered provider: Holden Knight Healthcare 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 operated by a private provider. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 3 December 2025. Inspectors returned on 27 January 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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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good

Date of last inspection: 29 October 2024

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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: 2780236 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/10/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 3

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improvement to be good

Due to frequent staff changes, the child has been cared for by many different staff who are not familiar with their needs, routines or triggers. This lack of continuity does not support the child to develop secure, trusting and meaningful relationships.

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improvement to be good

The child has specifically stated that they do not like having lots of different people coming to look after them and then leaving, which further demonstrates the negative impact of instability in staffing. Although the child has developed a strong and positive relationship with the registered manager and deputy manager, this has not been replicated consistently across the wider staff team.

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improvement to be good

The child has been out of education for a significant period. Although a tutor has been arranged, inconsistent routines and poor engagement mean that the child does not always access learning. As a result, the child’s educational progress has been minimal. It is positive that staff have appropriately worked with professionals and supported the child to visit a new school and that a placement has now been offered. However, this has not yet commenced.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage the child to take regular physical exercise. The child enjoys going to the gym, riding their bike and taking long walks with staff. However, staff have not always followed guidance regarding the child’s diet or maintained agreed boundaries around healthy food choices. This does not promote good long-term health outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Positively, the child has recently begun to invest in the home environment. They have been actively supported to choose decor for their bedroom, the bathroom and shared lounge areas. This involvement has helped to increase the child’s sense of ownership and belonging in the home.

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improvement to be good

In addition, the child has been supported to purchase a pet rabbit. This has had a positive impact on the child’s emotional wellbeing by providing comfort, responsibility and a sense of companionship.

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improvement to be good

The child has a high level of supervision, and there are restrictions in place to keep the child safe and protected from harm. The appropriate legal authority is in place to permit these restrictions. The manager is careful to ensure that the application of these restrictions is kept under review and any changes are agreed with the placing authority. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 4 There is an appropriate protocol in place to support staff to respond if the child goes missing from home. However, there have been occasions when staff have not taken effective action to locate the child when they were missing from home. As a result, there have been delays in returning the child to the safety of the home. The manager has not always challenged staff about shortfalls in their practice.

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improvement to be good

The child is not consistently safeguarded from online risks. This is because staff do not routinely confirm who the child is communicating with. When concerns arise, for example prolonged late-night phone use, staff responses are inconsistent and not always in line with risk management plans.

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improvement to be good

There are times when the child can get upset and frustrated. There is a detailed individual behaviour support plan in place to support staff to respond in a consistent way. Despite this, staff have struggled to manage challenging situations, and support from the police has been required to keep everyone involved safe.

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improvement to be good

The records of significant incidents in the home are inconsistent in quality. This means it is not always clear what strategies staff have used to defuse and manage difficult situations. This limits the manager’s understanding of whether staff have taken appropriate and effective action.

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improvement to be good

Significant incidents, including episodes of suicidal ideation, have not been sufficiently considered, reviewed or discussed with the child. This limits the effectiveness of risk management and means opportunities to understand the child’s views, support their emotional wellbeing and reduce future risk are missed.

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improvement to be good

The child has a risk management plan in place. This is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect incidents and emerging risks.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete regular checks on children’s welfare when they are out in the community with their friends. This is in line with children’s risk management plans. The manager is liaising with peers’ parents to try to ensure the child’s safety when they spend time with their friends.

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good

The manager has an in-depth knowledge of the child’s needs. She understands how the child’s previous experiences have an impact on their current behaviour and presentation. The manager encourages staff to respond to the child in a trauma- informed way.

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good

Staffing instability has affected the consistency of care provided to the child. Since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff. Positively, there are currently core bank staff in place alongside the registered manager and deputy manager, and recruitment is ongoing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 5 Leaders and managers have ensured that staff new to the home complete shadow shifts and mandatory training. However, this has not been sufficient to ensure consistently safe and effective practice.

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good

Supervision sessions do not provide staff with effective support or challenge to improve safeguarding practice, set appropriate boundaries or learn from incidents. This contributes to inconsistent practice and limits the quality of care the child receives and their ability to make progress.

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good

The manager does review records of incidents in the home to identify patterns and themes. However, systems to monitor and improve the quality of care are ineffective. Records, audits and agreed actions are not routinely reviewed, meaning leaders cannot demonstrate that practice is improving or that the child’s needs are being met consistently.

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good

Leaders and managers do not have a clear overview of practice in the home. Staff practice is not routinely monitored to ensure that it is safe, consistent and aligned with the child’s plans. As a result, the child does not consistently receive care that supports their safety, wellbeing and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) 29 March 2026

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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— 29 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that leaders and managers use supervision sessions to support staff to apply a consistent, nurturing approach that sets clear and safe boundaries for children.

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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: 2780236 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Holden Knight Healthcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 200 Brook Drive, Reading RG2 6UB

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Inspectors

Nicola Forrester, Social Care Inspector Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2780236 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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