Children's home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for six children. The home’s statement of purpose states that this service is for children who have learning difficulties, complex needs and behavioural difficulties. There has been no registered manager since June 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 September 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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 2

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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, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, communicate effectively with parents. 30/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

Children should receive care from staff who— take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s concerns are taken forward as complaints and responded to formally. 30/11/2019

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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— that staff— 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. (Regulation 12 (2)(a)(i)) 30/11/2019

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Recommendations

 Expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11) In particular, ensure that children are encouraged to sit together at mealtimes. Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 3  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, in regard to training, to use an evacuchair and ensure that training is up to date in regard to the use of ligature cutters.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make significant progress. Staff have worked with one child to improve his self- care skills. Another child previously would not communicate or interact with others. She is now more confident socially and engages well with her peers and with adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise the educational needs of the children. The majority of the children attend the organisation’s school. Staff worked effectively with a child, her parents and school staff to identify and visit suitable provisions in response to the child’s request to transfer to a mainstream school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the staff team members is their professional relationships with mental health services. The staff worked closely with a child’s therapist, who visited the child at the home at times of crisis. This was effective in supporting the child to remain at the home for longer. When the child did need the support of an inpatient mental health service, the manager attended care planning meetings to ensure that there was an ongoing support plan in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought during house meetings and daily conversations with staff. However, grumbles by children in relation to bullying were not recognised as complaints. A more formal response would demonstrate to children that they are being listened to and that action is being taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are generally well planned and positive. One child has successfully moved to an independence provision. Another child transferred to another home run by the organisation, which was more suited to her needs. When children have moved without notice, this has been as a last resort after consultation with professionals involved in the child’s care.

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

Managers respond appropriately to allegations made by children and consult with external professionals to agree actions to safeguard children. Managers have made positive relationships with external professionals, such as the designated officer and placing authorities. Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 4 One to one meetings between the staff and children are effective ways for children to explore their feelings. The staff use these meetings to teach the children important messages, such as developing positive relationships and safety in the community.

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

An ethos of restorative justice and appropriate consequences helps children to manage their behaviours. Managers and staff follow the home’s behaviour management policies. The records of such interventions are detailed and enable managers to analyse the incidents to identify any triggers or trends. Debriefs with staff and children inform improvement plans.

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

Staff take time to look for children who go missing and keep in contact with them while they are absent. Staff work appropriately with other agencies such as the police to address the underlying concerns and to reduce incidents of children going missing. The staff supported a child to engage with the police community support officer to minimise the potential for him to engage in criminal activity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Generally, risk assessments and care plans are reviewed and updated to reflect changes in circumstances. However, managers have not ensured that this is consistent and did not identify that some known risks were not referred to and that not all care plans were up to date. The risk to the children was reduced by this information being shared at team meetings and during verbal handovers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff did not encourage or role model mealtimes as social occasions. One child did not sit with her peers, and another child had eaten prior to the meal. This is a missed opportunity to create a homely and social environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff training in specific areas, such as the use of ligature cutters, has not been completed for all staff. Only the responsible individual has been trained to use an evacuchair. Leaders and managers recognised this shortfall. Some training was already planned but managers agreed to provide some earlier in-house training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has not been a registered manager in place since June 2019. A manager was appointed but only stayed in the role for six weeks. Despite the support of the senior managers, this has had an impact on staff morale. In addition, parents spoken to raised concerns about the quality of communication about their child’s care during this time. A new manager has been appointed and has been in post since August 2019. She is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has a clear vision of how the service can be developed and improved. Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 5

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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: 1271214 6

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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

Suzy Lemmy: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1271214 7 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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