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

Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 1 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

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to five children. The provider has recently varied their conditions of registration to provide care for children with learning disabilities. The home was formerly registered to provide care for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The registered manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 February 2019

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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: 13 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2018 Full Good 11/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 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

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medication in the home. In particular the registered person must ensure that— a record is kept of the administration of medication to each child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(c)) In particular, the medication administration records should not contain any gaps in information. 01/04/2019

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of a restraint, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person, has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)) 01/04/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that risk assessments include all the identified risks.  Where children placed in a home are not participating in education, ensure that in the interim the child should be engaged in suitable structured activity. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 4 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, ensure that suitable language is used in recordings and that all

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive within a nurturing environment. They make substantial progress from their starting points. Children quickly settle into the home and form trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Shortfalls do not impact on the good quality of care. Medication administration is recorded on the home’s computer system. However, gaps were found in the paper recording system. In addition, on one occasion, a child was not in education for several weeks and a structured plan of informal learning was not implemented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children lead a fulfilling life where their achievements are celebrated. Leaders and staff are highly aspirational for children. There is a strong emphasis on helping children to exceed expectations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A parent described the home as a ‘fabulous place’ and a teacher described the care as ‘very good’. Children enjoy a range of activities suited to their individual needs. All of the children are currently in education and they are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children improve their communication, language, social and independent living skills. There is a purposeful commitment to giving children a voice within the home. The total communication system strengthens children’s understanding and enables them to express their needs and wants.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit overall from good health arrangements. The organisation funds therapeutic interventions, such as speech and language therapy. Staff are trained in managing a range of health needs, including epilepsy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and the staff team work exceptionally well with parents and siblings. Staff succeed in managing highly intensive supervised contact sessions. There is a significant emphasis on ensuring that contact is fun and promotes the child’s well- being and best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a pleasant, well-maintained home, with a range of communal spaces, including a sensory room, a play room and a lounge. Children can also amuse themselves in the garden, which has a trampoline, basketball hoop and a punch bag. Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 5

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

Good safeguarding practice helps to protect children and promotes their welfare. A parent expressed confidence in the care and their child’s ‘stability and contentment’.

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

Occasionally, staff have to physically restrain children. After each incident of restraint, the involved staff are not always debriefed within 48 hours as required by regulation.

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

Staff continually assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Previously, it was noted that one child’s risk assessment did not include all the known risks. In addition, all the consequences regarding their negative behaviour were not recorded.

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

This is now a good risk management system. Good behaviour is encouraged by the use of positive reinforcement, clear boundaries and expectations. Children learn to self- regulate and they are also helped to understand their emotions.

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

There are currently no issues with children going missing or being involved in sexual or criminal exploitation, radicalisation or extremism. Previous episodes of going missing have been managed well. Leaders and managers examine trends and patterns and implement actions needed to prevent reoccurrence.

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

The staff team members receive a wide range of safeguarding training, which enables them to effectively protect children. The good partnership arrangements with the community police and the fire officer additionally benefit children. These professionals can discuss concerning issues with the children, which helps children to understand the consequences of their actions.

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

The organisation has a thorough recruitment policy, which helps to prevent unsuitable people from working in the home. Health and safety arrangements ensure that children live in a safe environment, such as purchasing a specific touch screen cooker to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, managers and the staff demonstrate an enthusiasm and commitment to a service which helps children to maximise their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The main shortfall is in relation to record-keeping and this does not impact on children’s good outcomes. Staff maintain computerised records, which can be accessed by social workers. The only issue is that occasionally the language used is unprofessional.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has flourished since the appointment of the new manager. The registered manager is a highly skilled and experienced individual. A parent described the registered manager and staff as ‘incredible’, adding that they ‘go above and beyond’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive care from an enthusiastic, culturally diverse staff team, with a wide Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 6 range of expertise. Staff feel valued and they are well supported. A social worker praised the ‘proactive’ staff team and a teacher commended the staff team’s ‘energy’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which enables them to continually reflect on their work. Staff also receive ongoing training to equip them for their roles. Vocational training is due to start on the completion of a successful probationary period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have addressed the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. This has led to improvements in the management of notifications, quality assurance, risk assessments, staff recruitment, behaviour management and the admission process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children ultimately benefit from the good-quality assurance system. The monthly independent monitoring reports provide constructive feedback. The internal quality of care review also provides a reflective evaluation that focuses on continual improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children live in a home with a firm foundation from which to continually improve. There are good plans for the further development of the home, which include broadening the range of therapeutic interventions available for children.

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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 differences 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: 1236532 7

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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: Unit 8, Brewery Court, Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5AJ

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Inspector

Sharon Payne: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1236532 8 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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