Children's home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 children’s home registered with Ofsted in November 2019. It provides care for up to six children with special educational and/or learning disabilities. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since 31 October 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: 2546476 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2024 Full Good 10/05/2023 Full Good 13/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive attentive care and nurture from staff who know them well. As a result, children feel safe, flourish and make good progress. Children who were not fully continent are now toilet-trained. This improves their quality of life and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who were previously not in education now attend school full time. Staff work effectively with education providers to ensure that children transition well between school and home each day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate effectively with children in ways that meet their individual needs. They receive appropriate training to help them understand children’s communication styles and behaviours. Children benefit from support provided by a multidisciplinary team, including occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. This helps ensure that children are listened to and are able to express their views about their care and experiences. Staff value children’s wishes and feelings and use tools such as social stories to further aid communication. Children have access to advocacy when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm and welcoming environment in some areas. However, this is not consistent across all parts of the home. Some parts of the home, including the children’s bathroom, are not maintained to a good standard and some play equipment requires repair. Although leaders have identified these issues and have plans in place to address them, these actions have not been implemented in a timely way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families are consulted regularly and kept informed about children’s progress. Feedback from families is largely positive. Parents report that their children are well cared for and understood. One parent raised concerns that communication has not been consistent since the registered manager left, and that updates are not provided as regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend meaningful time with their families. This includes family visits taking place in the home, which provides a familiar environment. These arrangements help children to feel secure and strengthen their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in a range of activities both in the home and the community. These include trampolining and train spotting, and one child has had huge success joining the local Beavers group. Children have access to sensory activities in the home and within the extensive outdoor space. Recent improvements include the addition of a sandpit, which the children enjoy.

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

When concerns or allegations about staff arise, leaders take prompt action to manage Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

potential risks. Leaders consult with relevant professionals, including the local authority designated officer, to ensure that concerns are managed appropriately. However, on occasions, Ofsted has not been notified about these incidents.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities and their safeguarding responsibilities. Where incidents occur, staff respond promptly and take appropriate action to ensure children’s safety and make necessary changes to practice if required.

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

Staff recognise that children’s behaviours are a form of communication. They are skilled in supporting children to express their needs in appropriate ways. Physical intervention is used proportionately and only when de-escalation strategies have not been effective. Records of physical intervention and debriefs for staff and children are detailed.

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

Children at the home require high levels of support. Staffing arrangements, including 2- to-1 support, help to reduce risks effectively. As a result, there have been no incidents of children going missing from home during this inspection period. Staff understand and follow established procedures should a child go missing from the home.

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

Arrangements for the storing, administration and management of medication are safe and effective.

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

Leaders place a strong emphasis on therapeutic approaches to support staff practice and children’s development. As a result, staff feel well equipped to support children, and incidents of challenging behaviour are reducing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although there is currently no registered manager in post, leaders have recruited to this position. Interim arrangements are in place, with the operations manager providing support to the home. Staff describe the operations manager as ‘supportive’ and ‘involved with the children’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the absence of a registered manager, the responsible individual has systems in place to support oversight and receive updates about children. However, these systems do not always translate into a consistently fluent understanding of children’s day-to-day needs and experiences. Recording arrangements support monitoring, but they are not always used consistently to ensure records are clear and accessible. Consequently, it is not always evident how decisions are made or how outcomes for children are reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders make effective use of a skilled multidisciplinary team who support staff in meeting children’s needs. Practice is underpinned by a therapeutic framework that informs staff’s approach to care. Staff engage positively in group supervision sessions with the psychotherapist. As a result, staff have a stronger understanding of co- regulation, and children benefit from therapeutic responses that are tailored to their individual needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision takes place regularly. The quality of supervision provided by the acting manager and deputy is good. It is reflective and supports ongoing development for staff and individual children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that sufficient systems are in place for recording and record-keeping, including management oversight. 13 February 2026

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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;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 30 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a clean and well-kept environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. In particular, children’s bathrooms, communal areas and play equipment should be kept to a good standard of hygiene, and repair and decoration work should be completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33 paragraph 7.3)

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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: 2546476 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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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Inspectors

Alexia Hosker, Social Care Inspector Sharron Dormand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2546476 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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