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

Inspection report children's home: 1232657 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children whose adverse childhood experiences can lead to them exhibiting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered by Ofsted on 23 February 2021. She holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management that is relevant to adult services. She is in the process of completing additional training to ensure that her qualification is relevant to children’s residential care.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 21 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/05/2019 Full Good 12/12/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1232657 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home. No children have moved into or out of the home since the monitoring visit in January 2021.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff genuinely care about the children and take pride in children’s achievements. This positive affirmation encourages children to achieve their goals. As a result, all children are making good progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use child-focused care plans to ensure that children receive consistent and well-planned care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop life skills and to pursue new interests. For example, one child has joined a local football team. This proactive approach encourages children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to enable children to stay in touch with people who are important to them. This regularly includes travelling long distances to enable children to visit family. This positive support has been instrumental in children re-establishing and maintaining significant relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely environment. However, there has been a lack of attention given to the outside space. Managers addressed this shortfall during the inspection.

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

Staff ensure that risk assessments are kept up to date. This helps the staff to stay informed of the risks that effect each child and how to respond to these risks. Consequently, children are safe.

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

Staff encourage children to make positive choices and to understand the consequences of their behaviour. A daily meeting enables children to reflect on what has gone well for them and what they would do differently. Children understand that it is okay to make mistakes. This open dialogue has resulted in a reduction in significant incidents. There have not been any incidents that have required staff to physically intervene since the last inspection.

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

Staff responses to children who go missing are strong. Staff maintain links with children who are absent. For one child, this was significant in enabling him to return home after a significant time away. Staff have developed cards for the children to carry with them when they are out and about. These cards are aimed at helping them to find their way home if they were to become lost. These include positive messages and contact numbers. This creative approach means that children are assured that they will be positively welcomed home. Inspection report children's home: 1232657 4

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good

Following a period of inconsistent management, the home now has a registered manager who has been in post for seven months. She is realistic about the improvements needed in the home and is committed to making the necessary changes. However, the impact of previous management changes is still apparent in some areas.

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good

Management systems that help managers to monitor and review the quality of care are not always effective. As a result managers are not always aware of shortfalls. For example, health and safety monitoring processes have failed to identify that work is required to ensure compliance with the home’s fire risk assessment. This omission places staff and children at risk.

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good

Managers have made progress in building a consistent staff team. However, there continue to be shortfalls in some members of staffs’ skills, knowledge and experience. As a result, there are times when there are no qualified staff on duty. There have been occasions when staff practice has fallen below expected standards of care. When these situations have occurred, managers have acted quickly to respond and have followed the organisation’s disciplinary processes when necessary.

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good

Managers have been slow to address shortfalls in training which were identified at the monitoring visit. As a result, staff are still without the training that they require to understand and respond to children’s individual needs.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides opportunities to reflect on and develop their practice. However, records of these meetings do not always fully reflect the discussions. This means that these records cannot be relied upon in the case of an investigation. Inspection report children's home: 1232657 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

managers ensuring that staff receive training that reflects the individual needs of the children who live in the home;

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Requirement Due date

managers implementing monitoring and review systems that identify shortfalls in the home. 31 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 F1 applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to managers ensuring that fire safety arrangements are effective. 20 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 31 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: 1232657 6 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to managers ensuring that staff complete the appropriate qualification by the relevant date. Inspection report children's home: 1232657 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision records contain sufficient detail. This should include details of the actions and outcomes of these meetings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that the outside areas of the children’s home are well maintained and offer a safe place for children to play. (‘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 children's home: 1232657 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Tracey Coglan Greig, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1232657 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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