Children's home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 1

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that was registered with Ofsted in November 2019. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children with social and/or emotional difficulties and children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since February 2022.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to review the provider’s progress in meeting the five requirements raised at the full inspection in May 2022 that are due to be met by 6 August 2022.

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This monitoring visit

The home has a new manager who has extensive experience as being a registered manager. At the time of this monitoring visit, the new manager had been in post for just over two weeks.

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This monitoring visit

The staff team has grown because of new staff joining from homes that have recently closed within the organisation.

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This monitoring visit

Children living in the home have suitable school placements to meet their needs. A child who had been out of education for an extended period of time has recently started to attend the organisation’s school for more hours, with plans in place to increase these hours from the new school year.

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This monitoring visit

The new manager has implemented weekly planners for all the children to ensure that their days are full of age-appropriate activities during the summer holidays.

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This monitoring visit

The new manager has started to go through the monitoring systems for the home and adapting them to ensure that she has the right level of oversight of the service. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 2 Since the last inspection, the operations manager has visited the home on several occasions and has been recording their observations on the organisation’s recording system. Despite this increased internal oversight, the registered person is still not ensuring that partner agencies and Ofsted are notified without delay of any significant incidents affecting children’s welfare. This includes the failure to notify allegations raised by a child to key agencies. Although these omissions were picked up by the independent visitor, there was a delay of over a month in key agencies being informed. Plans are now in place for the designated officer from the local authority to provide training to staff on managing allegations.

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This monitoring visit

The new manager has started to review all the children’s plans. This is still in the early stages and remains an area of development. This has included securing training for staff on record-keeping.

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This monitoring visit

Shortfalls remain in the recording of incidents. For example, in one record, the title was ‘racial behaviour’. However, there was no evidence in the report of any racially motivated language or behaviour. The new manager is aiming to move staff practice towards taking a more natural consequence approach to enable children to learn from their behaviour and to make positive choices.

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This monitoring visit

A new child’s move into the home has not been assessed effectively. There is little evidence of how the child’s move was managed, including whether visits took place prior to the child moving in. Assessments fail to demonstrate how consideration was given to the child’s needs and the other children already living at the home. Learning has been taken from this admission and the new home manager is clear that in future the home will only place new children when the needs of all children are carefully considered.

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This monitoring visit

There continues to be damaged and broken items in one child’s bedroom. This is recognised as part of the child’s presentation when there are unhappy. The items have been broken in the last few days and are not dangerous. New furniture has been ordered to replace these items. Some rooms have been redecorated but it is acknowledged that the whole house would benefit from refurbishment.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/05/2022 Full Inadequate 01/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 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 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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; 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) (2)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to management oversight of all areas of the home, including documentation that records the care and safety of children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 6 August 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; 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. 6 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 4 (Regulation 40 (a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to responding quickly and effectively to concerns about a child’s safety, and recording and responding to incidents that create risk for children. 6 August 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— 6 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 5 that staff—

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that damaged furniture is repaired or replaced, window restrictors are appropriately fitted, and trip hazards addressed.

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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 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

This specifically refers to responding promptly to any request for information made by a social worker. 6 August 2022

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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: 2546476 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: Advantage, 87 Castle Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 7SN

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2546476 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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