Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

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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 privately owned children’s home is registered to accommodate up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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: declined in effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children receive comprehensive and consistent care from a committed and innovative staff team.  Thorough pre-admission practice enables staff to effectively manage a smooth and Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 2 safe adjustment to new circumstances for the children.  The children develop a sense of belonging in a home that is organised, equipped and maintained in a way that promotes their individuality and sense of self-worth.  A committed and determined staff team keeps the children safe, including from each other should they behave in risky and unsafe ways.  Staff who are confident and ambitious are able to expand and enrich the life experiences of the children.  The children benefit from the progressive approach to recruitment that seeks to identify those who are most suited to providing their care.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The standard of care plans, recording and the accessibility of key information require further improvement.  The progress in staff supervision practice needs to continue and the standard of recording and the structure of sessions need to be improved.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

10/02/2016 Full Good 10/07/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/03/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 3

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Recommendations

 Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living’ documents supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, records should clearly capture the progress that the children make.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that plans to keep children safe provide staff with clear steps

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Recommendations

of how to achieve this. Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s bedrooms and the living areas of the home resonate with a sense of individuality, achievement and special interests. Toys, equipment, drawings, photographs, certificates and posters clearly reflect the individual hobbies, interests and achievements of each child. The décor, maintenance and organisation of the home clearly suggest that those who live there are important, valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported in looking outwards to the needs of others and how they can contribute to the running of the home. They participate in an ongoing fundraising project to support the care and education of children living in poor and marginalised communities in Africa. They assist in the daily care of the home’s chickens and sell eggs as a means of contributing to their fundraising project. These activities help to prepare them for a responsible and independent adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment and atmosphere maintained in the home contribute to the children developing a sense of belonging and pride about where they live and help them to develop a sense of self-worth. They are able to make their wishes and feelings known during house meetings and are also able to give expression to their underlying feelings of anxiety and confusion when these emerge. The development of an established culture in the home, comprising routines, practices and norms, also contributes to providing the children with a sense of security and predictability in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff talk about the children with enthusiasm and in great detail, displaying a good understanding of their needs and vulnerabilities. The children say that they feel cared for and valued by the adults. Staff express pride in the progress and achievements of the children. The children’s records, however, do not adequately capture their journey of development and progress and children are not sufficiently involved in their own recording.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make smooth transitions into the home and settle quickly because leaders and managers ensure that they have all the essential information about them before they move in and also carefully anticipate the likely effects that their introduction will have on the other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to expand their experience of the world and explore their talents and interests together, as well as individually. Tasters of a wide range of sports, art and craft activities are encouraged and the children spent a very carefully planned and much anticipated holiday abroad during the summer. A pictorial record of this shows that the children were exposed to a wide and enjoyable range of experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are deliberate and measured in building positive relationships with the families of the children, as well as with their placing authorities. This helps them to facilitate and support beneficial contact between the children and their families and also intervene and advocate for the children when contact arrangements are having detrimental effects on Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 5 their progress or well-being.

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

The safety and well-being of the children are protected and promoted by a combination of adequate staffing levels, a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of the children and a staff team that is able to respond to emerging and actual risks in a controlled and thoughtful manner.

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

When the children engage in unsafe or risky behaviour or go missing, staff respond quickly and effectively in seeking to reduce or eliminate the risk and also consider the likely effects of disruption and feelings of threat experienced by the children not directly involved.

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

The staff team has forged an effective working relationship with the local police and the missing person’s officer. They have developed good knowledge of the local area and have learned well from previous incidents of risk-taking by the children and young people previously placed in the home. This helps them to take effective action in safeguarding the children when incidents arise.

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

Plans for reducing risks and keeping the children safe are, however, not always current or sufficiently explicit in guiding staff to recognise triggers for risky behaviours and to take the most effective action to manage specific circumstances. This is particularly the case for staff who may not yet be fully familiar with each child.

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

Current recording templates for physical interventions are not sufficiently detailed to reflect the timeliness of actions taken to comply with regulations and require further amendment.

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

Staff display expertise regarding the more complex risks to which the children are vulnerable, such as sexual and criminal exploitation and extremism. They have also established a working relationship with the police, primarily as a result of previous experiences with children and young people no longer living in the home. This expertise adds depth to the ability of the home to safeguard the children.

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

The home is well-maintained and identified hazards are effectively managed through the completion of scheduled health and safety checks, including those relating to fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have succeeded in building a staff team with the knowledge and experience to provide consistent and stable care of a high standard for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Through their diligent review of staff recruitment and support needs, leaders and managers have implemented to a high standard, innovative practices. Recruitment methods have improved to identify those most suitable to care for the children as well as those most likely to be retained in their roles. These include, for example, the showing Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 6 of simulated restraint incidents and discussion of these during the interviewing of candidates.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There has also been innovation around ways to support staff and increase retention, in addition to the normal practices of team support and individual supervision. This includes the introduction of a model of structured peer supervision and support. Staff resilience and consistency in practice has increased significantly as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

These practices contribute to the capacity of the staff team to provide consistent, fresh and enthusiastic care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A structure of regular supervision, in line with the statement of purpose, has become established. The recording of sessions requires further improvement to more fully capture the qualitative content of sessions, particularly with regard to reflecting on practice and contributing to a strong safeguarding culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager makes good use of the regulation 44 and 45 reviewing processes, as well as inspection, to understand how the quality of care in the home can be improved. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and shows good attention to detail. However, current recording systems do not yet effectively reflect the progress and development of the children and should become a focus of further improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has developed an effective level of practice in securing the best responses from other services as well as how to effectively escalate concerns and challenge when responses are inadequate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The well-supported registered manager displays an enthusiasm and determination to continue improving and developing a service that is highly focused on the progress and well-being of each child and that has a strong, resilient and cohesive staff team to support this process. Staff praise his leadership and drive to improve standards of care.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 7 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 children’s home: 1253716 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mountfields House Off Squirrel Way, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspector

John Pledger, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 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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