Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd in East Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children. According to its statement of purpose, the home is in the developmental stages of becoming an assessing and healing complex trauma (AHCT) residential children’s home, which provides the highest quality care and substitute parenting for up to six children who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the request of the provider and the children, throughout the text of this report, the staff are referred to as ‘the adults’.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2018 and has recently returned after an extended period away from the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2020 Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2020 Full Outstanding 17/10/2018 Full Outstanding 15/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 31/08/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. They have adults who understand their needs, led by a registered manager who is passionate about providing the children with positive experiences and ensures that there are ambitious practices in place to support this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is approaching their teenage years. The adults are already thinking about the changes this will bring and how they can best start to prepare the child for this next stage. One example includes how to introduce a mobile phone and independent travel to school as part of this child’s progress towards greater independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s well-being is monitored to ensure early warning signs of any concerns are identified. These are discussed at various opportunities and the adults are responsive to changes in children’s behaviour. Adults know the children well; they have access to comprehensive plans and information about the children and can demonstrate this knowledge in their care practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The adults take time to sit with the children and ensure they have their wishes and feelings heard. Plans from the local authority are transferred into a personal document for each child, written with the child to reflect their own personalities and preferences. These documents are made so that children can understand their journey into the home and how they will be cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from involved professionals is consistent and very complimentary about the adults, the registered manager and the registered provider. In one example, one child’s social worker said the child ‘has thrived with the care provided by the home’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s education and development is of utmost importance to the adults. Every child is in education and all are making progress. Learning and development continues in the home; one child who was non-verbal when they arrived, can now speak in full sentences. Where shortfalls in children’s education are identified by the registered manager, she has been proactive in challenging these.

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improvement to be good

During this inspection period, the adults’ safeguarding practice has been inconsistent. There have been times when adults have not protected children from harm and senior leaders have failed to act appropriately to children’s reactions when there has been an incident or allegation.

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improvement to be good

There have been serious shortfalls in the management of some safeguarding concerns that have meant children were unsafe as a result. Adults have not always Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 4 recognised when a child has been harmed or a colleague’s practice should have been reported. This has led to delays in children being kept safe from harm.

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improvement to be good

Not all uses of physical restraint have been appropriate or proportionate. There is a variable quality in the recording and reporting of these incidents and the action taken after an event has not always been appropriate.

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improvement to be good

Prior to this inspection, senior leaders had already begun to undertake learning and reflection about specific incidents. Combined with the more recent return of the registered manager, there is an improving picture with regards to safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

The adults have worked well to reduce significant incidents. Recording tools have been updated and these provide further prompts for the adults to consider and for the reflections of the children to be sought and captured. There is a greater emphasis on the use of rewards for children, such as matching pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to each small step of a goal, leading to a larger reward once the jigsaw is completed. This tailored approach is supporting the adults to provide personalised recognition of children’s achievements.

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improvement to be good

Children are taught about bullying from the point of their arrival at the home. Adults spend time discussing this with the children in key-working sessions and address this well if it happens at the home, at school or in the community. Consequently, children are guided early on about tolerance and valuing difference.

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good

Disruption to management arrangements since the last inspection has, in part, contributed to a period of decline, with particular regard to safeguarding arrangements and practice. Safeguarding investigations have been of variable quality and opportunities for the adults involved to learn from incidents and improve their practice have not always been provided. Although some shortfalls have been identified by leaders, plans for reflection through supervision have not been consistently followed to help the adults to better understand and manage their own feelings with regards to supporting children’s behaviour.

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good

During this period, Ofsted was notified of significant events, however, the information provided by the home has not always been sufficiently detailed or accurate. Such shortfalls compromise the regulator’s ability to sufficiently monitor the home in between inspections.

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good

The registered manager has recently returned from an extended period of leave. She demonstrates a strong commitment and ability to recognise and address shortfalls where standards have declined. She has a clear vision for the home and is driving improvements. Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 5 The registered provider is continuing to provide a well-thought-out, tailored induction and support programme for adults when they start to work in the home. This considers their well-being, mental health and the wider context of what is going on in the world, such as racism, equality, diversity and discrimination. Such practice demonstrates a commitment to caring about the adults who care for the children.

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good

Feedback from external professionals is very positive about the experiences of the children living in the home, the progress that adults are supporting children to make and the communication they regularly receive. Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 6

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(x)) 19 December

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)) 19 December Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 7 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

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)) 19 December

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child).

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a) (2)) 19 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)(5)(a)(i)(iii)) 19 December Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 8

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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 for children's home: 1250931 9

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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, Off Squirrel Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspectors

Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Keith Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1250931 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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