Children's Home run by My House Calow Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 1 Registered provider: My House Calow Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 22/06/2023 Full Outstanding 08/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 3

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improvement to be good

All four children contributed to this inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by dedicated staff who are keen for them to have positive life experiences. Children access various activities, and staff support them in learning new skills. One child has progressed from needing direct support with his personal care to only needing verbal prompts from staff. These essential skills will support the children as they continue to progress into adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Staff meet monthly to review the children’s progress. They discuss how well each child has responded to support and whether any adjustments are needed to help them achieve their goals. New targets may also be set, as staff are ambitious for the children and committed to helping them succeed.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with the necessary health services. Staff seek extra support from professionals when a specific health need requires further exploration. Staff do not routinely ask whether children who are involved in incidents are in pain or have suffered harm.

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improvement to be good

The children’s files do not always contain key documents from the local authority. These are required to ensure that staff have all necessary information regarding the children, but the manager has not been proactive in requesting them.

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improvement to be good

Children really enjoy spending time with their family. Staff lend their support in any way they can to ensure that everyone benefits from this time. A parent spoke about how the staff helped the family be able to go swimming together and how important it was for them to spend this time together.

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improvement to be good

There is a medication process in place, and staff receive regular training on how to administer medication. One child has medication for a specific issue. However, there is no medication protocol in place outlining how the staff need to respond. Furthermore, the medication guidance has not been followed, and this has not been highlighted through medication audits.

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improvement to be good

The children have complex needs and exhibit a range of behaviours that require support from staff. However, these behaviours are not consistently recorded in key documents. Insufficient information could potentially expose children and staff to avoidable risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 4 There has only been one incident involving the use of physical intervention since the last inspection. Staff are proactive in their roles, and they always seek to calm children when their behaviour starts to escalate. Following this incident, the child and staff were debriefed, and the manager carried out a review.

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improvement to be good

There has been some environmental damage in the home. This has been reported and responded to quickly, so the environment remains safe for the children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers are passionate about their role and are committed to helping children achieve meaningful outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has experienced a period of instability since the last inspection. Some staff have left their roles. New staff have recently been recruited but are not yet working in the home. This has placed extra pressure on the team and managers. Staff and managers have worked extra shifts to ensure that the children were supported by consistent and known adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff work hard to form and maintain strong relationships with external professionals. Staff are proactive and will seek advice from others, with the overall aim of providing better support to the children and increasing their knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been one allegation made since the last inspection. The manager notified the correct professionals, and an investigation was carried out. However, some key steps were missed, including updating Ofsted regarding this significant incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have implemented a new system to strengthen their oversight of the home. However, it is not yet functioning effectively or efficiently enough to fully support them in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision from managers. The quality of the records from these sessions is variable, as some records contain only minimal information. This is a missed opportunity to reflect with staff and explore their learning, knowledge and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback from staff is very complimentary regarding the support from managers. In addition, parents are equally as complimentary about the whole staff team. One parent said, ‘Amazing people, and I cannot thank them enough, gave us our life and [name of child] his life.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 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, 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 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

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) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, there must be up-to-date risk assessments and positive behaviour support plans in place that identify known and potential risks for each child. Furthermore, staff must know how to challenge and deal with inappropriate and risky behaviour; they must also have the confidence to do so. 26 August 2025

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff are trained and competent in administering medication and that they follow specific medication protocols for the children. 26 August 2025

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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— 26 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 6 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

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)(b) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all the work carried out in the home, and supervision notes are thoroughly recorded.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff offer care and support to children if they are harmed or potentially in pain. 26 August 2025

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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; 26 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 7 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. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to an incident that the registered manager agreed should have been reported to Ofsted.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they request essential documents from each child’s local authority. If they are not provided in a timely manner, the registered person should escalate their request. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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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: 2660470 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My House Calow Limited

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2660470 9 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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