Children's home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Ashford

Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 1 SC037327 Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a registered charity. It provides care for up to eight children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 28 January 2025

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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: SC037327 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 21/03/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff at the home. They are relaxed in their home environment and seek out staff for play, care and comfort in a natural way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a range of activities, both inside the home and in the wider community. They enjoy regular days out, and some children have been supported recently to attend a community camp and to try new outdoor experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with universal health services and staff ensure that the children attend all their health appointments. Staff support children effectively to manage complex health needs when necessary; the support and tenacity of staff have resulted in improvements to children’s health management.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has worked with the children’s placing authorities to ensure that they have access to education and that the identified provisions are able to meet their needs. Staff from the home were involved in the recruitment of one child’s teaching assistant and are attending school alongside the child to support the development of positive relationships. There has been some improvement in the engagement of children in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with those people who are important to them. Staff take children to see their families. One family member said, ‘Everything is very positive, I have no concerns.’ Children are supported with friendships and relationships outside the home. They invite their friends into the home or out for play dates.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are missed opportunities for the manager and staff to capture children’s voices clearly. Children are not regularly consulted on their views, wishes and feelings and therefore they are not supported to fully participate in all aspects of their care planning and daily care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and has adequate space, both indoors and outside, for children to play and enjoy themselves. Some areas of the home are looking tired, and these require attention to ensure that the house remains well maintained. Children’s bedrooms reflect their personalities and preferences. The children say they have all that they need. However, there is a lack of personalisation in the home as a whole, and there are missed opportunities for children to feel included and to further promote their self-esteem and self-worth.

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

Incidents and allegations are well managed and responded to appropriately. The manager and staff have developed positive working relationships with the local authority Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 4 designated officer and keep placing authorities and parents informed of any concerns. Internal investigations are thorough.

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

The number of physical interventions in the home varies significantly from month to month. These interventions are thoroughly recorded, and both children and adults are given opportunities to reflect on any incidents. When patterns emerge, risk and incident- reduction reviews take place and any learning informs future practice.

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

Children do not go missing from this home.

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

The organisation’s human resources department has sound recruitment processes in place. Practice is consistent and follows safer recruitment principles. The manager maintains oversight of these recruitment practices and has full access to associated records. These practices help to prevent unsuitable adults from working in the home.

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

Certain approaches have been adopted in the home but they have not been reviewed or fully considered. Children have alarms fitted to their bedroom doors as standard and some internal doors in the home are locked, without a clear rationale being in place. These practices impact on children’s free access to areas of their home.

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

The manager has a clear vision and ethos for the home. However, this is yet to be embedded in practice. The manager’s monitoring and review processes are not providing effective oversight of the home.

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

There have been some changes to the home’s management team and staff have been recruited to vacancies. This has resulted in a reduction in experience and skills across the staff team. Despite this being a new staff team, the support available to staff is unclear, and management responsibilities such as supervision, induction, team meetings and training have not been prioritised.

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

Staff supervision is not taking place regularly and the manager is not clear on the home’s policy or the expectations outlined in it. Although the provider expects staff to have supervision agreements, these are not being routinely included as part of induction, and those agreements that are in place are not reviewed when there are changes to supervisors. Supervision discussions are not fully recorded, and actions are not reviewed in suitable timescales.

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

There is a clear induction plan for new staff, however, some of these are not being completed within expected timescales. Induction packs were not all available or accessible to review. There are inconsistencies in the frequency of team meetings, and minutes of these meetings are not distributed or made readily available to staff who are unable to attend.

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

Some staff are not confident or clear about the home’s model of care as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 5 Staff are generally complimentary about the home, the manager and the wider organisation. They report that the support available to them is good, meets their needs and is improving. Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 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, 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children; 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)(c)(d)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 1 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 1 October 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 7 the privacy of children is appropriately protected; children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children. In particular that the home is well- maintained and that areas of home reflect children’s preferences and interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: SC037327 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Caldecott Foundation Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caldecott House, Hythe Road, Smeeth, Ashford, Kent TN25 6SP

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Inspector

Cassie Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC037327 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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