Children's Home run by Calcot Services for Children (South) Limited in HampshireOfsted inspection, 23 Sept 2026

Inspection report for children’s home: 2866269 1 Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children (South) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in February 2026 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to 3 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.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager at the 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 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: 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: 2866269 2

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Summary of findings

The registered manager left in July 2026. The home is being managed by the responsible individual and an acting manager while recruitment for a new manager takes place. Children have been living in the home since June 2026. Staff understand children’s underlying needs and are helping them to settle. Children’s communication needs are supported, and they have made progress from their starting points. Safeguarding is managed well. Since the home opened, there have been a high number of incidents. Managers and staff respond effectively to keep children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, 2 children have moved in and are receiving child-centred support to help them settle. Staff understand children’s individual needs and are attuned to their feelings and wishes. They recognise when children are upset and respond promptly to provide the help they need. As a result, children have started to form trusting bonds with staff and are able to talk about their worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive stable and consistent support. As a result, they have made progress from their starting points. For example, one child has started to engage with staff and talk about their experiences. The other child has made significant progress in a short length of time. They have learned communication and self-care skills and are eating new foods. Staff are proud of the children and provide praise and encouragement for their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication needs are well understood. Staff use creative methods to help them engage with day-to-day routines and boundaries. New communication tools are developed to help children identify and express how they feel. As a result, children’s voices and choices are heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a range of activities. For example, one child has a keen interest in wildlife and enjoys helping in the garden, including growing flowers. The other child is supported to access activities in the community and attends a dance club. As a result, children are encouraged to explore their hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children engage positively in education. One child is currently not accessing full-time education. They attend the organisation’s provision while managers actively work with other professionals to find a permanent placement. Staff help the other child to overcome day-to-day worries about going to school and encourage them to attend regularly. As a result, children learn about how to engage positively with routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and decorated with homely touches. There is a large garden, and children are supported to personalise their bedrooms. However, the environment requires more frequent maintenance to make it a more nurturing area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2866269 3

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

Staff understand the risks children face and respond to them proactively. Safeguarding is well managed. Records are detailed, and staff say there is clear guidance to follow to support children.

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

Since the home opened, there have been a high number of incidents. Staff and managers act quickly to keep children safe during challenging incidents. Staff meet with children afterwards to check how they are feeling. They are mindful of each child’s cognitive ability and adapt the ways of communicating with them to enable them to talk about what happened. Children are given reassurance and time to process the boundaries that are being implemented.

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

Staff understand how to keep children safe and know what physical interventions to use if children are at risk of harm. Staff use de-escalation strategies and demonstrate a clear understanding of when intervention is necessary to prevent harm. They respond to unpredictable situations and make plans to reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring.

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

Children are closely supervised. If they attempt to leave the home without permission, staff follow missing-from-care protocols and follow them. Since the home opened, there has been one incident of 2 children going missing from home together. Staff took appropriate action, and the children were found quickly. The responsible individual thoroughly reviewed what happened and worked with social workers to agree the necessary follow-up actions.

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

Managers take children’s allegations seriously and take action to safeguard them. They liaise with relevant professionals and investigate what happened. When there are concerns about staff practice, managers take disciplinary action and provide clear expectations regarding the standards of care required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager resigned 6 weeks after children moved in. The responsible individual and acting manager are working closely together to oversee the home while recruitment for a permanent manager takes place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual reflected on the challenges experienced since the home opened. During this time, managers and staff have demonstrated a consistently positive approach. They keep children’s wellbeing at the centre of care. As a result, children have been kept safe and been helped to make progress in a short length of time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual has a clear approach to planning children’s moves into the home. When the home opened, transition plans were adapted when children needed to move in more quickly than expected. Managers reflected that this led to difficulties understanding and predicting children’s compatibility with one another, which contributed to a high number of incidents. Managers have learned from this experience Inspection report for children’s home: 2866269 4 and plan to use a different approach in the future. Although suitability assessments were carried out, they did not accurately identify whether children’s needs were aligned with the home’s statement of purpose. However, this has not affected the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that it has been a difficult start for the home but are happy that managers are doing all they can to keep things stable for children. While managers recruit, they use agency staff to ensure that there is enough support for children. There has been careful consideration about using agency staff who know children well to ensure that support remains consistent. This has helped stabilise the support provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by managers and that they have the training they need to understand children’s needs. They say that managers listen and act if they raise concerns. Strong communication and teamwork mean that staff are supported during challenging incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work effectively with the professional network and advocate to secure the resources and support that children need. Feedback from external social workers and healthcare professionals is very positive. They say that there is excellent communication, including regular updates on safeguarding and children’s progress. One child’s social worker reflected that staff’s resilience has enabled the child to gradually build trusting relationships with them. Another social worker said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

‘Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of trauma-informed approaches to behaviour management. They respond to [name of child] with curiosity, patience and consistency. As a result, the child has an increased sense of safety, their communication has improved, and there has been a significant reduction in their anxiety.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2866269 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the needs of the children for whom the home is registered to provide care and is consistently used to inform placement decisions. In particular, where the statement of purpose states that the home can meet the needs of children with learning disabilities, the registered person should ensure that children are not admitted if their assessed needs fall outside of this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing, homely and supportive environment for children. In particular, managers should ensure that the environment is suitably maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2866269 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Calcot Services for Children (South) 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

Shirin White, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2866269 7 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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