Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has recently applied to Ofsted for registration. The previous registered manager cancelled her registration on 1 November 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 12 November 2019

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home required improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are currently three young people resident within the home. Since the last inspection, one young person has left the home and the group expect a new admission at the end of March 2020.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The previously depleted leadership team has been strengthened with the addition of a new deputy manager and a designate registered manager, who has recently applied for registration with Ofsted. The leaders provide clear direction to the staff and work well with young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The current manager has completed careful quality checks on practice in the home and used the findings to improve care arrangements. For example, her analysis showed that behaviours appeared to escalate at young people’s bedtimes, so the team made adjustments to practice and now young people appear less escalated at that time of the day.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A notification of a serious incident in the home was appropriately shared by the home and arrangements put in place to keep young people safe. However, the follow-up and safety plans for the young person involved are recorded within a generic risk assessment plan, rather than a dedicated plan for managing the individual’s risk of child sexual exploitation. This makes it difficult for staff and professionals to clearly highlight the presenting risks of exploitation and to understand the agreed strategies to manage those risks.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Health planning recording needs attention within the home. A young person’s health plan holds no details of recently prescribed courses of medication taken by the young person. This reduces the accuracy of important records and means that health histories are incomplete.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Transitions into the home are well managed. Plans are thoughtfully arranged and include the collation of feedback from young people, both those already placed and those being placed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

While there were some positive plans in place for a young person’s discharge from the home, the staff did not pursue missing pathway plans or the lack of a personal adviser with placing authorities. This lack of escalation also includes staff not picking up with placing authorities when young people are mixing with restricted individuals during their home visits. Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 3 The provider has covered the majority of requirements from the last inspection. While education provision has been addressed, there remain shortfalls in young people’s programmes, which the home has yet to repeatedly escalate to the appropriate authorities, including the virtual headteacher. There are positive developments for young people within their education, including a young person planning to take GCSE qualifications.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The previous requirement regarding complaints has been suitably followed up by the home. The manager has introduced clear tracking records and key-worker sessions, which means that concerns are robustly followed up and recorded. Care planning has improved. The admission of a new young person was well planned and closely involved the resident young people. This provided the young person with a positive start to their placement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The previous recommendation regarding in-house careful recording has been partially addressed. However, the staff still don’t cross-reference vital details within young people’s records, which means that safety plans aren’t fully comprehensive. For example, a young person’s missing and exploitation risk assessment is not linked to the individual’s contract for having ownership of a mobile telephone. Furthermore, the account of the same young person’s strategy meeting is missing from their records, which means that staff do not have full details of the safety planning for the young person. Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 5

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) This is with specific reference to maintaining specific and separate risk assessment plans for children at risk of child sexual exploitation. 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) This is with specific reference to ensuring that children’s health plans include an account of all prescribed medication. 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) This is with specific reference to escalating to the relevant authorities, delays in obtaining suitable education placements and young people’s contact with restricted individuals when on home contact. 30/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 6

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Recommendations

 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). This is with specific reference to the timely retrieval of strategy meeting minutes from placing authorities.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full 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 children’s home: 1232658 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, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspectors

Karen Forster, regulatory inspection manager Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1232658 8 to 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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