Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children's home: 1226397 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides care for up to four children. The children may have faced adverse childhood experiences, trauma or placement and family breakdown.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 20 October 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate on 21 October 2021, as a result of concerns about the understanding of risk and children’s safety, as well as management oversight of the home. Following that visit, Ofsted issued two compliance notices under regulations 12 and 13 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 23 November 2021. The compliance notices had been met. Inspection report children's home: 1226397 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/10/2021 Full Inadequate 26/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/05/2019 Full Good 12/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 1226397 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the children and their needs well. Staff have positive relationships with children. As such, children can share their thoughts and feelings with staff, which supports the progress children make.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on education as they understand the positive impact it has on children’s lives. They persistently encourage children to attend school when they are reluctant to do so. One child, who had not attended school for over two years before living in the home, is now in full time education. Staff help children to complete their homework to promote their learning and help them achieve their best.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an in-house therapist who provides therapeutic sessions to support children with their emotional well-being. The therapist also delivers training to the staff to equip them to provide children with therapeutic care. This means that staff are skilled in talking to children about their worries. This has a positive impact on children’s emotional health and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has left the home since the last inspection. This was a well-planned move, and staff remained in touch with the child until they had settled in their new home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in helping children to stay in touch with those people who are important to them. This includes helping children to have time with family members who do not live locally.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with nurturing care, and they celebrate children’s achievements and praise positive behaviour. Children engage in community activities such as a local football club and going on outings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is well maintained. The home is being redecorated and the children are involved in deciding on how they want their bedrooms decorated.

p.3

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

Staff have the skills and knowledge to keep children safe. Children do not go missing from the home. However, missing-from-care protocols are in place for each child should staff need to use them.

p.3

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

The staff have managed some significant incidents and supported children when they have been distressed. Following incidents, children reflect on their behaviour and have an opportunity to share their views and feelings. If children do raise concerns or make an allegation, the manager takes appropriate action. As such, children feel listened to. Inspection report children's home: 1226397 4 Staff use physical interventions as a last resort to keep children safe. The manager completes debriefs with the children and staff. She has a good overview and understanding of each incident. The behaviour management trainer has also reviewed incidents with staff to reflect on practice and consider lessons learned. This is helpful and provides an opportunity for learning.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of behaviour management plans. Staff provide children with consistent guidance and boundaries, and they focus on helping children make positive choices. This consistent approach provides children with structure and routine and helps them feel safe.

p.4

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

Staff educate children about keeping safe. They teach children about the risks of drug use and how to stay safe in relationships. These discussions are well documented and capture the child’s views and understanding.

p.4

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

A quality assurance team, along with the manager, have been supporting the home to improve practice and improve staff’s safeguarding knowledge. The manager discusses safeguarding practices with staff at every opportunity. Staff can talk with confidence about risk assessments and how they would protect children from harm. This means safeguarding children is at the forefront of practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the process of applying to be registered with Ofsted. She is an experienced leader who is committed to the development of the home. The manager has worked hard to prioritise the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. The manager has been effective in targeting areas of need and raising standards of care. The improvements she has made have had a positive impact on the quality of care provided to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel secure in their practice because of the strong leadership in the home. The manager supports staff through regular supervision sessions. When staff are not performing as expected, improvement plans are in place to promote their development. This is effective and improves staff practice. The manager ensures that staff understand their roles and responsibilities.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At times, COVID-19 has disrupted staffing in the home, and agency staff have been used to cover for staff sickness. Despite this, children have experienced a level of consistent care from a core staff team. The staff have worked together to meet the needs of the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have suitable training to help them meet the children’s needs. There is an ongoing training plan for continued therapeutic training. Most of the staff have the required qualification for the role or are working towards it. However, one member of staff has not completed their qualification within the required time frame. A plan is in place to ensure that this is completed as soon as possible. Inspection report children's home: 1226397 5 The manager communicates exceptionally well with professionals. She coordinates weekly meetings with each child’s school, therapist and social worker. This ensures that everyone is aware of the child’s progress and creates a joint-working approach to meet the child’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s social workers are complimentary about the home, the work that is done with children and how staff help children process their past trauma. Inspection report children's home: 1226397 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must employ a manager for the home who must apply to register with Ofsted without delay.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 31 March 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma").

p.6

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. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was issued at the last inspection and is restated. 31 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 1226397 7

p.6

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: 1226397 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester, Leicestershire LE7 1PF

p.8

Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1226397 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9