Children's home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 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

This home is a residential therapeutic community that provides care for up to six children who are overcoming trauma or have experienced exploitation. A fundamental objective of the home is to provide intensive therapeutic care and access to education.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is currently without a registered manager. A manager is in post and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 3

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious and each child has their own well-furnished bedroom. There have been several incidents over the last few months and the home requires some repair and replacement of broken items. One child’s room had graffiti on the wall. The repairs have not been carried out quickly and children have been living in an environment that reminds them of unpleasant events and feelings. A child said, ‘Seeing the damage just reminds me of the violence from other children’. Action was taken by managers and staff both before and during the inspection to make changes to the environment.

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improvement to be good

Children have individual plans and are helped to build secure relationships with adults. Staff pay attention to the detail of each child’s needs and are starting to get to know them well. Children are supported to have positive experiences and some children are making very positive progress. One child said, ‘I feel like I am a completely different person than I was a year ago.’ This builds children’s confidence and feelings of security.

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improvement to be good

Children who live at the home take part in a therapeutic programme. The programme is overseen by a programme psychologist who works in the home on a full-time basis, closely supporting children and staff with individual and group therapeutic sessions. This enhances children’s support and helps to develop the staff team’s understanding of trauma-informed care.

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improvement to be good

Communication with children is good. Children have daily meetings with staff to discuss their day. They also have weekly meetings where they are consulted about their day-to-day choices, such as their meals, clothes and activities they may want to participate in. This helps children feel listened to and empowered to make positive decisions.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to engage and achieve in education. One child is supported to attend their mainstream school in their home area. This helps them to keep friendships that they have already made and retain a sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

When children have gone missing from home, staff have on one occasion sent a taxi to bring a child back to the home. This is an inappropriate practice, particularly considering the highly vulnerable nature of the children who live in this home.

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improvement to be good

Children take part in a therapeutic programme which includes some restrictions on their day-to-day lives, and there is a high level of staff supervision. One child has been prevented from leaving the home, but there is no legal provision or recorded Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 4 multi-agency agreement to demonstrate that the restrictions are lawful, proportionate or in the child’s best interests. A requirement was raised at the first inspection of this home, but this practice is still ongoing.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s individual needs and put measures in place to support their positive behaviour. There are clear routines and boundaries in place, and children are encouraged to behave well by receiving both long- and short-term rewards for good behaviour. Children are learning that positive and safe behaviour is beneficial to them.

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improvement to be good

The home has effective links with social workers and other safeguarding agencies. There is good communication about safeguarding issues. These links support a coordinated response to promote children’s safety.

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good

The post of registered manager is vacant. The manager who was in post at the last inspection did not register with Ofsted and decided to leave. A new manager has recently been appointed. The new manager is child-focused and has started to outline the positive changes he wishes to make.

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good

Internal monitoring has been inconsistent, and the manager has not followed up escalation processes when the home has not received key documents. There has been little challenge to partner agencies when they have not confirmed plans for children in writing. This leads to lack of clarity for staff in implementing children’s care plans.

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good

Staff have regular supervision. They are supported with training to ensure that they are informed about how to meet the needs of the children in their care. All staff are now completing the relevant qualification for their role. This is a work in progress and the children will benefit from being looked after by adults who understand how to meet their needs.

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good

The manager works proactively with other agencies and professionals. He has good working relationships with social workers and partner agencies. A social worker said, ‘I am always welcomed into the home and, overall, I am really pleased with the home.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 5

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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, the 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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)(i)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a consistent approach to when children are missing from home, including children being safely returned to home when they are found. 12 September

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 12 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is homely and child- focused, and that any repairs that need to be undertaken in the home should be carried out quickly to maintain a homely atmosphere. Rubbish should be removed from the garden and outdoor play equipment should be replaced. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 6 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain a thorough monitoring and review system to ensure that all information held about children is relevant and up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2616605 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 LE7 1PF

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 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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