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

Inspection report for 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 seven children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, complex needs and behavioural difficulties, and who are unable to live with their families. The home was formerly registered to provide care for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on the 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 10 December 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2019 Full Good 27/02/2019 Full Good 13/02/2018 Full Good 11/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1236532 3

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outstanding

The manager and staff are exceptionally skilled, and they provide outstanding care to children. Staff understand the impact of children’s medical diagnoses and abilities, hence they use thoroughly thought-through approaches and therapeutic models of practice when caring for children. This knowledge informs staff practice.

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outstanding

Children have developed trust and secure relationships with staff. Staff provide an exceptionally individualised and child-centred care that meets the needs of children. Children who struggled to engage with others, or found it difficult to go out in the community, now enjoy taking part in a variety of activities. This has supported them to improve their self-esteem, confidence and helped them build friendships with peers while improving their social skills.

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outstanding

Staff have good relationships with parents and professionals. They ensure that families and professionals are involved in the decision-making of the care given to children and the progress they make. As a result, parents and professionals trust the care and safeguarding of their children by staff. One parent added, ‘I’m so pleased with the care give n to my son, as it is helping him flourish into a lovely young man, and sometimes it brings a tear to my eyes to see him making so much progress.’

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outstanding

Staff support children to engage in full-time education. Staff work closely with the school in sharing practice and behavioural plans used in the home to maintain consistency and promote self-care skills. This has encouraged children to take charge of their personal care and confidently complete tasks at school with minimal support.

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outstanding

Excellent attention is given to children’s health needs. Staff provide children with emotional and psychological help when needed. Staff use the PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) parenting model, which they tailor to the specific needs of the children in this home. This helps children deal with their emotional and psychological needs. Children have access to mental health practitioners when required. Staff provide support to children with guidance from practitioners. A social worker collaborated this by saying, ‘Staff are able to support her (child) effectively and they are very good at adapting a language that she understands to help her calm.’

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outstanding

Staff use outstanding technics to encourage children to communicate. Children who could not engage in any forms of communication when they moved to this home are now able to utilise PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) and confidently use verbal communication together with Makaton. Staff have used extensive research from sources such as the United Nations guidance to support children’s rights in making their own choices and developing methods that enable children to Inspection report for children’s home: 1236532 4 share information. This has helped capture children’s voices effectively and enable them to share their thoughts, feelings and emotions.

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outstanding

Children take part in a variety of enriching and exciting activities. Children also engage in community charity work where they share their interests and enlighten people in their neighbourhood on the use of PECS. Staff and children have integrated well into the community. They now attend the local church and have their PECS chats displayed in the local shops and park to enable members of the public to communicate effectively with them. As a result, most members of this community now know the children well and this has given the children a sense of belonging.

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outstanding

Children are cared for by an exceptionally motived staff team. Staff encourage a sense of pride in the children. Staff successfully support children to develop independence skills to prepare them for the future. Staff share this journey through capturing children’s progress on pictures, which children are supported to stick into their independent books. This enables children to track their progress and celibate their achievements.

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outstanding

Staff maintain a highly effective positive culture of keeping children safe in the home. They work alongside the children to implement and update risk management processes using communication systems that are tailored to make it easy for children to understand. These systems capture the voice of the child and give them a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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outstanding

A few incidents of children going missing have been reported. Staff have reacted swiftly by following children and returning them back home safely. In-depth reflective work on accessing the community safely has been completed with the children using child-centred communication technics and resources. Door alarms have been fitted and staff remain vigilant, promoting a safer monitoring process. This has resulted in a decrease of incidences, and children have now been accessing the local area in a planned and safer way.

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outstanding

Children and staff know how to report concerns. Concerns and allegations are taken extremely seriously and immediate action is taken to address these and safeguard children and staff. Thorough reporting is made by leaders and managers following the relevant procedures in managing allegations against staff, including liaising with the local authority designated officer (LADO). The investigations are thorough and detailed, with clear findings that have been agreed by the LADO. Follow-up actions demonstrate that the manager has learned from the incidents and implemented various measures to prevent a reoccurrence and improve staff practice

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outstanding

Staff maintain clear boundaries and consistency when caring for children. This promotes secure and trusting relationships between staff and children. Children know the house rules and are given clear daily routines which help them know what to expect, hence reducing confusion and anxieties. The managers and staff have Inspection report for children’s home: 1236532 5 decorated the home in a very sensory-friendly manner. The home provides indoor activities and calming rooms where children can scan fitness apps with their tablets, and use these apps to exercise and for calming purposes. This keeps children positively stimulated while they have fun.

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outstanding

Safer recruitment is undertaken by the leaders and managers. The registered manager has excellent oversight of the recruitment process and ensures that all individuals who work in the home are suitably checked. This promotes the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is passionate and inspirational. He knows the children and staff well and strives to achieve the very best in providing individualised high-quality care to the children. The manager’s high level of enthusiasm and support inspires staff, hence they appreciate his role modelling and coaching of good practice and care. One member of staff said, ‘I would never have even seen myself in this role. However, the support, training, mentoring and the belief that the manager has in me was helpful. I now feel confident in my role.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has ensured that highly rated processes are in place to monitor the progress made by children. Children’s achievements and successes are shared with families and social workers. The manager has worked with an external organisation to implement an online app that can be used to share pictures of children’s achievements and experiences. This has been highly appreciated by social workers, with one social worker stating that, ‘They have used a very good app to share pictures and experiences, and this has kept us informed and pleased with the progress [the child] is making.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff receive regular and effective supervisions. Supervisions are also supplemented with upskilling meetings and debriefs. These focus on identifying good practice and how staff make use of models of practice to improve the care given to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a clear vision for the home and has created an environment where staff are continually supported to learn and develop. The training provided is focused on the needs of the children and is kept under regular review to ensure that it meets any emerging needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have excellent measures in place that promote equality and diversity. Children are encouraged to explore their identity, culture and religious beliefs. Children are supported to engage in cultural activities such as taking part in African drumming and attending the local church. Staff have supported children to obtain suitable hair and skin products. One social worker appreciated this excellent individualised level of care by saying, ‘ Staff at the home maintain [the child’s] hair neatly and this has made it grow, and her skin has improved through the use of the correct skin products.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1236532 6

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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: 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: Advantage, 87 Castle Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 7SN

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Inspectors

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Amanda Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1236532 8 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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