Children's Home run by Amegreen Children’s Services in West Berkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 1 SC472139 Registered provider: Amegreen Children’s Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a private organisation and provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were 3 children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Children refer to staff caring for them as ‘adults’ and so they are referred to as such throughout this report.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 3 December 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2024 Full Outstanding 11/07/2023 Full Outstanding 27/06/2022 Full Good 21/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 3

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outstanding

Children enjoy meaningful and positive relationships with adults, who show emotional warmth to the children. Children enjoy lots of fun and laughter together. Adults participate in activities and games with children, which helps children to build trusting relationships with adults. In turn, these relationships help children to feel settled in the home and make excellent progress.

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outstanding

Children share their worries, successes and past experiences with the adults in the home and say that they feel safe living there. A professional said that one of the children has formed positive and trusting relationships with the adults who support them. Another professional commented that adults and managers have a very good understanding of the child’s emotional and mental health needs and will seek additional expert knowledge to enhance the care that they provide.

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outstanding

The home is well maintained, welcoming and warm in its feel. Shared spaces have photos of the children, with toys and games throughout communal areas. The outside rear garden has play equipment available. Children’s bedrooms are personalised based on their preferences and interests. This promotes their sense of belonging.

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outstanding

Adults know the children extremely well. They understand their needs and provide excellent individualised support and care. Adults help children to express their spiritual and religious beliefs, enabling one child to celebrate a light festival rather than participating in Halloween events according to their wishes. As a result, children are thriving in their development and sense of self.

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outstanding

Adults use their knowledge of the children’s interests to encourage their participation in activities. Adults and children spend valuable time together, and children undertake a wide range of activities in the home and the community. Activities include trips out and playing games and having fun at the home.

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outstanding

Children have regular children’s meetings, where they discuss topics such as mental health and international-themed days. These discussions broaden children’s horizons and enable them to explore subjects of interest.

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outstanding

Managers and adults advocate strongly for the children, who are all in some form of education. Children succeed in education because adults give purposeful, insightful and practical support. Adults communicate effectively with school staff. This ensures that the children’s specific needs are met through joint planning and addressing any challenges when they arise. One child recently had a reduction in their education timetable. The adults worked well with the multi-agency network to develop a plan to progress the child’s reintegration to the school. The adults work positively with Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 4 education providers and other agencies to help children re-engage and build confidence to start learning again.

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outstanding

Children are supported to spend time with people who are most important to them. Adults build good relationships with the children’s families. These connections contribute to the feelings of stability that children experience.

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outstanding

Children receive support from adults to manage their behaviours and feelings safely. Adults receive wide-ranging and specialist training to equip them to support children most impactfully. Children receive effective and timely support, which helps to keep them safe.

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outstanding

Children feel safe, secure and heard. When children raise concerns, these are responded to quickly and the child’s wellbeing is prioritised. Recording is meticulous, with relevant professionals informed and identified actions taken. The actions taken by staff in response to children’s views have been positively commented on in the wider network.

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outstanding

Risk assessments and necessary documents reflect changes in children’s behaviour. The registered manager has excellent oversight and shares updates with all adults in the children’s network. This ensures that the children receive informed care and support from adults. However, the risk assessment of the local area had not been holistically assessed or reviewed by the manager.

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outstanding

Clear routines and structures mean that children know what to expect and what is expected of them. Adults encourage children to talk about feelings and worries through regular key-work sessions.

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outstanding

Adults only use physical restraint as a last resort to keep the children and others safe. All incidents are reviewed by the manager, who tracks incidents to highlight patterns, with reflection and debrief discussions informing and supporting adults’ practice. Adults promote restorative work with the child following behavioural incidents, enabling children to reflect and explore their feelings with a trusted adult.

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outstanding

When missing-from-home episodes occur, adults make every attempt to locate the child. Adults appropriately involve the relevant professionals and physically search for children to ensure they return home safely. The registered manager has good oversight and shares relevant updates with all adults so that they can work collectively to reduce the risk of exploitation and harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a tenacious and proactive registered manager; she knows the children and adults well. She leads by example, showing unquestionable warmth and Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 5 care for the children. Her passion and commitment to the progress and outcomes for children is evident. Children’s successes are celebrated, and the registered manager is always striving to make things better. She has developed resources, such as settling boxes and toileting plans, to support the children according to their individual needs. She also ensures that adults are continuously upskilled so they can provide a high level of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The environment is welcoming and inclusive, where everyone’s contribution is valued. The registered manager and senior leaders have instilled a positive culture of learning and development for the adults in the home, with a shared vision that children can achieve well in life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leadership team knows the strengths of the home and creates effective strategies for continual improvement. Monitoring and quality assurance processes are effective. The registered manager has systems in place to maintain keen oversight of the service and balance the responsibilities of their dual registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers work in close partnership with other professionals and specialist provisions to promote wellbeing and safeguarding of the children. One professional said, ‘Reporting on safeguarding concerns and incidents is really strong. There is always swift communication when an incident occurs and then timely follow up with incident write ups, management comments and updated risk assessments. This is a significant strength of the home.’ The manager ensures that communication with the wider network is prioritised, and as a result, children’s needs are holistically met. This highlights the positive impact that living in the home has on the children’s progress and permanence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Regular team meetings and reviews enable the team to focus on what matters to the children, and this creates a safe and positive space for children to flourish. Adults demonstrate a strong empathetic approach to the children that they care for. They say they are well supported by the manager and have regular supervision and opportunities to reflect on their practice. Their induction and training prepare them well for their roles. One adult fed back, ‘This is a strong team, and I am proud to be a part of it. The children are making progress and developing their sense of self each day, which is just amazing to see.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should be responsible for the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. In particular, they should ensure that the location risk assessment includes any risks that have been identified and known to the registered person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC472139 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Amegreen Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Corner House, West End Road, Mortimer, Berkshire RG7 3TF

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Inspector

Maria Calway-Kennedy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472139 8 and inspects 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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