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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 1 Registered provider: Amegreen Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to 2 children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home, and they both spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in April 2024. In January 2026, the manager also registered with Ofsted as the manager of another of the provider’s homes.

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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: 6 November 2024

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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: 2784030 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in many areas of their lives. As a result, they have developed a positive view of their futures and aspirations. Children are encouraged to contribute to their care plans, which helps them feel heard and valued. Staff help children build the skills that will enable them to achieve their goals, whether that involves living independently or with foster carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they enjoy living at the home. They feel heard and are confident to express their thoughts, wishes and feelings to the staff. Staff encourage children to pursue their interests and hobbies, such as joining local sports teams, gardening and cooking. As a result, children benefit from a range of positive experiences that help them have fun, boost their confidence and develop a sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s family members recognise the progress their children have made since living at the home. They say they are grateful for the care their children receive. Children and their family members are encouraged to spend positive time together, which helps children maintain and strengthen their relationships with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming, and it is designed to meet children’s individual needs. Children are encouraged to contribute to the decor of the home, which supports a sense of belonging and togetherness. Staff create scrapbooks for children, which provides them with a keepsake of their time at the home and the experiences they have shared with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take increased responsibility for their healthcare. However, care plans and monitoring systems do not always ensure that children’s complex care needs are well understood by staff. As a result, staff do not consistently offer the support that children require to meet their holistic healthcare needs.

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

There have been no incidents involving the use of restraint or children going missing from home. Staff help children access the support they need when they need it. Leaders, managers and staff are strong advocates for children, which helps them feel heard and supported. Children are enabled to find healthy outlets to manage difficult emotions.

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

Staff help children identify, understand and express their thoughts and feelings safely. They know the children well, and they respond effectively when they show signs of feeling upset, worried or frustrated. Staff offer caring and nurturing support, which helps de-escalate potentially challenging situations. As a result, children feel safe and well cared for. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 4 Staff help children recognise positive qualities in their friends and respond safely to negative influences. Staff have built trusting relationships with children, which enables them to openly explore their relationships with others. Staff offer children positive advice and guidance that help them stay safe in their relationships.

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

A serious concern has been raised about a member of staff who worked at the home, and a police investigation is ongoing. Although Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, the actions taken by leaders and managers to safeguard children have been considered.

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

Leaders and managers acted swiftly to protect children when they received the concern. Subsequently, leaders and managers carried out an investigation into the staff member’s employment, and they are working collaboratively with the police to share pertinent information. Staff have been supported to strengthen their skills to ensure that they can identify and respond to concerns about children’s safety robustly.

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

Similarly, leaders and managers have ensured that children at the home are able to identify and report any concerns they have about staff. The children have been supported to reflect on their relationships with staff, and they have raised no concerns. However, leaders and managers sometimes lack a sound understanding of staff’s relationships with children and do not consistently consider and mitigate transferrable risk effectively.

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

The registered manager is committed to providing children with good-quality care that helps them make progress. However, the home is facing challenges associated with low staffing numbers. The registered manager is supporting the children and the staff team by making themselves more available to contribute to the children’s day-to-day care. However, this is affecting their ability to maintain oversight and monitor the quality of care and progress of children. Additionally, staff unavailability sometimes restricts the activities that children can participate in.

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

Although staff help children develop the life skills they will need in the future, support plans are vague and lack flexibility. One child was set unrealistic expectations, which they could not meet. Instead of helping the child overcome the barriers that they were facing, the child’s progress was restricted. Leaders, managers and staff did not thoughtfully reflect on the child’s needs, which resulted in a poor outcome for them.

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

Organisational safeguarding practices are not always robust. Leaders and managers do not always fully recognise the risk posed to the children who live at some of their other homes when concerns are raised about staff, despite staff moving between some other homes to support children. Some children have not been offered the same level of support and curiosity into their relationships with staff as other children at this home. Additionally, leaders and managers have failed to ensure that concerns have been shared with all relevant professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 5 Team meetings and staff supervision sessions are used to help staff reflect on the care they provide to children. Staff are supported to apply their skills and knowledge so that the care offered to children is effective. However, the care provided to children is not always adequately informed by their care plans or individual needs.

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

Staff speak positively about the children they support. They can identify the progress children have made and celebrate their achievements with them. Staff lack a sound understanding of allegations management procedures and support structures, although they are clear that they would promptly report any concerns they have about staff practice to leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 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, 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;

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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 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 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)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must use robust oversight and monitoring systems to ensure that children’s complex needs are well understood and met. Children’s care plans must accurately reflect their needs so that they help staff provide effective support. Additionally, the registered person must implement review systems to continuously enhance the quality of care provided to children. Care should be aspirational and seek to remove barriers to children’s progress. 29 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 7 Secondly, the registered person must ensure that low staffing numbers do not affect children’s care or the effectiveness of oversight and monitoring.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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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)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that safeguarding policies and procedures protect all children from harm. When concerns about children’s safety are identified, the registered person must take robust action to identify the children who have been affected. The registered person must ensure that concerns are shared with all relevant professionals so that coordinated support can be offered to all children.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they have an accurate and clear understanding of staff’s relationships with children and the support that they provide. The registered person must take robust action to identify and mitigate risks in relationships. 29 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 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: 2784030 9

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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

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2784030 10 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 children for looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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