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

Inspection report for children's home: 2875773 1 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

This home is operated by a private provider and provides care for up to 3 children. The home caters for children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of the home since it registered in January 2026. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been a registered manager in post since the home was registered. The manager also manages another home.

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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 outstanding

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2875773 2

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Summary of findings

Two children have been living at the home since it opened in January 2026 and have settled well. A third child stayed at the home for 2 nights in an emergency. Staff know the 2 resident children well, including their methods of non-verbal communication and their physical care needs. The children are starting to make good progress, and staff have ambitions for the children to progress and achieve, both physically and emotionally. Staff are trained to meet the specific needs of each child in the home, including communication styles, medication administration and supporting them with physiotherapy. No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the children well and speak about them with pride and warmth. The children benefit from strong, positive relationships with staff. A calm, patient approach from staff supports the children’s emotional regulation and helps them to feel safe. Children benefit from clear boundaries, reassurance and predictable routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well planned, at a pace that is suitable for each child. When a child arrived at the home in the middle of the night in an emergency, staff did all that they could to help the child settle. Staff from another home and who were familiar with the child were present when the child woke in the morning. The child arrived on their birthday, and staff made sure that their birthday was celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s preferred methods of communication and consistently support and promote these methods. Staff have good insight into children’s communication through their presenting behaviours. They are able to recognise the difference between children’s verbal and non-verbal cues, adapting responses accordingly. Children’s sensory and visual needs are understood well. Staff use object references and simple communication tools confidently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being supported to make progress in many areas of their lives, including developing better sleep routines, using cutlery, sitting at the table and expressing their preferences, needs and wants.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging in education full time and have been able to sustain their attendance at the schools they were attending before moving to the home. Staff record children’s progress in the home, and children are building a portfolio of certificates to recognise their areas of achievement and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health needs are met. Staff receive training in specific conditions and disabilities in order to meet the individual needs of the children. Staff understand the children’s health needs, including medication and physiotherapy. For one child, this has Inspection report for children's home: 2875773 3 helped them to be able to take medication without resistance and avoids the need for medication to be administered covertly in food.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to capturing the children’s lived experiences and sharing these with parents, carers and professionals on a daily basis. Staff also create memory books, which are beautifully crafted for each child to look at and keep.

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

The risks and vulnerabilities of each child are known, managed and responded to well by staff. Children are kept safe and receive a high quality of care to meet their emotional, physical and health needs.

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

Staff work proactively with other agencies, such as health professionals, schools and social workers, to ensure that the needs of the children are met consistently. The risks associated with children with learning needs and disabilities are individualised and well documented, and these underpin staff practice. Staff have a clear understanding of the heightened risks to non-speaking children.

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

Risk assessments and care plans are relevant and up to date, with clear actions in place. These help to ensure continuity of care. The impact of change in all areas of the children’s lives is implicit in the behaviour support plans, and staff take this into account in their responses.

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

There is an effective process for managing medication. Staff have a good understanding of children’s required medication and routines.

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

Children’s relationships with their families are supported, and one child has supervised time with their family in the home. Staff have a good awareness of the reasons why family time may need to be supervised and of their own roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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

Safer recruitment practice is in place. New staff are appropriately vetted, meaning that children are cared for by individuals who are considered to be suitable and protective.

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

The home is warm, welcoming and well maintained. There are plenty of resources, such as books, arts and crafts, for the children to engage with. The manager and staff ensure that the home is hazard free so that children can safely enjoy freedom of movement in all areas of their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a permanent, suitably experienced registered manager who makes child-centred decisions about the children living at the home. The provider’s ethos is demonstrated in practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2875773 4 Managers understand the importance of management oversight and have effective systems in place to support quality assurance. This includes regular monthly visits by an independent person. The manager positively responds to any advice or recommendations provided and uses the review process to drive practice development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are positive about working in the home and the support they receive from managers and colleagues. They receive regular one-to-one supervision. Team meetings are used imaginatively to promote learning and positive team dynamics. This means that children are more likely to be cared for by staff who are well informed and emotionally resilient.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from a variety of training relevant to the needs of the children in the home. Staff training is further developed and refreshed in team meetings, with a consistent drive to do better for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff maintain effective relationships with external professionals who also support the children. Social care professionals are positive about the quality of communication, the care provided by staff and the progress the children are making. There is a sense of collaborative working to promote the needs of children. This helps children to receive effective, coordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is maintained to a high standard and looks like a family home. The nurturing environment and the consistency of routines and boundaries help children to feel at home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made at this inspection.

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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: 2875773 5

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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 RG7 3TF

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Inspectors

Gemma Bullen, Social Care Inspector Tina Woolley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2875773 6 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

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