Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 1 SC483220 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 a residential therapeutic home and is run by a private company. It may provide care and accommodation for up to five children who may present with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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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 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

Date of last inspection: 11 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/02/2020 Full Outstanding 21/08/2018 Full Outstanding 10/10/2017 Full Outstanding 06/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are passionate about the care of the children in this home. This has created a vibrant family atmosphere that has enabled meaningful and trusting relationships to develop. Children therefore feel appreciated and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have complex backgrounds which make it difficult for them to process past experiences. A qualified therapeutic practitioner, who is based in the home, contributes to the team’s care of the children. This ensures that staff have a better understanding of children’s behaviour and the root cause of their distress. It also ensures that children and staff have quicker access to therapeutic support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy what is a spacious and homely environment. Staff encourage children to personalise their own bedrooms and contribute their ideas when there are plans to refurbish rooms in the home. This provides children with a sense of belonging and pride in their home surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that they encourage children to pursue their hobbies and interests. Staff have been creative and have inspired various culturally themed fun events in the home for children to experience. Staff meticulously plan the events, which provide children with cherished memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff preserve children’s experiences by creating individual memory books for the children. Staff compile children’s memory books with love and care. This enhances children’s self-worth and will enable them to fondly reflect on positive moments at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff bolster children’s education through an established AQA scheme in the home. Staff persistently ensure that everyday life experiences such as cooking, budgeting or being confident in using public transport turn into learning opportunities for the children. This increases children’s confidence in their own abilities and provides them with formal qualifications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have established good relationships and a rapport with the children. However, despite this, some children have experienced police intervention when they have been in a state of distress. The manager has worked collaboratively with social workers around the use of police. The manager has also supported staff to develop their confidence and skills when supporting children in crisis. This is likely to reduce the requirement for future police intervention to the home.

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

The manager oversees a thorough recruitment process. The manager ensures that, prior to new staff commencing work at the home, the agency has concluded all verification processes. This ensures that only suitable people care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 4 The manager has good oversight of all significant incidents in the home, including when staff have restrained children. The manager has consistently ensured that there has been a thorough debrief for staff and the child. This has enabled the manager to address any staff development needs, which has resulted in a higher level of care for the children when they experience times of crisis.

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

The manager has been involved in promoting flexibility in the application of the agency’s model of care. This has enabled children’s assessed risks to become personalised by focusing on the specific needs of individual children. However, for some children this has stifled their progress prior to the model being adapted.

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

Following referrals, the manager assesses the capacity of the team to meet the child’s specific care needs. This ensures that judgements based on clear analysis support better stability for children. However, once children move into the home, the manager fails to save evidence of her decision-making. This erodes the manager’s capacity to evidence accountability around her decision-making.

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

Professionals consulted by the inspector all talked positively about the care that staff provided the children. Staff make visitors feel welcome at the home, in addition to supporting productive time with the children. This creates effective working partnerships and ensures that there is cohesion around care planning for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been pivotal in raising staff awareness around the language they use with children. The manager has been instrumental in ensuring that staff do not inadvertently marginalise the children in their care. This practice contributes to the children’s sense of belonging in their community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes reflective supervisions and is highly supportive of her staff. The manager addresses any care from staff that falls below the expected standards of the agency. This ensures that staff can learn and improve the quality of care experienced by the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good co-ordination and communication between the manager, her deputy, and the assistant psychologist. This results in there being productive team meetings where staff feel confident to make their contributions. This child-focused approach to care has established a shared ethos within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff unnecessarily wear lanyards and identification badges in the home. This practice undermines the team’s ability to maintain a homely, child-focused environment. The manager accepts that this practice is at risk of stigmatising the children and has a plan in place to address this with her team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a good training offer. However, the team does not have an established working knowledge around specific themes associated with its role. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 5 Although these issues have not impacted on the children’s progress, developing awareness around the virtual school’s role, the child’s legal status and its implications, and statutory safeguarding guidance are necessary to bolster the support that the team is able to provide children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are aware that children in residential care may be worried about being stigmatised or bullied by their peers for being ‘different’ because of where they live. The home’s environment and care should be designed to take account of this and staff should support children to talk about and help them address any concerns they have. Some staff unnecessarily wear ID badges in the home, which creates an unnecessary barrier to achieve this aim. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.13)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. The manager’s analysis within the impact risk assessment needs to be clear. (‘Guide to

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Recommendations

the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: SC483220 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: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester, Leicestershire LE7 1PF

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Inspector

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC483220 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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