Children's Home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited in Wokingham

Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 1 SC054468 Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned by a company which operates several children’s homes in the area. The home is registered to accommodate a maximum of three young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children make good progress in all areas of their development.  Consistent support from staff, with clear boundaries set by them, ensures that children begin to make more positive choices and no longer resort to risk-taking or challenging behaviour.  Strong partnership working ensures that children’s needs are met to a good standard and all necessary action is taken to keep them safe.  The managers are strong advocates for the children, and will challenge other professionals to ensure that children receive the support necessary for them to progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 On one occasion, managers did not follow safeguarding policies and relevant statutory guidance when dealing with safeguarding concerns.  Managers have not reported significant incidents to the regulator, or have not done so in a timely fashion.  The regulation 45 monitoring reports lack analysis and evaluation to help to drive improvement.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 3

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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, 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

12: In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that staff— (2)(a)(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. 12/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 12/04/2018

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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— (a) the quality of care provided for children; (b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and (c) any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45(2)(a)(b)(c)) 12/04/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-managed transitions ensure that newly admitted children are welcomed into the home and settle quickly. The staff provide outreach support to children prior to their admission to support them to come to know the staff, other young people and the expectations of the home. This supports a successful transition. Where possible, staff ensure that the children’s placement endings are planned and that the children’s time at the home is celebrated. As a result, children feel valued and genuinely cared about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful consideration of the child’s needs and their compatibility with those already living at the home ensures that the children are admitted only if the staff can meet their needs. The staff regularly review the group’s dynamics so that any impact of the children’s behaviours or their risk factors on others is mitigated. As a result, the children get on, have mutual respect and develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Structure and consistency from the staff ensure that the children feel secure. Consequently, the children feel safe with the staff, trust them and respond to their guidance. As a result, the children are gaining a much better understanding of themselves and what they are capable of. The children are developing effective strategies to regulate their emotions, resulting in improvements in their behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Aspirational yet achievable objectives are set for the children. The staff are committed to supporting the children to achieve their goals. The staff regularly review the children’s progress and the staff’s strategies to support them, and this ensures that the children remain on track to reach their targets. Consequently, the children grow and develop in all areas of their functioning. In one case, the staff have successfully supported a child to return home to her family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is valued. The staff advocate on the children’s behalf to ensure that the child’s education establishment is appropriate for them. When necessary, the staff have proactively sourced appropriate education for the children when other agencies have failed to do so. The staff’s consistent promotion of the importance of education has had a positive impact on the children. As a result, the children recognise the benefits of education, and their attendance and engagement improve significantly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with regular opportunities to learn about risks and to take responsibility for themselves. Through sensitive guidance, staff are supporting children to reflect on their histories and their behaviours while reinforcing expectations and boundaries. Consequently, the children’s engagement in challenging or risk-taking behaviour is reduced and their safety increases.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A wide variety of activities are on offer to the children, and the staff encourage the children to follow their interests. Staff are thoughtful about the activities that will be the most beneficial for each child. For example, one child is supported by staff to attend a local football club. Not only does the child have a passion for football, but being part of a Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 5 club has also helped him to understand sharing and teamwork. Through these activities, the children increase in self-confidence and self-esteem while extending their social networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good progress in developing their independence skills. Children are rewarded for their efforts and receive a qualification through the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance programme. This provides children with a sense of achievement and builds on their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive behaviours are recognised and rewarded. The children receive weekly certificates for achievements, which are displayed in the home. Each child has daily targets that they work towards in exchange for credits. They can build up the credits and work towards a treat. This has worked well to motivate the children to undertake education and independence work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Routine health checks and access to specialist health professionals, when needed, ensure that the children’s health needs are met to a good standard. This means that they receive good practical and emotional support and advice about issues such as sexual health and dealing with their anger and anxieties. Access to the organisation’s therapist enables the children to work through past traumas and builds up their resilience in order to able to move forward in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a real voice in the running of the home. The children’s views are regularly obtained through daily conversations, sessions with their key workers and children’s meetings. Children are encouraged to contribute to the home’s development plan. As a result, the children are at the centre of the planning for the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Sensitive guidance and support from the staff help the children to maintain relationships with their families and benefit from their ongoing support.

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

Comprehensive risk assessments, combined with an excellent understanding of the children’s risk factors, ensure that the staff proactively manage and work towards eliminating the risks to the children. As a result, children become safer and their engagement in risk-taking behaviours is reduced.

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

Strong, collaborative relationships with other professionals, including the police, ensure that intelligence is shared and acted upon to increase the safety of the children. Staff attend information-sharing forums, such as the local sexual exploitation and missing risk assessment conference, on a monthly basis. Attendance at these forums promotes partnership working and ensures that all agencies take collective responsibility to safeguard the children.

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

There has been one safeguarding incident since the previous inspection. Managers did not follow statutory guidance or the home’s safeguarding policy when responding to this concern. In this instance, the manager’s actions did not have any adverse impact. Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 6 However, the failure to follow safeguarding procedures correctly could have hindered the responses of other relevant authorities.

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

A rigorous response to all ‘missing’ incidents has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of times that children go missing from the home. For example, one child with a history of going missing has now not done so for seven months. The staff work closely with the police to establish a child’s whereabouts and to return them safely and quickly to the home. Staff use intelligence gathered from each ‘missing’ episode to inform preventative strategies which reduce the likelihood of a recurrence.

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

Good relationships and mutual respect between the staff and the children underpin the behaviour management approach at the home. Clear boundaries and rewards for behaving well encourage the children to make positive choices. Consequences are used proportionately and are tailored to behaviour. This encourages children to reflect on their behaviours and the impact that they have on others. As a result, incidents of aggression or outbursts have been significantly reduced.

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

Staff use physical interventions only as a last resort when de-escalation strategies are proving ineffective. The police have been called to the home, but only when the children’s behaviour has become unmanageable and presents a significant risk to themselves, the staff or others.

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

The organisation’s recruitment procedures ensure that only suitably vetted people are employed to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home has been in post since November 2017. In this time, she has developed good relationships with the children, and demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of their backgrounds, needs and strengths. She has worked closely with the home’s previous manager to provide consistency to the children and the staff team, while implementing changes to develop and improve the quality of care. The manager has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are strong professional relationships between the home and its partner agencies. The manager and the staff use their good understanding of other professionals’ roles and responsibilities effectively to ensure that the children’s needs are met. When necessary, the manager and her staff have strongly challenged and advocated on the children’s behalf to ensure that their rights are respected and that they receive the necessary support them to fulfil their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In some cases, managers have not notified the regulator of significant events or not done so in a timely fashion, as required by regulation. This could hinder the regulator’s ability to monitor the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of case records is carried out to a good standard and evidences the progress that the children make. The monthly scrutiny of practice and documentation means that Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 7 any shortfalls in practice are soon identified and rectified to promote consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Rigorous monitoring visits by the independent person challenge the quality of practice at the home and help to drive improvement. However, regulation 45 quality-monitoring reports lack analysis and evaluation of the standard of care provided. Consequently, actions for improvement and the home’s development plan do not demonstrate the manager’s aspiration or drive to develop the service beyond what is required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Mandatory training undertaken by the staff ensures that they can meet the children’s basic needs and safeguard them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflective supervisions and team meetings take place regularly, as outlined in the statement of purpose. They are used effectively t to reflect staff practice and the progress that children make, and to inform the strategies for support’. Consequently, staff’s practice evolves with the needs of the children to help them to grow and develop.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC054468 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8 Brewery Court, Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5AJ

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Inspector

Melissa McMillan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC054468 9 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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