Children's Home run by The Caldecott Foundation Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 1 Registered provider: Caldecott Foundation Limited

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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 run by a charity. The home is registered to provide care for up to 5 children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

There is a registered manager in place. The registered manager was on annual leave during the inspection. The inspection was led by the deputy manager with support from the responsible individual.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, there were 2 children living in the home. Both children were spoken with as part of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2025 Full Good 14/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2024 Full Outstanding 28/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 3

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Summary of findings

Outstanding care is provided by the registered manager and the staff working in this home. Children living in this home are making excellent progress in all areas of their lives. Children are kept safe and given a range of opportunities. Children are listened to and their views are integral in shaping how they are cared for. Staff know the children exceptionally well and have built close, therapeutic relationships with them. The registered manager leads by example. They understand the children, support staff and have effective, strategic oversight of practice in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children living in this home receive consistent and well-planned care from a stable and committed staff team. The trusting relationships that have developed over time between staff and children enable them to feel safe and contribute to exceptional progress in their social, physical, emotional and behavioural development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Both children were seen during the inspection. They were relaxed and happy with all the staff caring for them. Staff listen to children and this has a significant, positive impact on their day-to-day lives and experiences. Children are supported to share their views in a range of ways. One child indicated that they would not change anything about this home. Since the last inspection, both children have grown in confidence and made outstanding progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and skilled staff team have created a positive, nurturing and welcoming environment. Children live in a warm and welcoming family home that is decorated and finished to a high standard. The home has plenty of room for children to spend time together or apart. The home décor is personalised to the children and children are encouraged to grow their own plants and flowers in the garden, making use of the outside space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff research activities that children are interested in and ensure that children have access to a range of experiences. This includes going on holidays and annual holiday camps. Children also maintain regular hobbies and interests, such as sea cadets and boxing classes. Activities promote the children's wellbeing and sense of fun, and also help them to develop social skills. The extensive support staff offer in this area means that children have full and exciting opportunities outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children's physical health needs are met to a high standard and children access the appropriate services when needed. Staff know children exceptionally well and are well equipped to support their emotional health and wellbeing. Children receive comprehensive, therapeutic support in this home. One child has access to regular therapy, which was specially sourced by the registered manager. Staff are supported in Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 4 their practice through extensive consultations with therapists. Observations of the children and staff together evidenced the value of these in practice. Day-to-day, meaningful time that staff have with the children further cements the close relationships. This helps the children to develop trust in the staff who care for them. Both children now talk to staff about difficult experiences that they have been through in the past.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have prioritised education and this has had a real impact for the children. Both children attend school and are thriving in their education provisions. This is significant progress since the last inspection. Education professionals attribute this to the consistent and 'brilliant' care the children receive. There are detailed, daily communication logs that reflect the interactions that staff have with education professionals. All education professionals spoke highly of the support provided to children living in this home. A professional said about one child, 'Their transformation has been incredible.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

When one child moved out of the home, this was done in a well-considered and child- focused way. The child was well supported at every stage. There were meetings with the carers and professionals in the build up to the move and staff had regular, reflective conversations with the child. The move included visits and overnight stays to the new carers over a period of months, at the child's pace. There was a thoughtful event to say 'goodbye' when the child moved. After this had taken place, the staff and other children stayed in contact and a day trip was arranged for all the children to see each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children to see family and friends and to maintain close relationships with the people who are important to them. This is done in a child-focused way. Staff ensure that any time together is appropriate for the children, alongside consultation with key professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have access to an independent advocate and, although this has not been utilised, children know how to access this service should they need to. Children know how to complain should they need to. There have been no complaints since the last inspection.

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

The registered manager and staff are proactive and anticipatory when responding to risk. Staff know the children and their behaviours intimately and are attuned to subtle changes. Staff utilise their trusted relationships to keep children safe and create psychological safety for them. Through these relationships, staff have developed bespoke safety plans that detail how to support the children. The plans are developed from all aspects of the children's care, such as one-to-one conversations, their daily life, habits and preferences to strategic reviews of their care. Children have direct input into their plans and how the staff work with them, and have their own version of their safety plans.

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

Allegations are treated in a child-focused way. Each allegation is investigated by someone who is independent, and the child is always spoken to. Where this is a known risk, staff are clear on individual management plans in place and work alongside the Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 5 local authority designated officer. When children have withdrawn allegations, staff show empathy for the child and there is a focus on repairing and maintaining the positive relationships. The registered manager and staff utilise the therapeutic support to try to understand the behaviour behind the allegations. The recording of these incidents is strong and all information is shared with relevant professionals. There was one allegation that was not linked to the relevant incident on the recording system. However, this has not had any impact on the child or overall management of the incident.

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

When children are held, this is for the least amount of time possible. Incidents are clearly recorded and reviewed by the registered manager. Children have a planned and focused conversations following interventions to explore their feelings. Where appropriate, resolution meetings will take place and staff share their own reflections and learning with children as appropriate. This transparency helps children and staff to resume their relationships in a safe and respectful way. A report on the practice of physical intervention was undertaken by one of the trainers in the organisation. This provided a greater understanding of physical interventions in this setting. This had a positive impact on staff practice and, as a result, there has been a reduction in the number of physical interventions that have taken place.

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

Children are supported to access activities on their phones in a safe way. Staff have detailed conversations with children about this topic regularly. Secure apps are used appropriately and use of technology is increased gradually depending on the child's individual needs. Staff will plan ahead and anticipate future risks for children in this area and this aspect of safeguarding is always discussed with wider professionals. This approach means that children can feel connected to the wider world and the people who are important to them, but with proportionate oversight from adults.

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

Staff work diligently with professionals across all agencies. Regular and effective communication with involved agencies helps to keep children safe. One safeguarding professional has access to the child's online file, meaning they can access daily reports and incidents at any time. One professional described the staff team as 'amazing'. Further adding, 'Since the registered manager took over, they [child] have made more progress. The fact they are getting up and living their life is an impressive thing, and shows the relationships they have built with staff.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager in place who is aspirational for the children in her care. The registered manager is supported by a capable deputy manager and staff team, who share the same aspirations. This is a key strength of this service. Staff are knowledgeable, skilled and motivated to make a positive difference to children's lives and ensure that this home is a place where children want to live. Professionals all spoke highly of the registered manager. One said, 'They are excellent, really competent and I have the upmost respect for her.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive high-quality, monthly supervision which is reflective, supportive and child focused. Actions from previous supervisions are reviewed and new ones are set, Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 6 ensuring the professional development of staff. Records are signed and agreed by all parties. Staff said that they feel supported by leaders and managers and find supervision sessions helpful. One staff member described how the registered manager had helped to build their confidence. They also commented on the positive team morale saying, 'We are like a family. I get a lot of help and support; the registered manager is the best.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children are consulted as part of the staff recruitment processes. The induction process for staff is comprehensive. The registered manager ensures that the induction is carried out at a pace that works both for the staff member and the children. Children's views are gathered to feed into staff probation reviews.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a strong culture of learning in this home. Staff receive comprehensive training and support, both in person and online. Staff receive training that is specific to the individual needs of children living in the home. This includes sessions from an independent therapist. Training supports staff to reflect on their own practice and to consider how they may react and respond to children in real-life situations. Sessions help staff to remain child focused and consistent in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Comprehensive development plans provide a strategic overview of the home. The plans highlight the strengths in the staff team and include areas for further development. These development plans link to the children's longer-term care plans. For example, they consider who in the team is best equipped to support a child's transition to secondary school. The registered manager ensures that the continuous development of the home is aligned with long-term outcomes of the children who live there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are comprehensive quality assurance processes in place. These build from the daily practice of staff to weekly and monthly overviews. Audits are also undertaken by senior leaders in the organisation. This includes monthly oversight, reflections on specific safeguarding incidents and 'deep dive' audits that cover all areas of the home. This supports the management team to understand the experiences of children living in this home and informs the ongoing development of practice. Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 7

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Recommendation

 Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, this links to ensuring that records of allegations are clearly linked to relevant incidents on the child's record. ('Guide to Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1244117 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: 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

John McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1244117 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 children 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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