Children's Home run by Calcot Services for Children Limited in West Berkshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 1 SC011185 Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children 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

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 7 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025. The manager was not present during this inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2025 Full Good 15/05/2024 Full Good 23/08/2023 Full Good 31/08/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 3

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Summary of findings

The manager was on annual leave at the time of inspection. The responsible individual and the home's deputy manager supported inspectors.

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Summary of findings

Children experience warm, consistent and nurturing care that helps them to feel safe, understood and valued. Staff build strong relationships, adapt their communication to children's individual needs and promote positive peer interactions. Children's opinions are sought and used to shape their daily lives. Staff advocate firmly in the best interests of children. Education is prioritised, and alternative learning is provided to children when school is not accessible. Safeguarding practice is responsive, with swift action taken on concerns. The home is welcoming, well maintained and child centred. The manager is committed. Children are well supported by a stable, reflective staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from high-quality, warm and predictable care. Staff ensure that daily routines are clear and consistent, giving children a powerful sense of security. Boundaries are applied sensitively, and children respond well to the calm, reassuring approach of staff. Children are encouraged to explore their interests, hobbies and curiosities. They enjoy a wide range of activities both inside the home and in the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in a calm, consistent and caring manner, helping children to feel safe, understood and valued. Clear boundaries, reflective practice and strong relationships support positive behaviour and daily routines. Children are encouraged to develop independence in ways that are meaningful to them, and staff celebrate achievements sensitively and appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff interactions are warm, respectful and attuned to each child's individual needs. Children confidently approach staff with requests, knowing they will be listened to. Staff adapt their communication style thoughtfully, demonstrating a strong understanding of each child's personality, history and emotional presentation. Social time is promoted, and children are encouraged to build positive peer relationships. Staff also recognise when individual time is more appropriate, ensuring that children feel understood and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on advocacy. Children are helped to understand the role of an advocate. Where children decline this support, staff explore alternative ways to ensure their thoughts are heard. The manager and staff advocate fiercely on behalf of children when decisions or plans do not reflect their best interests. This includes challenging external agencies and escalating concerns when necessary to secure positive outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 4 Education is actively promoted and prioritised. When children are unable to attend school, staff provide structured alternatives, such as online learning and educational activities. For children without a current education placement, managers have taken robust action, exploring all available options and escalating concerns to senior professionals, including the local member of parliament, to ensure that children receive

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the education to which they are entitled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's views, wishes and feelings are consistently sought, valued and acted upon. Staff use creative approaches to capture children's voices, making use of everyday interactions, activities and informal conversations. Children feel listened to and know that their opinions shape daily life in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships in the home are positive, nurturing and secure. Staff model kindness and respect, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Children were observed to be relaxed, settled and interacting positively. Older children naturally adopt mentoring roles with younger peers, contributing to a family-like environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family relationships are promoted and supported. Staff work closely with children's families to facilitate meaningful contact and, where appropriate, progress towards reunification. This is evident in the planned return of one child to the care of his grandmother.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create a safe, stable and nurturing environment where children's needs are central to practice. Staff demonstrate commitment, compassion and a strong child-centred ethos, ensuring that children experience positive outcomes and feel genuinely cared for.

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

Children experience the usual minor bumps and scrapes associated with everyday play and activity. These are recorded clearly in the home's accident book. One significant injury occurred during outdoor play; staff acted swiftly, contacting emergency services immediately to ensure the child received the right medical care. Although treatment was delayed due to consent not being provided by social services, staff continued to advocate strongly for the child and ensured that all follow-up care was completed as advised.

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

Children feel able to speak openly with staff about emerging risks. When one child experimented with smoking and vaping, they trusted staff enough to disclose this without fear of judgement. Staff held important conversations about the health risks and created a plan to minimise harm. However, this plan was not accessible to all staff, which limited consistency in practice.

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

When children raise concerns about staff practice, these are taken seriously and acted on without delay. Allegations are referred promptly to safeguarding partners and managed with sensitivity. Children and staff are listened to, and the manager ensures that everyone is kept informed throughout the process. Children receive clear outcomes in line with what can be shared safely. Some written records used during these Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 5 procedures are not child friendly, which may make the children feel misunderstood. Managers have reflected on previous delays in notifying Ofsted and have strengthened systems to ensure that all notifications are made within required timescales.

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

Medication arrangements are safe and well managed. All staff are trained in medication procedures and demonstrate diligence in their responsibilities. One recent administration error was identified quickly during routine checks. Staff sought medical advice immediately and managers reinforced procedures to prevent recurrence.

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

Safer recruitment processes are robust and ensure that adults working in the home are suitable and of good character. Some minor details were missing from candidate checklists; managers have raised this with the wider organisation and improvements to the form are planned.

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

Staff complete risk assessments for the environment, but they are not always reviewed or updated as circumstances change. Some assessments are overly lengthy and do not clearly highlight key risk factors, reducing their effectiveness.

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

The home environment is spacious, welcoming and well suited to children's needs. There is ample room for play, relaxation and socialising both indoors and outdoors. Children personalise their bedrooms, and additional spaces, such as individual lounges and playrooms, are provided when needed. Pets are an important part of the home, and children enjoy helping to care for them. Most areas of the home are clean, well maintained and free from hazards. However, one bedroom was found to be grubby, with exposed wires from a charging cable. This had not been identified during daily room checks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a present, approachable and highly effective manager whose commitment to achieving the best outcomes for children is evident in every aspect of practice. Staff speak with genuine warmth and admiration about the manager, describing the exceptional support, guidance and nurturing environment she has created. Leaders know the children extremely well and use a wide range of robust monitoring systems to identify strengths, track progress and swiftly address areas for development. Partnership working with health, education, social care and therapeutic professionals is strong, ensuring that children's needs are met holistically.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff consistently report feeling very well supported by the registered manager and describe the home as a positive, enjoyable place to work. Regular, reflective supervision enables staff to consider their practice deeply and develop professionally. Team meetings and reflective sessions further strengthen staff confidence and cohesion, contributing to high morale and a stable workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Feedback from external professionals is unanimously positive. They describe relationships with staff as transparent, collaborative and child focused. Professionals Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 6 value the regular updates provided by staff and praise the team's commitment to understanding each child's unique needs and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Families express strong confidence in the care their children receive. They report that children settle well and build trusting relationships with staff. Families benefit from consistent communication that helps them to feel involved and reassured.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager ensures that staffing levels remain stable and familiar to children. When additional support is required, this is carefully planned within the organisation to maintain continuity of care. The induction for new staff is structured and supportive. While mandatory training is expected within set time limits, this has not been consistently achieved, and managers have not always identified these gaps.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager knows children exceptionally well and is ambitious about the positive impact that staff can have on their lives. As a result, children make substantial progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager's commitment to their role and excellent leadership helps to develop an enthusiastic and skilled staff. As a result, children benefit from high-quality, consistent and nurturing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a clear and ambitious vision for the home. This has helped to create a stable, warm and child-centred environment where children thrive emotionally, socially and developmentally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This is a home where children's needs, voices and futures are at the heart of everything. Strong leadership, committed staff and excellent partnership working combine to create an environment where children feel safe and valued and are able to flourish. Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 7

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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 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health.

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Requirement Due date

In particular ensuring children's bedrooms are clean and free from any hazardous items.(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 20 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

Employment of staff The registered person must— ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all mandatory training is completed within the induction timeframe. 3 September 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child and the staff supporting them. Staff should ensure that documents are reviewed in a timely manner. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 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: SC011185 9

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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: The Malt House, 8 Brewery Court, Theale, Reading, Berkshire RG7 5AJ

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Inspector

Vicki Horton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC011185 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 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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