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

The aim of this home is to provide care for children who have experienced disrupted development and multiple placement moves. The report reflects the language used in the home, where the staff are referred to as adults.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 22 February 2017, when this home was re-registered with Ofsted.

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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 good

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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 children’s home: 1253716 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/08/2018 Full Good 19/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 3

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff keep a vigilant eye on everyday health and safety issues to ensure that there are no unnecessary risks.

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Children’s case records must be kept for 75 years from the date of birth of the child, or if the child dies before the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of his or her death. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, the registered person should ensure that care plans and risk assessments are consistently kept up to date.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with: each child; the home’s staff; each child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child including their social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), teachers, clinicians and other health professionals etc. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 54–55, paragraph 10.23) In particular, the registered person should review their monitoring systems to ensure that these adequately cover all aspects of practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are very positive about living here and say that the best thing about living here is how the adults look after them. One child described the adults as ‘amazing’. It is a home where care for everyone is promoted. Adults and children celebrate and cherish their individual and shared successes. These positive relationships and experiences have resulted in children living here for some time and developing a sense of security and belonging. The children make excellent progress in important aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Relationships between adults and children are warm, affectionate and loving. Adults are continually curious about, and reflect on, how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. Children can say how the adults who care for them have made a Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 4 difference. One child said that ‘the adults have stuck with me through some difficult times, they have my back no matter what I do.’ Another child recognised how the number of times he got angry had reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Managers have concentrated on developing consultation with children. These developments have improved how well children’s views influence the care and support that they receive. To help children know how their views change things, a new and fun newsletter is regularly given to them. Children are also involved in recruitment. They help to develop new ways of working, such as daily discussions to think about their development and what pets the home has. The adults act as advocates and support children to make sure that their views are heard by others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Education is promoted and supported exceptionally well. The environment has been developed to support children’s learning. For example, children are reading for pleasure more. The adults work effectively with education providers and promote children’s engagement with school. Adults know how well schools meet children’s needs and act if they are concerned that they do not. This results in children finding the best educational provision for their needs to support them to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are actively encouraged to develop all of their interests and develop appropriate friendships. Adults identify and nurture children’s interests exceptionally well. They carefully consider how activities help children’s development. They balance the amount of free activities children go to with paid activities well. This balance helps children to achieve this balance in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to have time with their family and friends. The adults work with other agencies to ensure that the plans are in a child’s best interests. For example, one child said that he had wanted to spend more time with his brothers and the adults helped him to achieve this.

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

Children are safeguarded well, and adults continually consider how to protect and promote children’s safety effectively. Adults have a wide range of up-to-date safeguarding knowledge which they use to inform how they care for children. The adults challenge other agencies quickly and effectively if safeguarding concerns are not being dealt with and provide helpful and timely information to support safeguarding decisions that need to be made.

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

Effective teamwork assists the adults to decide what strategies will nurture children’s progress and feelings of safety. The adults’ abilities to reflect on how best to act when children are struggling has resulted in well-considered responses. They also support children if an external concern about their behaviour is raised. This results in the children feeling safer and more secure; and in minimising any potential criminalisation.

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

Adults make good decisions about when and how to discuss issues that may affect Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 5 children’s lives. For example, recently the children have all completed worksheets on knife crime. Recently introduced restorative justice techniques have been effective in helping children to reflect on the impact of their behaviours. Children are developing greater self-awareness and empathy for others, which is helping them to manage emotions better.

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

Adults carefully consider and review how, and when, they physically hold children. For one child, adults’ review and planning regarding physical holds has resulted in significant and positive change. Where previously he did not settle at night, he now does. There has also been a marked reduction in the number of times he is being held and type of hold being used. The level of thought and care put into understanding, developing and implementing their plan, together with the team’s commitment to working consistently to this plan, is commendable.

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

Good decisions about how to manage risk are made. However, records do not reflect all the actions being taken to prevent or minimise risk and the records are not always updated sufficiently quickly. This level of recording does not ensure that there is clear guidance about what adults are expected to do.

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

Health and safety checks are not consistently undertaken. During the inspection, several issues were identified that should have been picked up by the adults at the home. However, there is a full monthly maintenance check by an external company whose staff are picking up issues and ensuring that the premises in general are well maintained and safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has a good vision for the home. Its members promote innovative, reflective and thorough practice which results in positive change for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has created an open and inclusive culture that places children at the centre of practice. He values and promotes good teamwork well. As a result, children build positive relationships with the adults, whose skilled and caring practice increases the bonds between them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Oversight of the home is very effective. The organisation’s monitoring systems are well developed. Leaders are clear about how the home is operating and support managers effectively and hold them to account for the care provided. They therefore have a good understanding of how well this home is supporting children and the extent to which the aims for each child have been achieved. Internal monitoring of some aspects of practice is, however, weaker. Managers have not ensured that adults keep health and safety issues to the forefront of their minds every day. They have not ensured that all risk assessments are updated quickly and appropriately when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers continually investigate new developments in practice. They then consider whether these can be used to develop and improve the quality of what they Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 6 offer children. For example, currently they are considering the benefits of a telephone which would enable them to monitor children’s internet and telephone use more easily.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Responses to issues raised by external professionals are actioned immediately and positively. During the inspection, leaders and managers discussed the use of language about children’s care and how this could better reflect language used in families, such as going to see a parent rather than ‘going on contact’. There is a genuine commitment to further improving the quality of care in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Frequently updated training plans ensure that training is fit for purpose. Managers are developing a more therapeutic ethos in the home and increasing the training and support appropriately. They are working towards gaining accreditation with a recognised therapeutic body. Training plans for each person are comprehensive and flexibly meet children’s changing needs. Adults are positive about the induction and support provided. For example, in this home the plans quickly changed to ensure that staff have knowledge of new issues such as knife crime.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervisions are regular and helpful. Adults say that these meetings assist them to develop and grow into their roles. Adults confirm that senior managers are always available and take time to provide extra support if necessary. The organisation and home provide a good balance of support for adults to grow while holding them to account for their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults build positive relationships with a range of professionals who support the child. They challenge agencies’ practice if they are concerned about the decisions. Information which they provide to the wider network is good and supports them to make decisions about children’s 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 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 7

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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, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspector

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1253716 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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