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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 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 provides care for up seven children who have experienced childhood trauma and may be experiencing emotional and/or social difficulties. The home is owned by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 3

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outstanding

There are two children living in the home at the time of the inspection, and they are thriving. They receive nurture and care that is enabling them to feel safe, loved, happy and valued. The staff are enthusiastically and passionately ensuring that children are continually making positive progress. The children receive regular input from the therapeutic team. The in-house psychologist works with the children on an individual and group basis. The home’s integrated therapeutic environment is assisting children to make exceptional progress.

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outstanding

Children have engaged well with the therapeutic support, which is seamlessly integrated into the ethos and running of the home. The inclusion of the staff team in these sessions and activities has enhanced their understanding. It has also enabled them to use the strategies in their work with the children.

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outstanding

The children also have access to pets, as staff often bring their dogs into the home. This forms part of the therapeutic plans. The children say that they love having the animals around. They also enjoy assisting with caring for them. It is positive that children can also earn the trust to have their own pets.

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outstanding

A grandparent praised the team’s work, saying, ‘They have given me back the old [name of child].’ The grandparent described their joy at being able to have the child home for an extended stay over Christmas for the first time in years, saying they would score the home ‘10 out of 10’. It was also positive to hear the child describe having a great Christmas. The child asked to return to the home a day early to maintain their established routines. This level of self-awareness and attachment to the routines are impressive. These have been speedily developed, as the child only moved in four months ago.

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outstanding

The relationships between staff and children are trusting. One child said that they are often reluctant to trust new people. However, in the time the child has lived in the home, it is evident that trust in the team has quickly been established. The child has even formed a close bond with new staff who they have only known for a few weeks. This demonstrates that the child is now open to forming healthy attachments.

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outstanding

Children are supported and encouraged to have all their routine health checks. Staff know the children so well that they immediately recognise any changes in their mood or presentation. Staff persist until children receive the necessary follow-up medical examinations. This thoroughness means that there is less chance of any conditions being undiagnosed.

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outstanding

Both children have been receiving home tuition. They are due to start school in the coming weeks. They each had taster sessions in school during the inspection. Both Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 4 children were anxious but excited. Staff were observed supporting and preparing them for the visits. This included discussions about how they would alert staff if they were becoming overwhelmed. Some staff members came into work specifically to go to school with them. This demonstrates their commitment to the children. The manager and staff skilfully assisted children with managing their emotions at home and at school.

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outstanding

The children complete learning modules relating to life skills and education. These achievements boost the children’s sense of accomplishment and pride. Children can use these formal qualifications to evidence their academic achievement.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged and supported to participate in extra-curricular activities and youth clubs. These activities support their individuality. They also assist them to enhance their social skills and build independence.

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outstanding

Arrangements for children moving in and out of the home have been managed well. These include visits by staff to children before they move in. Children are shown pictures and footage of the home. They are also able to visit to familiarise themselves with the home, staff and other children. These visits and the information help to make the move less daunting. During the process, children choose how they would like their bedroom decorated. Each of the children takes pride in their bedroom and their home.

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outstanding

Staff support children when they move out to ensure that they settle well. One young person moved out but remains in the area. It was their choice to do this, as they had lived in the home for nearly two years. Staff still see them regularly in the community on their commute to and from college. This provides the young person with a source of support and guidance should it be needed.

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outstanding

Children are safe and settled. Staff work with the children to support them to take age-appropriate risks. This is done incrementally and children are taking responsibility for their actions. The staff rarely need to set any consequences and there are very few significant incidents.

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outstanding

There was a period, when two other children were living in the home, when there were concerns about the continued suitability of the placements. This was because there was an increase in incidents, including assaults on staff and missing-from- home episodes. This had the knock-on effect of increased allegations, staff sickness and some staff leaving. It is evident that throughout this difficult period all appropriate actions were taken. The staff successfully managed the increased risk. They worked with the therapeutic team to address negative behaviours. They also recognised when they could no longer safely meet the needs of the two children. It is evident that both had made progress in their time living in the home. This is supported by feedback supplied to the home from a parent and a professional. The parent sent an email thanking staff for being great advocates for their child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 5

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outstanding

These events occurred despite thorough consideration of meeting the children’s needs. Post-placement reviews were completed after the children moved out. This included revisiting the decisions to accept the children. This was to assess whether in hindsight any information received later would have altered their decision. It was clear that the managers had asked all salient questions. They concluded that these issues may arise when children move into the home from families or carers. This is because, in such cases, placing authorities often have minimal information. The positive impact for the two children involved was that the staff were able to do full assessments. This allowed the placing authority to be clearer about the type of care that would better suit the children.

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outstanding

Safeguarding is addressed through staff training and in conversations with the children. It is also considered as part of incident debriefs. Staff training is comprehensive and is arranged and monitored by a training department. This ensures that staff are working with current information and knowledge.

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outstanding

The two children in the home now are settled and do not go missing from care. Staff successfully use the strategies developed with the therapists to assist the children. When discussing how they manage their feelings, children are becoming more able to express their views and negative emotions in a more constructive way. Children said they can speak to any staff if they feel unsafe or upset. They said that they trust staff because staff do what they say will. This allows them to know where they stand.

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outstanding

The discussions during in-house meetings are varied and include general topics and current news items. These conversations help the children to form opinions on global matters, such as the war in Ukraine, as well as to address household topics.

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outstanding

They also complete key-work sessions on general matters and any aspects of concern or upcoming planning. Children actively participate in these sessions and are often very reflective.

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outstanding

The team is actively undertaking work with the children on how they engage with others. This includes sessions and group discussions on bullying. The children created anti-bullying posters. The posters they made demonstrated their understanding of the impact of bullying.

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outstanding

Staff cleverly ensure that the children have clear boundaries and expected levels of behaviour. Children are now more able to apologise to staff when their behaviour or language falls outside of these boundaries.

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outstanding

Since the last inspection, the home has been settled. The staff review incident records and debriefs. They are proactive and create reduction plans as well as strategies to avoid or minimise reoccurrences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 6 The home has had a change of manager since the last inspection. A manager from within the organisation covered the post in the interim. This ensured that there was no disruption to the running of the home or the quality of care being provided to children. The responsible individual works closely with the managers and the team. She ensured that standards remained high, despite any challenges faced. It is evident that the team’s cohesive working also assisted with maintaining high standards.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The new manager has been in post for two months. She is committed to ensuring the children achieve the best outcomes. In her brief time in post, she has been instrumental in effecting positive change. This includes escalating concerns about the extreme delay experienced in securing school places. Her formal complaint has quickly resulted in a school being identified. She has also advocated on a child’s behalf following an incident in the community, when they felt upset and frustrated at being stigmatised in a store. This formal complaint led to the child receiving an apology and financial compensation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff describe the new manager as ‘amazing’. One said, ‘She is ambitious and has so many plans for the home. I believe and trust that she will achieve great things here.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff and manager take genuine care and pride in the children and their work. Their positivity and playfulness are engaging. It also assists children to invest in improving their outcomes. This is supported by the input from the therapists.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has clear auditing processes they use to monitor and track the progress of children. This ensures that they are continually revising targets and expectations for the children. They are equally committed to ensuring that staff have regular training days, supervision and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff describe the training programme as thorough. Staff progress is monitored through the training department. Specific courses are identified as required to meet the needs of the children, such as oppositional defiant disorder and bereavement. This ensures that staff are working with current knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The team’s work is underpinned by research. They explore new theories and approaches as a team. They then consider how they will implement the specific research in their practice. This approach ensures that the home is continually developing and care is improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Equality and tolerance are important to everyone in the home. Staff ensure that individuality and cultural awareness are promoted and respected. Staff are creative in the various ways that they seek the children’s views and wishes. One child has an incentive plan in place that, when achieved, will allow them to have a pet. This was the topic of many of their conversations, which demonstrated their expert negotiating skills. There were several examples of children achieving their wishes through incentives and savings. These demonstrate that the children are listened to. Children are also learning lifelong skills of budgeting and saving for larger purchases. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 7 Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 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: 2587047 9

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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

Sonia Hay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2587047 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 children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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