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

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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 up to 2 children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. They did not speak with the inspector during the inspection, but they provided written feedback.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 15 March 2024.

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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 inadequate

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

An assurance inspection took place 29 October 2025. Serious and widespread concerns were identified and Ofsted imposed a restriction preventing further children from moving into the home. Ofsted carried out monitoring visits on 9 December 2025, 21 January Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 2 2026 and 24 March 2026. At the final monitoring visit on 24 March 2026, the provider had made sufficient progress and Ofsted lifted the restriction. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/04/2025 Full Good 05/03/2025 Full Inadequate 15/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 4

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Summary of findings

The child is making progress and benefits from positive relationships with staff, a welcoming home environment and a range of enriching activities. Staff support the child’s education and advocate effectively on their behalf with external agencies.

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Summary of findings

However, shortfalls in leadership, management oversight and safeguarding arrangements undermine these strengths. These include a failure to assess risks relating to child sexual exploitation, insufficient measures to reduce online vulnerabilities, staffing shortfalls, poor medication administration, and monitoring systems that do not consistently identify and address areas for improvement.

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improvement to be good

The overall experiences and progress of children are impacted by the shortfalls identified in leadership and safeguarding arrangements.

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improvement to be good

A child has recently moved into the home. Staff work hard to develop positive and trusting relationships with the child. They create regular opportunities for the child to share their views, and they respond promptly to them. The child feels listened to and valued.

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improvement to be good

The home has undergone renovation and redecoration since the last inspection. The environment is clean, tidy and has a homely feel. Staff promptly supported the child to personalise their bedroom in their own taste and style. This helps the child to feel settled and develop a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with a wide range of positive experiences. This has helped them to settle into the home and local community. Activities have included swimming, visits to theme parks, karaoke and trampolining. Staff have also identified and encouraged the child’s interest in cooking, helping them to develop confidence and practical skills.

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improvement to be good

The child has not been in education for 7 months and does not have a suitable school place. Managers and leaders have been proactive in ensuring the child has interim tutoring in place while a suitable school is identified. Staff support the child to learn in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the child’s health needs and have received appropriate training to meet them. They acted promptly to register the child with local health services and ensured effective information-sharing between professionals. As a result, the child has been able to access appropriate health support without delay. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 5 Managers and staff work hard to establish and maintain positive relationships with the child’s family and wider professional network. Professionals describe staff as accessible, responsive and communicative. When assessments and statutory meetings fall behind timescales, managers challenge appropriately and advocate for the child’s needs to be progressed.

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improvement to be good

A child who previously lived at the home made an allegation during the previous inspection period. Managers and leaders concluded this process appropriately and ensured that all relevant safeguarding professionals were informed. There have been no allegations in this inspection period.

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improvement to be good

A placing authority initiated a child protection enquiry relating to a child who previously lived at the home. The enquiry concluded that the child was at risk of harm while in the provider’s care and needed to move on from the home. Managers did not notify Ofsted of this enquiry. This prevented the regulator from maintaining appropriate oversight of significant safeguarding concerns.

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improvement to be good

Before the current child moved into the home, managers completed a timely assessment of their needs. The assessment carefully considered the child’s risks and identified how staff could meet them. Managers completed additional risk assessments and shared these with staff. As a result, staff understand the child’s known risks.

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improvement to be good

The risk assessments address most of the risks present for the child. These assessments are clear, up to date and provide staff with practical strategies to follow. However, managers have not completed a risk assessment relating to child sexual exploitation, despite this being a known vulnerability. This leaves staff without clear guidance on how to reduce and respond to this risk.

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improvement to be good

The child has unrestricted access to a mobile phone and the internet. Staff do not undertake phone checks. Managers and staff do not have sufficient safeguards to reduce the child’s vulnerability online.

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improvement to be good

Staff store medication safely and maintain accurate records. However, staff do not always administer prescribed medication at the required times. Although this has not placed the child at risk of immediate harm, it may reduce the effectiveness of the medication. Managers and leaders did not recognise the potential impact of this on the child’s wellbeing and daily functioning.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff work effectively with the local youth offending team. Effective communication ensures that the child receives timely specialist support.

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improvement to be good

The child does not go missing from the home. Staff follow a detailed, individualised missing-from-home plan and understand what action to take if the child does go missing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 6 Staff do not use physical restraint. All staff have received appropriate training and know how to respond safely if this is necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The provider has not had a registered manager since March 2024. Three interim managers have overseen the home during this inspection period. The current proposed manager joined the home in January 2026 and has submitted an application to Ofsted to register.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The proposed manager does not demonstrate effective leadership of the home. Records and feedback from professionals show that they have limited involvement in key areas of practice, including operational decision-making, partnership working and practice oversight. Another individual undertakes many of these responsibilities. As a result, the proposed manager is not leading and managing the home effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders do not monitor and evaluate practice effectively. Oversight arrangements lack sufficient scrutiny and do not consistently identify weaknesses or drive improvement. Internal monitoring records repeatedly identify the need for stronger auditing and evaluative oversight. However, leaders have not demonstrated how they support the manager to develop these skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A review of the quality of care was completed in a timely way and sent to Ofsted. However, the review does not sufficiently evaluate significant events or identify relevant learning. It does not include the views of parents, or all placing authorities, and does not demonstrate how children’s views influence the service. As a result, it is not an effective tool for improving practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

No staff have joined or left the home since the last inspection. Staff report that they enjoy their work and describe managers as approachable, available and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers and leaders do not use agency staff. This has provided the child with consistency and helped them begin to develop positive relationships with the adults who care for them. However, the home is not sufficiently staffed. Staff regularly work extended hours and frequently cover both day and night shifts with limited opportunity for rest. Rotas do not include a dedicated handover time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Additional staff are currently redeployed elsewhere in the organisation and are due to return to the home gradually. However, current staffing arrangements increase the risk of staff fatigue and reduce the home’s capacity to provide safe and effective care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision by senior staff. Positive practice is recognised and staff contribute their views and ideas about the service. However, supervision lacks reflection and evaluation. Actions are often unclear and do not focus sufficiently on improving practice or outcomes for children. Consequently, supervision does not effectively support staff development or service improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 7 Managers provide staff with a wide range of training opportunities. They have made training available that reflects the child’s known needs, including child sexual exploitation and mental health awareness. Staff complete the training available to them and are equipped with the knowledge to perform their role well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Most staff hold the qualification required for their role. However, one member of staff remains significantly over the required timescale to complete this. Managers are providing support through protected time and regular monitoring through supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The provider has strengthened independent monitoring by appointing a new independent person. The independent person produces detailed reports, which evaluate practice effectively. Senior leaders have introduced quarterly meetings with the independent person to enable the sharing of learning themes across the organisation. As a result, this process now contributes more effectively to service improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 8

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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 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

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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(d)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the person identified by the provider as the manager must lead the home and be responsible for managerial oversight. 15 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 9 The registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staff in the home to care for the child and that staff have the opportunity for handover within the rota.

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Requirement Due date

The manager must have robust systems of oversight which allow them to understand the operation of the home and identify shortfalls in practice, as well as use research and development to ensure that children’s needs are best met.

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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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all known risks for children are considered and there are plans in place to mitigate those risks, including risks of exploitation and digital safety. 15 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that prescribed medication is administered consistently and at the time directed. 15 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 10 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry).

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)) 15 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 11 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the review acknowledges and evaluates safeguarding concerns that have occurred in the period and show how they are acting to improve practice and the service. Feedback from children’s families and their placing authorities should be gained. 31 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 12 children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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 13

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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: Dalton House, 9 Dalton Square, Lancaster LA1 1WD

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Inspectors

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Elaine Moyer, Ofsted Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2663221 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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