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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 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 home is registered to care for up to seven children and is owned and managed by a private organisation. The home cares for children who have a range of learning disabilities. The home is situated over two adjoining properties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/07/2021 Full Good 09/07/2019 Full Good 18/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 3

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inadequate

This inspection was carried out in response to specific concerns reported to Ofsted. There are widespread and serious concerns that leave children at risk of harm. Managers are failing to respond adequately and consistently to incidents of concern, oversight of care practice is weak, and managers are not working effectively in partnership with relevant agencies when safeguarding concerns arise. These failures have contributed to the judgement of inadequate. As a result of the shortfalls identified at this inspection, Ofsted has restricted accommodation at the home so that no new admissions can be made and issued three compliance notices.

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inadequate

One child’s social and emotional developmental progress has been impacted by poor practice of staff and the registered manager. The child’s scooter was removed for safety reasons and staff, including the manager, misled the child to believe that it had been stolen; this caused him to be distressed. When inspectors raised this concern with the registered manager, she failed to understand the negative emotional impact that this practice had on the child.

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inadequate

There are currently a number of staff vacancies. There has been a high staff turnover since the last inspection. Agency staff are used almost every day to look after the children. This has had a negative impact on the children, some of whom struggle to build trusting relationships with unfamiliar staff.

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inadequate

Children’s records are of poor quality. This prevents managers and staff from planning effectively for children’s care and from ensuring that staff have the most up-to-date information. The children’s plans do not provide a clear guide to staff on how to meet their individual needs. Records do not identify the children’s routines, communication methods or safety plans to guide care practice. As a result, children experience inconsistent care from unfamiliar staff who are not provided with clear information about meeting the children’s needs.

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inadequate

Practice with regard to the recording, administration and storage of medication is poor. Inspectors found that there are no safeguards to manage the administration of liquid medication safely; one member of staff said that they ‘guess’ how much is in the bottle. Inspectors found a lack of effective auditing and oversight of medication, with no clear guidance regarding the daily management of medication for children or monitoring arrangements. Furthermore, one child’s out of date medication had not been returned immediately to the pharmacy when it had expired. Some medication remains in the home for a child who no longer lives there.

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inadequate

Educational progress is variable. While some children attend their educational setting and are making progress with their educational targets, one child has been refusing to attend and an alternative placement has now been identified. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 4

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

There are serious and widespread failures in safeguarding practice. Managers have failed to respond appropriately to serious incidents and this has placed children at risk of harm.

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

Staff have failed to take account of the risk assessments for children; this has resulted in serious safeguarding incidents, with children and others being exposed to harm.

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

For example, children’s risk assessments state that children require one-to-one support. Despite this, some staff undertake other tasks or fail to deliver the required level of care, leaving some children unsupervised and at risk of harm. In one example, a child was left unattended in their bedroom. A serious incident occurred involving a peer, who had also been left unsupervised. Managers failed to adequately investigate the circumstances around this incident to prevent a further occurrence. Neither child was offered immediate or ongoing support following the incident. In addition, the registered manager failed to notify Ofsted of this serious incident. Potential risks relating to sexually harmful behaviour were not assessed and no safety plans were put in place to prevent a similar incident reoccurring. This poor practice places children at risk of harm.

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

Despite an incident of children being found together in a bedroom, inspectors observed a culture of children walking into each other’s bedrooms, unchallenged by the staff. During the inspection, one child entered another child’s bedroom. At the time, there were two deputy managers present in the home. Neither of these managers checked that the child whose bedroom it was, was agreeable to the other child being there. One child later complained to the inspectors about being bullied by the other child and not wanting him in his bedroom.

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

The children in this home have high levels of need and are particularly vulnerable and at risk when accessing the community. In one incident, a child was able to leave the home by using a chair to scale the garden fence, resulting in the police having to attend to close a road in order to return the child safely. On one occasion, children managed to leave the home via an unsecured garden gate. Ineffective staff action was taken to prevent these incidents and to ensure that children were kept safe. The risks presented to children by being out in the local community without sufficient staff supervision are not clearly identified or understood by staff.

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

Managers fail to investigate complaints consistently and effectively. On one occasion, there were insufficient staff to supervise a child safely in the community. An incident occurred where this child assaulted and caused injury to a four-year-old child. The parent of the child who was injured subsequently made a complaint regarding the lack of staff supervision. The complaint was not recorded in line with the home’s policies and procedure. The registered manager failed to consider this as a significant event and did not notify Ofsted. Furthermore, no investigation took place into the conduct and actions of staff following the parent raising concerns. The Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 5 manager failed to report the allegation to the local authority designated officer that staff were not providing adequate supervision.

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

Record-keeping is poor. There are sometimes significant delays before records are completed. Incident records are not always completed by the staff who were present at the time of the incident. This undermines the integrity of recording regarding incidents in the home.

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

Records of restraint lack detail and do not clearly demonstrate the behaviours and staff responses leading up to incidents where children are held. In addition, management oversight of restraint records has not identified the shortfalls in the record-keeping. This means that managers cannot be assured that physical interventions are only used as a last resort to keep children safe. Neither can they be sure that physical interventions are carried out safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The response of leaders and managers to serious incidents is poor. Monitoring and oversight by the registered manager have failed to identify significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice. Leaders and managers have failed to undertake investigations into complaints and allegations and ensure that the relevant authorities are informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to ensure that all staff working with children have adequate training or experience to meet the complex needs of the children living in the home and to keep them safe. This includes the home’s therapeutic model of working with children, as set out in their statement of purpose. In addition, there are gaps in the frequency of staff supervision. Staff are not regularly given the time and space to reflect on the children’s progress or their own development needs. Staff have been promoted to managerial roles with little experience; this undermines their ability to have effective oversight of care practice and to provide the leadership and guidance necessary to provide safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

One member of staff transferred internally within the organisation to work at this home. Managers were unaware that this staff member had been subject to a written warning for misconduct relating to their care practice. This staff member continued to work at the home with no effective managerial oversight of their conduct or practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The reports by the home’s independent visitor have failed to identify concerns relating to safeguarding practice that were found at this inspection. The lack of effective independent scrutiny further undermines the ability of the leaders and managers to identify concerns or to take action to address them. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 6

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 5 (1)(a)) Specifically, ensure that staff have access to children’s local authority care plans. 26 June 2022

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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; 5 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 7 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded; that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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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—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 5 June 2022

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 5 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 8 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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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

The registered manager must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the registered manager has the skills needed for managing the home.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)) 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 9 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”),

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and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 26 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 10 are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records of incidents are completed promptly and provide an accurate account of events.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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

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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 11 (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in Regulation 12 (2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the location assessment provides the staff with relevant information that supports them to safeguard the children and that staff are familiar with the local risks. 26 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 1250902 12

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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

Sarah Olliver, Social Care Inspector Rebecca Fisher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1250902 13 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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