Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 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 is operated by a private company. The home provides care for up to four children whose life experiences mean that they may have social and/or emotional behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered in January 2021. This is the home’s first inspection.

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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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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: 2612008 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress as a result of living at this home. They are supported by an effective staff team that provides good-quality care. Children said that they feel well cared for and are happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The implementation of the in-house therapeutic programme underpins the progress that the children make. Staff provide care that is responsive to the children’s needs. For example, they communicate in a way that enables children to explore making safer decisions for themselves when new or challenging situations arise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and secure relationships with the adults who look after them. Staff have created a safe environment for the children to live in. Children make progress in areas such as self-care, emotional well-being and education. One child described the staff as ‘amazing, supportive and fun’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand each child’s educational needs and provide help that is relevant to those needs. Staff are helping one child to build confidence by providing creative ways to learn at home. Another child has been supported to have some work experience as he prepares to enrol at college. This is helping to brighten the children’s future prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships that staff have with families enable children to remain connected with those who are important to them. Parents value the commitment from the staff, who all ensure that children have regular family time. This has included parents and children being able to spend time together at the home. One parent told the inspector, ‘Working together with staff has helped improve things.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children have reflective conversations about their day-to-day experiences of living at the home. Staff role model how to openly talk about the positive and negative parts of their day. This is helping children to express their thoughts and feelings in a way that celebrates their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is tastefully decorated and provides children with a comfortable living space. There is ample room for children to live and relax in. Children have a variety of entertainment resources, such as games, computers and access to the internet. There are gardens that surround the property which are not yet used to their full potential. The arrangements for repairing minor areas of damage within the property are ongoing. One child’s bedroom was not cleaned beyond the responsibility that is delegated to the children. This does not enhance their living experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a wide variety of opportunities to take part in activities of their choice. These include arts and crafts, going to outdoor parks, go-karting or simply seeing friends. This helps to ensure that children are able to have fun experiences. Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 4 The transition and planning of children into the home is well thought out. For one child, the manager was able to develop a detailed understanding of one child’s emotional and behavioural needs by working in partnership with health professionals. This has enabled the child to settle into life at the home and start to work on developing the skills needed for their future.

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

Children said that they feel safe living at this home. For some, previous concerns such as exploitation, self-harm, drug and alcohol misuse, and violence and aggression, have reduced. Staff are progressively helping children to develop the skills needed to make safer choices.

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

Staff talk with children in an open and calm manner which helps them to reflect on their thoughts and feelings when difficult emotions arise. Staff are helping children to consider alternatives to risk-taking behaviour.

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

When children go missing, staff look for them and make every effort to locate them. Also, staff ensure that other agencies, such as the police, understand the children’s needs. They convey information to ensure that children are risk assessed according to their current behaviour. This helps to reduce the risk of harm.

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

The use of restraint is rare. When it has occurred, it has been reasonable and proportionate, to protect children and staff. Managers have oversight of all incidents. They use a reflective learning tool to develop the staff’s practice. As a result, staff are learning more effective ways to de-escalate challenging behaviour.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks associated with each child. Risk assessments provide staff with the direction and strategies needed to reduce the risk of harm for children. They are regularly updated in response to any incident that occurs. The oversight of managers ensures that staff always have up-to-date plans in place. This helps to protect children from harm more effectively.

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

The children benefit from structured daily plans. Staff help children to visualise their day ahead by talking about what is expected. This is helping children to be better prepared and to respond in a less unsafe way to challenges that may arise.

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

Children are being supported to take age-appropriate risks that are relevant to their age and development needs. The manager has oversight of each child’s progression so that changes to a child’s plan can occur should there be a need for more protective measures.

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

The manager gathers detailed information about the children before admitting them to the home. This helps her to assess whether the children are suited to living together. However, the manager does not always evaluate the impact that the children’s risks, such as criminal behaviour and exploitation, may have on the other children. This could result in children being at increased risk of harm. Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides the team with strong leadership. Staff said that they enjoy coming to work. The manager’s leadership is characterised by high aspirations for the children. Staff are being supported to develop a shared awareness of the children’s needs. This is helping the children’s day-to-day care to be consistently delivered by the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has created a team culture where staff feel supported and appreciated, and are eager to make a difference. When additional support is needed, staff know managers are there to guide them. As a result, children are being cared for by a team that is focused on making a difference to their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s case records are well organised and are completed to a high standard. The style and clarity of recordings mean that children have an increased understanding of their time living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have detailed plans in place which are constantly reviewed by the staff. Also, the internal monitoring system enables the manager to evaluate the quality of care provided for the children. The manager has a clear vision for the children’s futures and how she wants to develop the skill set of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a varied training programme. Staff also now have in place regular dialogue with a therapeutic consultant. The training and consultation provided is responsive to the children’s needs. This is helping staff to build their knowledge and skills to be able to fulfil their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safeguarding incidents are managed in line with the local procedures in place to protect children. However, a concern about a staff member’s professional boundaries was not managed swiftly enough. This could affect the quality of care and experience of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team are valued by their fellow professionals. The feedback given to the inspector recommended/showed appreciation of the child-centred practice that is implemented by managers and staff. One social worker commented, ‘I’m happy we have found this home for [child].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children. When the practice of professionals is not in their best interest, the concerns are escalated. For example, the manager has challenged a school about a child’s educational needs. This is helping to ensure that children receive the services and support they are entitled to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the safety of everyone in the home was compromised by one of the children, the manager took quick action to escalate her concerns so as to protect the safety and welfare of all children. This helps reduce the risk of harm to children. Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are cleaned beyond the responsibility given to them as part of their support plan, when the need arises. The registered person should ensure that staff have a plan in place when a child’s bedroom space is being used to support their personal development, so that the bedroom still remains a clean environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that when they assess whether children are suited to living together, all known risks are evaluated to help ensure that children are not placed at further risk when they are admitted to the home. For example, the risks associated with criminal behaviour and child criminal exploitation should be assessed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38 paragraph 8.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when there are concerns identified about a staff member’s practice which could be detrimental to a child’s well-being, they are addressed without delay. In particular, the manager must ensure that all staff are aware of their professional boundaries when caring for children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43 paragraph 9.14)

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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: 2612008 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, Off Squirrel Way, Loughborough LE11 3GE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jessica Middleton

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2612008 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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