Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Solihull

Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 1 Registered provider: Compass Children‘s Homes 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 operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children aged seven to 18. Children may have faced adverse childhood experiences, trauma and placement and family breakdown. The registered manager has managed the home since February 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‘s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 1 February 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/08/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 3

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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, 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— support each child‘s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; and help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a)(ii)(viii)) 25/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children‘s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(2)(a)(3)(d)) 25/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes all required information. Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (―the authorised person‖) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(ii–viii)(b)(c)) 25/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the 25/06/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 4 children‘s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (―the quality of care review report‖). (Regulation 45(2)(a)(b)(c)(3))

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improvement to be good

The appointment of an experienced manager in February 2018 means that children now receive better care and support. Staff make sure internal care plans reflect the aims and objectives of the placing authorities. This improvement is in its infancy but enables staff to monitor children‘s progress. Children‘s progress to date is limited because they are mostly new to the home. Their day-to-day experiences are mixed because their relationships with staff are mixed. One child said, ‗I think staff do want to help me.‘ Another child told the inspector, ‗I don‘t feel supported by staff. They don‘t do anything to support me.‘ Staff promote children‘s physical and emotional health. They make sure that children have quick and easy access the specialist services that they may need. Staff encourage children to be active and to eat a healthy diet. Staff help children to understand the possible consequences of making poor lifestyle choices.

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improvement to be good

Children make little progress in education. The new registered manager is resolute in her attempts to make sure that children have suitable school placements. However, staff do not follow ‗in-house‘ routines or temporary learning plans to help prepare children to return to compulsory education. Staff do not help children to develop independent study skills. Staff make sure that children understand how to make a complaint if they are unhappy. Children have the opportunity to voice their views during weekly children‘s meetings. Since the last inspection, these meetings have become more meaningful. However, when monitoring the quality of care provided by the service, managers do not consider children‘s feedback. Children are not yet of an age to prepare for independence. Nevertheless, staff encourage children to learn basic living skills such as shopping, making drinks and keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand how important it is for children to have contact with their families and friends when this is appropriate. They advocate for children to make sure that contact arrangements reflect their wishes. Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 5

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improvement to be good

Children‘s risk assessments now include all known factors that may compromise their safety. These documents guide staff on how to respond to children‘s behaviours. The registered manager recently introduced these changes to make sure that children are better protected from harm and that staff practice is consistent. Staff use reward programmes and sanctions to help children to understand how to keep themselves safe and to make positive choices. Staff use physical restraint to prevent children from harming themselves or others. Managers and staff do not make sure that records of these events include all necessary details or that children‘s views and comments are recorded. Managers and staff now work with the local police and other agencies to better protect children when they go missing from the home. In these circumstances, staff complete records and risk assessments in detail. When children return to the home, they have

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improvement to be good

access to an independent person whom they can speak to. This provides information that may prevent children from going missing in the future. Staff receive safeguarding and child protection training. They understand their responsibilities for protecting children from harm. The current registered manager recognises the importance of working in partnership with others to keep children safe. When children raise concerns about staff, managers now refer these to other relevant agencies. This ensures that these concerns are investigated and addressed. The recruitment of new staff is not always safe. This is because managers do not make sure that they gain all relevant previous employment references. This means that they are unable to verify the suitability of these staff to work with children. Application forms for some staff contain inconsistencies and discrepancies. Managers do not discuss these with staff. Subsequently, not all staff files provide a comprehensive overview of an

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improvement to be good

employee‘s background. Staff complete regular health and safety checks. This means that children‘s physical environment is safe. Children patriciate in fire drills to ensure that they know what to do in an emergency and how to safely exit the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The recently appointed registered manager has the skills and experience necessary to bring stability and leadership to the home. She has a clear vision for the service. This includes providing children with good-quality care and support that meets their individual needs. However, the registered manager has not yet been in post long enough to embed this vision. Staff now receive regular supervision. The registered manager priorities staff support, training and development. This ensures that staff are able to gain the skills, knowledge and relevant qualifications that they need to work with and support children. One member of staff said, ‗I‘m quite new to this kind of work, but already I‘ve learned lots. Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 6 Everyone is very helpful.‘ The registered manager is working hard to establish professional relationships with placing authorities and other agencies. One professional said, ‗The home was very

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

unsettled and chaotic, but I‘m confident that the new manager is turning things around.‘ Improvements to internal monitoring systems are in their infancy. The registered manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. However, the quality of care review does not contain this information. This report is not an accurate reflection of the service and does not include feedback from children, their families or professionals. There is no clear action plan in place to support the development of the home.

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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 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: 1232657 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children‘s Homes Limited

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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

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: 1232657 8 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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