Children's home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to eight children who have experienced trauma and related behavioural difficulties. This is one of a number of children’s homes operated by this private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned in January 2021. There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 home on 20 October 2020 to carry out an assurance 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 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are very happy and settled. They positively thrive at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened, six children have moved in and two children have moved out. The children benefit from long, stable placements. They have developed a strong sense of belonging and identity and have supportive relationships with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is energised and has a sense of fun. Children thoroughly enjoy spending time with the staff. There are numerous trips out and the children recently enjoyed a caravan holiday. The staff provide exciting and enjoyable events at the home. These have included a celebrity challenge, a talent show and a ‘come dine with me’ evening. Children help to develop and plan these events with enthusiasm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is an on-site school that the majority of the children attend. The children have very good attendance and levels of engagement. Good communication with the school staff ensures that any barriers to learning are quickly identified. Children are supported with further education applications and college courses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from regular therapy sessions. There is a full-time therapist at the home who provides each child with tailored sessions and guides the staff in their approach and strategy. This enables children to participate in therapy in the comfort and security of their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful consideration is given to any new child arriving and whether they will fit in well with the current group of children. As a result, there is stability and harmonious relationships between the children. The children have bonded well and accept one another’s differences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a well-appointed home that is stylish and provides them with ample space and privacy. Pleasant gardens are accessed by patio doors and include a swimming pool, a patio, a hard-court games area and grass. Children appreciate the quality of their environment and take pride in helping the staff to keep this nice.

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

Children’s risky behaviours have significantly reduced since moving to the home. Children do not go missing from the home, bullying is not a concern and behavioural incidents are few.

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

The staff take time to talk with the children and educate them about their personal safety. The children have embraced a culture of adhering to the house rules. They accept the boundaries and any related consequences. This is because the staff are Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 3 skilled and considered in helping the children understand the reasons for rules. This helps the children to make positive behavioural changes that increase their personal safety.

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

Children work towards completion of a ‘safe programme’. This programme provides individual focused modules that educate the children about their smartphones, safe travel and free time in the community. The staff provide consistent safety guidelines and give the children lots of positive reinforcement and incentives. Children recognise the positive changes in their lives and take pride in these.

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

There is a wide range of varied activities for the children to do at the home. Children are happy and busy spending time with the staff. Keeping busy reduces the pull factors away from the home and reduces incidents of children wanting to leave the home.

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

Children’s risk management plans are current and reflect recent incidents. These assessments guide the staff and make sure that they provide children with support that reflects the current level of risk.

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

The manager has reviewed the safety of the home’s location but has failed to include the busy road at the end of the long driveway. The exit is bordered by overgrown verges and this reduces the visibility for cars leaving the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted. He is undertaking a suitable level 5 qualification in leadership and management. The manager has a great relationship with the children and promotes the therapeutic ethos that defines the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the initial registration of the home, there have been several changes of manager. In an attempt to find the right manager, the organisation has provided some internal temporary cover with managers. The rationale for these managerial changes has been to ensure that the right manager is appointed. However, the children have experienced a number of different managers and some are confused by this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work well together. They bring commitment and creativity to their roles. The staff balance exciting activities with good orderly routine. This combination works very well. The established routines support children’s school attendance and teach them self-discipline.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The permanent staff all receive regular supervision sessions. However, this is not the case for regular agency staff. One member of agency staff has worked a high number of shifts each week for over four months without being given any supervision. In addition, there are two members of staff whose annual appraisals are overdue. This means that opportunities to identify training needs and support these staff may be missed. Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 4 There is an electronic record system that most staff are familiar with. However, there are some records that have small errors and have not been checked thoroughly. These include children’s risk assessments and impact risk assessments. Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 30 September 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s views about the staff turnover are considered when monitoring and reviewing the patterns and trends of the turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)  The registered person should ensure that staff are 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)  The registered person should ensure that the location review includes the identification of any risks presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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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: 2591431 6

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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, Off Squirrel Way, Loughborough LE11 3GE

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Inspector

Deirdra Keating, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2591431 7 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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