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

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 1 Regisered provider: Calcot Services for Children Limited

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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 with 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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This monitoring visit

Following the inadequate judgement made on 26 April 2022, Ofsted issued a notice of restriction and three compliance notices. The compliance notices related to regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. The purpose of this visit was to check compliance with the restriction notice and to review compliance with the steps in the notices.

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This monitoring visit

The restriction notice has been complied with. However, the compliance notices were found to be unmet.

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This monitoring visit

The home currently has five staff vacancies. The staff vacancy rate has meant that there continues to be an overuse of agency staff at this time. This affects the continuity of care. When agency staff come to work at the home, there is no evidence of what is checked by staff to ensure they are suitable or have the necessary skills and training to meet children’s needs. Similarly, staff deployed from other homes in the organisation do not have their skills assessed to ensure they can meet the needs of the children living in this home.

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This monitoring visit

New agency staff are not given time to read children’s information prior to starting a morning shift. This does not enable agency staff to be equipped to meet the needs of the children. In addition, ‘grab sheets’ designed to provide quick access to children’s information were found to not always include vital safeguarding information. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 2 Inspectors sampled the previous three weeks’ rotas and identified 16 shifts that did not have suitable staff cover. The rota has shown that, at times, the home was without sufficient staff cover. The registered manager informed inspectors that cover was in place from night staff; however, this was not reflected on the rotas. Furthermore, inspectors viewed rotas for the upcoming weeks and these also showed gaps in staff sufficiency that the manager was unable to demonstrate a suitable plan to cover.

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This monitoring visit

Handovers between staff at shift changes are now consistently being held and are supported by a clear handover record. This includes arrangements to identify which staff are supporting children. Managers have implemented sessions to ensure information is shared with staff who are working with children. However, some staff have missed these sessions and there is no plan in place of how this will then be communicated to those staff. The manager informed inspectors that this is also discussed in supervision sessions. However, the manager does not supervise agency staff and staff from other homes, and this means she cannot be reassured that staff know how to safely care for children.

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This monitoring visit

A review of safeguarding incidents has taken place. However, some strategies identified to reduce risk have not yet been adequately actioned. For example, children have been told they can no longer go into each other’s bedrooms. However, there has been no reflection or work with staff to support this change and help them understand the risks given the vulnerabilities and behaviours of the children.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have undertaken supportive discussions with children about how to keep safe and what privacy means. Workbooks support children’s learning, and records show that staff review and revisit direct work with children to check their understanding and continue to confirm their learning and understanding.

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This monitoring visit

A child living in the home is at high risk of climbing and is at considerable risk when he leaves the home in this way, climbing garden fences and gates. The information available to staff through the ‘grab sheets’ does not evidence this risk and the strategies staff should use to keep him safe.

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This monitoring visit

The fences have been made higher and locks changed on gates since the last inspection. Despite these measures, the child has still climbed over a neighbour’s fence and onto the cabin roof four times. The arrangements around staff support when he is in the garden are unclear, and his risk assessment continues to identify this risk as low.

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This monitoring visit

A review of staff training has taken place. Staff have undertaken training in general safeguarding and safeguarding for children with disabilities. In addition, staff have completed training on managing sexualised behaviour. When staff have not been available, extra sessions have been run. All but two of the permanent staff have had the specialised training to meet the complex needs of the children currently living in the home. However, the training completed by bank or agency staff or those who Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 3 are working from other homes in the organisation is not recorded. This leaves uncertainty regarding their safeguarding skills and knowledge.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have had their competencies and understanding of training monitored. However, the registered manager did not have access to these records as they were in a confidential folder. This hinders the manager’s ability to monitor the quality of staff skills and knowledge post training.

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This monitoring visit

A sample of staff competencies post training was made available via the training lead. These do not detail what staff have learned, and there is no evaluation of their skills and the impact the training has had on their understanding and practice.

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This monitoring visit

Not all staff receive suitable supervisions in relation to their practice. The registered manager has put in place an audit of staff supervisions, although she was unable to provide this to inspectors. Fortnightly supervisions have been implemented to encourage reflection on practice. However, supervision does not take place with agency staff who provide cover from other homes. The registered manager was unaware if there is a policy in relation to the supervision of agency staff. Additionally, the staff from other homes in the organisation do not have supervision in this home to enable reflection and discuss any practice issues for children living in this home. If any concerns are identified, there is an assumption that this would be shared between managers. However, there is no formal process in place in relation to this. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/04/2022 Full Inadequate 14/07/2021 Full Good 09/07/2019 Full Good 18/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 5

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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. (Regulation 5 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded; 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 6 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

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (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; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 26 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 7 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. (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. (Regulation 23 (1)) 26 June 2022

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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. (Regulation 29 (4)) 26 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)) 26 June 2022

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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— 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 8 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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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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. 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 9 The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 26 June 2022

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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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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 26 June 2022

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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

children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)) 26 June 2022 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 10 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, ensure 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

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 11

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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

Emeline Evans, Social Care Inspector Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1250902 12 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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