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

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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 owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to seven children with social and emotional difficulties. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025.

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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: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2024 Full Good 23/08/2023 Full Good 31/08/2022 Full Inadequate 21/07/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive attentive and nurturing care from dedicated staff, who are committed to creating a homely environment. This allows children to enjoy a variety of experiences and make progress. The support provided is carefully planned to be child centred and personalised. As a result, children, including those who are new to the home, make progress, and every small step is celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a calm and natural approach towards children. They employ humour and positive communication as a strategy to connect with them, reinforce boundaries and de-escalate situations when children are upset. Support for one child is continuously adapted to understand how best to work with them. Managers mentor and guide staff on how to navigate conflicts and agree on new boundaries with children. This is having a positive impact and has effectively reduced children’s risky behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers advocate for children to have access to schools that will best fit their individual personalities and meet their needs. Children’s attendance at school is good, and achievements are celebrated. When children experience difficulties with engaging at school, managers work with education professionals to adapt timetables and support children to continue to have a positive experience and consistent attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to enjoy a wide range of activities aimed at helping them to have adventures and create happy memories. Children are encouraged to develop their interests and explore new things that promote their health and well-being. Staff talk to children about what they would like to do in the holidays and how they would like to celebrate special events, such as birthdays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have positive experiences with their families. The manager and staff place the views and wishes of children at the centre of their planning, helping children to feel listened to. Staff sensitively organise family time and collaborate with external professionals to provide the necessary support network for children. This enables children to enjoy spending time with their families and other important people in their lives. Managers and staff help arrange visits for children to see family members who live far away and for family members to visit the children at home. The children enjoy this greatly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Equality, diversity and inclusion are promoted in the home. Staff ensure that children are enabled to celebrate their religion and culture, and all children are introduced to different cultures and religious beliefs. Children are helped to explore their identity and are supported to be who they want to be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Important conversations with children are meaningful and cover relevant issues. Children’s views are regularly gathered and reflected on, and real thought is given to how Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 4 each child can contribute towards their own care planning. These discussions further strengthen the relationships between the children and the staff and help to tackle pertinent issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The arrangements and plans for children moving into the home are robust and well thought through. Before children move into the home, the manager carefully assesses their needs and visits the child. They consider whether the staff have the skills to meet the child’s needs, along with the needs of the children already living in the home.

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

There is a positive safeguarding culture established in the home. Staff receive relevant safeguarding training and regularly update their knowledge through discussions in team meetings, debriefs and supervision sessions. This ensures clarity on how staff put their knowledge into practice. As a result, staff demonstrate appropriate professional curiosity and consistently take action to ensure the safety of children.

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

Allegations are managed appropriately, and investigations are clear and detailed. Staff are well supported, and children are spoken with to help them understand the outcome of their complaint or allegation. Sensitive work is carried out with the child to help them explore their emotions, find different ways they can communicate their feelings, increase their feeling of safety and help repair relationships. Managers consistently seek to learn from investigations to enhance practice and improve children’s care.

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

Staff know how to respond to children when they are upset. They understand that behaviour is a form of communication. If children become distressed or show behaviours that challenge, staff use individualised de-escalation strategies or, as a last resort and only when necessary, the appropriate level of physical intervention. When physical intervention is used, children and staff have time afterwards to talk about what happened and how to manage the situation better in the future. Management oversight of this is effective. For instance, the manager identified that the recording of physical interventions needed improvement, and staff received additional support as a result. Recent reports show progress in this area.

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

Staff respond promptly when children display risky behaviours. They place the child at the centre of learning and implement plans to reduce further risk. For one child, online risks were reviewed in detail with relevant professionals and with the child. This resulted in appropriate support and safeguards being put in place, ensuring the child’s online safety while they were still able to access age-appropriate information online.

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

There are effective safer recruitment systems in place. Children contribute by suggesting questions to be asked during interviews. Recruitment records are clear and well organised, providing evidence that information has been checked and verified by managers. This practice helps to ensure that staff working in the home are safe to do so. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since September 2024. They have had a positive impact on the home in a short period of time. The registered manager works alongside the deputy manager and staff team to ensure that children receive consistent high-quality care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective and dedicated. They are committed to ensuring that children live in a safe environment where they feel equipped to face any challenges. They model a strong sense of positivity, care and humour, which helps children develop stability and encourages them to try new experiences in a carefully planned and safe way. The manager integrates a therapeutic, child-focused approach into staff practice, enabling them to support each child to enjoy their childhood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management oversight of the home is effective and the manager is fully aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. They are proactive in driving improvement. The manager takes pride in the progress made. This includes enhancing the experiences of children and making improvements to the house and garden to create a more homely atmosphere. Additionally, changes have been made to improve the monitoring and oversight of the children’s care, ensuring that they are involved and have a voice in their plans. Consequently, the manager has successfully created a comfortable place for children to live and feel at home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular opportunities to discuss practice and strategies for supporting children. This is done through individual supervision sessions, team meetings and group clinical supervision. Staff say this is supportive of their own well-being, allows them to share any worries or concerns and is also effective for ensuring good cohesion in how the team works. As a result, staff feel valued and well connected, and children benefit from a knowledgeable and cohesive staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good morale and enthusiasm among the staff team. Staff talk positively about the support and supervision they receive. They say they feel valued, have grown in confidence, their knowledge has improved and that the support of the manager is excellent. This enables staff to provide the best care they can to children. One staff member said about the leadership team, ‘Their encouragement not only developed my professional skills but also deepened my commitment to making a lasting difference in the lives of the children we support.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations were made following this inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 6

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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: SC011185 7

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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: 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE

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Inspector

Sharron Dormand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 8 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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