Children's Home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited in West Berkshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 1 SC011185 Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to seven children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that care is provided for children with complex emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 29 December 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were no children living in the home at the time of inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

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

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/07/2021 Full Outstanding 28/01/2020 Full Outstanding 11/09/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 3

p.2

inadequate

There are currently no children living in the home. The last child moved out in March 2022. During the last few months, the home has been renovated. However, despite these renovations, the premises is currently unfit to accommodate children. Following the inspection, the provider was issued with an urgent notice imposing a condition of registration. The condition means the provider must give Ofsted three months’ notice before moving children into the home. In addition, two compliance notices were issued and several requirements raised.

p.3

inadequate

Before all the children moved out their outcomes were mixed. One child moved out to supported accommodation and has achieved nine GCSEs. In contrast, two children were unsuitably matched to live together. This led to a number of significant incidents and both children were moved to other children’s homes.

p.3

inadequate

Children who attended the organisation’s school had mixed experiences. One child had good school attendance and this helped them achieve their GCSEs. However, the other children had fewer positive experiences. One child experienced a significant delay in starting school, and when they were able to attend, their attendance was sporadic.

p.3

inadequate

Children’s health and well-being were suitably managed and supported. Children were able to access support from health services during their time at the home. Children were supported to follow healthy diets.

p.3

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

Safeguarding arrangements in the home are inadequate, and this had a negative impact on the overall experiences of the children who lived at the home before it closed in March 2022.

p.3

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

Staff failed to follow agreed approaches that were aimed at keeping children safe. One child had made a number of allegations about staff practice. Although these concerns were referred to the appropriate safeguarding agencies at the time, the organisation failed to follow up on any outcomes with the local authority designated officer to determine whether any changes to practice were required. This was a missed opportunity to review practice and to implement any necessary change.

p.3

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

Children did not receive a consistent approach to behaviour management. This was despite staff having access to children’s plans at the time. Records of a knife being found in a child’s bedroom were confusing and the responses, to prevent a similar situation in future, were unclear. There were at least three incidents when a child tried to use a sharp implement to cause damage in the home. No records could be located to show how staff managed the risk. There were no records to evidence Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 4 whether any discussions took place with the child to find out how they managed to get hold of the knife. This demonstrates a total lack of professional curiosity and care.

p.3

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

Children’s plans, including risk assessments, provided mixed information. For example, records failed to explain the need for children to hand in their mobile devices at night. This led to one child being at risk from contacting unsuitable people online.

p.4

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

Opportunities to carry out preventative work with children were missed. For example, when a child exposed himself to staff, no developmental work was carried out to understand the presenting behaviour and to secure the right support. When a child was found with a knife in his possession, he was told not to place himself in risky situations.

p.4

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

Responses to incidents did begin to improve when a new manager was brought into the home in January 2022. However, there were still gaps in records and follow-up work with children.

p.4

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

The home is currently unfit for new children to move into. It requires a deep clean and does not have suitable furniture to provide children with a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management arrangements in the home are inadequate. The home has been without a registered manager since December 2021. There are no staff currently working at the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Oversight of the home has been far too weak, leading to the noticeable gaps in plans and records, and the quality of care for children going unchallenged. There is only one record that shows that a senior manager visited the home this year, and this person was not the responsible individual.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Care planning has been poor. One child moved into the home despite managers knowing that the child’s needs were not compatible with another child who was already living in the home. This poor decision led to the children becoming involved in incidents that resulted in both having negative experiences.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s plans were poorly managed. One child’s placement plan had not been updated since August 2021, despite the child being moved to different homes within the organisation three times.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Oversight of incidents was poor. When children went missing from the home or had to be physically restrained, records showed little evaluation or assessment. When staff and children were offered a debrief following a physical restraint, the records lacked evaluation. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 5 While the home was operational, the staff received training. Rotas reflected the correct number of staff on duty. However, one child’s risk assessment contained incorrect information, making it difficult to determine whether staffing was in line with the child’s care plan.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The organisation has now employed a new independent visitor. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 13 November

p.6

Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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)(d)) 13 November

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 7 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)) 13 November

p.7

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 13 November Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 8 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.8

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.8

Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

p.8

Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(c))

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

is an organisation or a partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)) 13 November

p.8

Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.8

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: SC011185 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Advantage, 87 Castle Street, Reading, Berkshire RG1 7SN

p.9

Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10