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

Inspection report children's home: 2523025 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

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for six children who have experienced childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 9 July 2019 and is suitably qualified.

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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 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 11 February 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 20 November 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2523025 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2523025 3

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outstanding

Staff and the clinical team work exceptionally well together and provide excellent care and support for all children. They have a deep understanding of children’s lived experiences and trauma and the impact this can have on their day-to-day lives.

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outstanding

Staff work collaboratively with partner agencies in tailor-making care plans that meet the children’s complex individual needs. These plans are meticulously reviewed and implemented, and they evolve in line with children’s progress. Children consistently receive the highest standard of care, which enables them to achieve positive outcomes.

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outstanding

Staff and managers have high aspirations for the children and provide them with an environment where they can flourish. All the children living at the home at the time of the inspection, and those who have moved on from the home, have made amazing progress from their starting points. For example, some children have started engaging in therapeutic sessions and are able to understand the reasons they are living at the home. In addition, children understand what their health diagnoses mean and how they can affect their day-to-day lives. This progress has improved children’s emotional well-being remarkably.

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outstanding

All children access education that is appropriate to their individual needs. Children who had not been in education for an extended period before coming to the home are now accessing education full time and are meeting their learning objectives. Staff and managers maintain regular communication with teachers through daily handovers and fortnightly meetings. Children’s daily experiences are well known, and staff and school respond to any arising needs effectively. This has been instrumental in helping children to be successful and make significant progress in school.

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outstanding

Staff encourage and enable children to live healthy lifestyles. They ensure that children eat a balanced diet, attend all health appointments and exercise with a personal trainer who visits the home weekly. Children have access to a local gym and enjoy taking part in various classes. Children’s physical and emotional health are improving because of the support they receive.

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outstanding

Staff and managers provide the children with a family environment. Relationships between children and staff, and between the children themselves, are highly valued, and restorative work is undertaken promptly whenever difficulties arise. Staff and children use a ‘repair and relationship box’; they write letters to each other, addressing any issues and offering apologies when necessary. Children learn strategies to help them overcome difficulties and resolve potential conflicts. In addition, they develop a sense of belonging and are proud to call the home their own. Inspection report children's home: 2523025 4 Children are well supported to spend quality time with close family and friends. This helps children to maintain relationships with those who are important to them when it is appropriate to do so. One child has been able to return to their parent’s care and is settled and happy.

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outstanding

Staff value children’s wishes and feelings. Children are involved in the day-to-day running of the home. They are consulted through weekly meetings, individual discussions with staff, monthly visits from the independent visitor and access to advocates. Managers and staff act on children’s views and wishes, and children feel listened to.

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outstanding

Staff make the children’s experiences of living in the home memorable. They provide them with amazing experiences such as going on holiday, shopping trips, making meals together, growing fruits and vegetables, visiting museums and simple pleasures like playing in the garden. These experiences are captured in photographs and in children’s daily life-story diaries. This enhances children’s emotional and social development.

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outstanding

Staff and the children are from diverse backgrounds in terms of age, race, religion, sexual orientation and gender. Each child and staff member is treated with respect and dignity. Equality and diversity are advocated for and celebrated within the home. Staff and children have taken time to learn about each other and have created a cultural wall with educational information on it. They have celebrated Easter, Christmas, Halloween and Eid. Children have access to dressing-up clothes which they use to express themselves and their identity. They have learned to accept differences in themselves and in each other, and they are kinder and more empathetic as a result.

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outstanding

The home is beautifully decorated to a very high standard. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, which they enjoy doing. As a result, children have a warm, welcoming and cosy living environment where they can relax and unwind after a busy day.

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outstanding

Through diligent matching, care planning and multi-agency working, staff and managers support children’s transitions into and from the home extremely well. This helps to reduce feelings of worry for the children, and they quickly settle into the home or wherever they move on to.

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outstanding

The welfare and safety of the children are paramount and are evidenced in staff’s daily practice. Effective partnership working between staff and the clinical team means that staff know the children extremely well. They have extensive knowledge about children’s complex needs. Staff understand why children might display certain risk-taking behaviours, such as self-harming, damaging property and displaying physically and verbally aggressive behaviours. They involve children in making Inspection report children's home: 2523025 5 decisions about how best to help them when they experience high levels of anxiety and distress. This helps children know what to expect and that staff will respond in line with their wishes and feelings.

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outstanding

Children’s emotional support plans are extremely thorough. They provide staff with step-by-step guidance on actions to take to keep children safe. Partner agencies have commended staff and the managers on their ability to anticipate risks and manage these well. They report that staff and managers communicate any safeguarding concerns promptly and follow safeguarding protocols.

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outstanding

There was a period where some children’s behaviour escalated, which resulted in some staff getting hurt. Consequently, the use of physical restraint increased to keep children and others safe. Staff and managers consulted with partner agencies and the children to try and understand the reasons behind the increase in these incidents. They used reflective practice to look at patterns, trends and triggers and have taken learning from this. Subsequently, children’s aggressive behaviours and the use of physical restraints are significantly reducing as children learn and develop different strategies to manage their emotions. For one child, a more specialised home was identified which could meet his changing needs better.

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outstanding

Staff use a reward system that incorporates restorative practice. They model good behaviour and provide children with consistent routines and boundaries. Children are becoming more aware of their own emotions and how to regulate them to keep themselves and others around them safe.

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outstanding

Allegations of possible harm are reported to relevant agencies promptly. Staff and the manager work in partnership with other professionals, including the designated officer and social workers, to promote children’s safety and welfare. When an internal management investigation is the recommended outcome, the manager conducts this transparently and thoroughly. Children are supported and safeguarded throughout the process. The manager ensures that any identified learning is actioned quickly.

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outstanding

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks to promote their social and independence skills. For example, one child has become increasingly confident in accessing the community independently and another child is enjoying spending time with close friends. This is significant progress given their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is exceptionally passionate and inspirational and leads by example. She is highly experienced and has strong leadership qualities. She is supported by an extremely motivational deputy manager. Together, they are a driving force and bring about positive change in children’s lives. The manager and deputy manager are ambitious for children and provide them with child-centred and personalised care. As a result of diligent and effective leadership, children make outstanding progress from their starting points. Inspection report children's home: 2523025 6 The manager’s monitoring and reviewing of the service is exceptional. She consults with partner agencies, children, staff and the independent visitor to gain feedback. Consequently, she is fully aware of all areas of strength and areas for development within the service. She promptly addresses any shortfalls identified through monitoring to ensure that children receive consistently excellent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have appropriate qualifications and have access to specialised training. Staff and managers use a research-based therapeutic approach called ‘overcoming childhood trauma’ on a daily basis. This ‘talking’ therapy enables them to meet children’s emotional needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff report that they feel extremely valued by their managers and senior managers. They receive good-quality supervision and appraisals, which promotes their continuous professional development. Clinical one-to-one and group supervision sessions are provided to staff when required, which promotes their emotional well- being and resilience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have received awards within their organisation in recognition of their commitment and hard work. The home has a stable staff team with excellent staff retention. Children receive care from staff who know them well, and as a result, they are doing exceedingly well in all aspects of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers exercise effective challenge when needed to meet the children’s holistic needs. During the inspection, feedback received from partner agencies was very positive. An associate head of school reported, ‘We are confident that the staff at the home are committed to the young people under their care. They are committed to securing the very best outcomes for their young people, and in doing so, aim to foster positive relationships with stakeholders.’ Inspection report children's home: 2523025 7

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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: 2523025 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, Leicestershire LE11 3GE

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Inspector

Rumbi Mangoma, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2523025 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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