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

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to seven children with complex social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has recently been registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the judgement of inadequate at the last full inspection, the home had a condition imposed on 6 September 2022. This was that the proprietor ‘must inform the Chief Inspector of its intention to accommodate children at the home at least three months before any child is accommodated’.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Two compliance notices were also issued at the last full inspection, in relation to Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d) and Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d). These were reviewed at the monitoring visit on 17 November 2022. At that visit, the inspector found that the compliance notice in relation to Regulation 12 was met. The compliance notice with regards to Regulation 13 was not met as there were no staff working in the Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 2 home, and the provider had not been able to complete a review of staff skills. The compliance notice was not reissued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring inspection on 18 April 2023 found that the home was ready to admit children. The condition that the proprietor ‘must inform the Chief Inspector of its intention to accommodate children at the home at least three months before any child is accommodated’ was removed. Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2022 Full Inadequate 21/07/2021 Full Outstanding 28/01/2020 Full Outstanding 11/09/2018 Full Good Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress while living in the home, through their positive and nurturing relationships with staff. Children enjoy spending time with staff who know them well and are keen to make sure they are having positive experiences. Children’s relationships with staff are natural and supportive. Children particularly enjoy making animal noises and encouraging staff to join in, including dinosaur and goat sounds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are held central to all routines and plans in the home. Plans are written in the child’s voice and sensitive issues are explained well in a manner that the children will understand, but that staff can follow effectively. This leads to the children enjoying genuinely child-focused care and support. Children are helped to share their views on all aspects of their life, and staff help advocate for them in statutory reviews, leading to changes in their care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education in the community or in the organisation’s schools. Where aproppriate, children remain in the school they attended prior to living in the home to ensure consistency in education and friendship groups. Staff often facilitate long transport journeys to school in a manner that best suits the child. Joint working with the virtual school and education teams in the placing authority results in the children benefiting from education placements that best suit their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of enjoyable activities to supplement their formal education. During the recent summer holidays, the children had clear plans, including going to a trampoline centre and theme parks and attending climbing sessions. One child made friends and helped others with their climbing skills, as well as learning from more experienced climbers. In addition, staff spend time playing board games and computer games that the children enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to understand healthy lifestyles and what this means for them, such as eating healthy snacks and participating in exercise. Children attend medical appointments as needed, and joint working with child and adolescent mental health services means their emotional well-being needs are well met.

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

Children are confident in the home and approach staff for help and support, showing that they feel safe. Staff know how to keep the children safe and are aware of the children’s vulnerabilities. Staff help the children to understand how to make safer decisions. Staff are confident in the processes to follow should they be worried for a child’s safety or welfare. They know how to escalate concerns to the local authority if needed. Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 5 Children said that they do not like to be supervised while online, but also understand the reasons why this happens to keep them safe. Staff use one-to-one sessions to help the children learn how to spot unsafe websites and how to avoid risky situations online.

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

Staff recognise that the children communicate through their behaviour. Support plans are well written with the children and include their views on how staff can best help them. Plans are updated after incidents, and debriefs with the children are clear and well thought through, allowing the children to fully reflect and consider what they could do differently next time. Through this individualised support, staff have not needed to use physical intervention with one child since the child came to live in the home. This is significant progress for the child.

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

Consequences for unwanted behaviour are discussed with the children. The approach is highly positive and a learning experience for the children. Consequences are regularly reviewed for their effectiveness and those that do not support the children to learn are not repeated.

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

Children are protected form avoidable risk through regular checks of the home and grounds. Children know how to respond should the fire alarm sound and have been involved in practice evacuations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager has recently become registered with Ofsted. The home is managed well by the management team, with the support of the responsible individual. Managers are clear on the areas for development and improvement as the children and staff team settle into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s plans are regularly reviewed and are child-focused. Other records, including the statement of purpose, include language that is not as child-focused as the practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported and they told the inspector that managers are approachable. Staff benefit from regular supervisions and informative team meetings. Staff have received a significant amount of training, which they have found helpful. However, there are gaps in some staff skills and knowledge around children’s diagnosed conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and associated conditions and harmful sexualised behaviour, meaning that staff may have gaps in understanding the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work as a team to support children. It is acknowledged that, as the staff team is relatively new, some boundaries, such as eating at the table, are not consistently enforced. Managers are aware of these issues and are supporting staff to develop their skills and confidence to increase consistency for children. Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 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, The 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—

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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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff work consistently as a team and are consistent in their approaches to the care children receive. 29 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have the training needed to support the children they are caring for. This includes training around ADHD and other related conditions, and in supporting children with sexually harmful behaviours. 29 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff use reflective, child-focused and non-stigmatising language in the records the home keeps, including the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection for report for children’s home: SC011185 7

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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 for report for children’s home: SC011185 8

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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 for report for children’s home: SC011185 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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