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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 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

A private company owns this home. It provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, specific language/communication difficulties and/or sensory integration difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2022. She is an experienced registered manager and holds a diploma in leadership and management at level 5.

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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: 20 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2022 Full Good 23/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed individualised plans for children. They work with the on-site school and therapy team to work towards agreed targets for each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home attend the on-site school. Staff help those children who previously had poor attendance to attend regularly. They also support the children in school to engage in key activities such as yoga, and, for one child, to go to work experience away from the school, at a local community shop. Consequently, the children are progressing well and enjoy going to education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to maintain relationships with important people in their lives. Staff understand the plans in place to help the children to keep in contact with their families and are actively involved in supporting these. For example, sensitive work has been completed using social stories to support a child who has not been able to see a parent for a period due to ill health. This work has a positive impact on the children’s understanding and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in seeking children’s views. Staff help children by using social stories, pictures and symbols. Even the least able are encouraged to choose. Consequently, the children feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the home and in the wider community. Staff take children swimming, horse riding, on trips to parks and to community- based clubs. Staff have also helped the children celebrate the King’s coronation and organised a recent water fight in the garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are working with the children to increase their independence. When a child learns a new skill, this is recognised with an accredited award. These have included awards for personal care, dressing, cooking and laundry. Professionals, parents and carers are proud of their children’s positive achievements and the impact these new skills will have as the children move towards adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, but it has not been well maintained and does not feel welcoming or homely. Some areas in the home have been redecorated and two children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, other areas of the home need attention and some work planned has been delayed. For example, showers to support staff to deliver personal care have not been fitted. A privacy screen has not been built. Three children’s bedrooms and the living areas look tired. Furniture is broken, and furniture that has been broken and removed has not been replaced. The registered manager and responsible individual have improvement plans in place. Painting has been requested, repairs and refurbishment are ongoing and some new furniture is on order. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 4

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

Children become increasingly safe over time due to the good level of care they receive. Children do not go missing from this home. There have been no concerns about exploitation or radicalisation. Consequences are not used. The registered manager takes concerns seriously and has responded appropriately to allegations, medication errors and complaints. Low-level safeguarding concerns have been quickly addressed, with good management oversight ensuring that appropriate procedures are followed and lessons are learned.

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

Staff know the children well. They continue to develop their understanding of how the children’s experiences and disabilities impact on their behaviours. This is supported by the registered manager, linked therapist and clinical team who facilitate, and are present at, regular meetings and run regular, specific training tailored to the children’s needs. As a result, the children are well supported and have improved their ability to understand and manage their emotions.

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

Managers and staff understand the risks the children face. High numbers of staff caring for the children help to keep children safe. Staff have developed good routines for children and, because of these routines and structures, children are more settled. Staff work with the children to support and educate them to keep themselves and others safe. Staff de-escalate the children’s behaviours well. They are aware of factors that children may struggle with and the actions they need to take to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager continues to work hard to develop the service and the quality of care provided to the children. She is knowledgeable, qualified and experienced. She leads the staff team with passion and a child-centred approach. She is giving good focus to ensuring that this way of working is cascaded throughout the management and staff team, to ensure they are all working together cohesively. Due to this, the children are receiving good-quality, consistent and stable care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works effectively with professionals and maintains regular contact with them to monitor the children’s progress. Where necessary, the registered manager gives robust challenge to partner agencies to ensure that the needs of the children are met. Professionals are positive about the support provided. They see improvements in the ability and confidence of the children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that there is continual staff development. Staff receive training that is relevant to the children living at the home. Regular team and therapist-led meetings take place that are child-centred and provide additional training sessions to the staff team. Staff also receive regular practice-based supervision. However, staff annual appraisals are out of timescale. The registered manager is aware of this and has set dates to address this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 5 The registered manager uses internal and external quality assurance systems to monitor the quality of the service. The monthly independent visitor makes recommendations where necessary and tracks if these recommendations have been addressed at the next visit. Where recommendations are outstanding, they are remade. The registered manager uses the intelligence gathered through these quality assurance tools to implement new strategies and commission training. For

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

example, additional staff have been used on shift to support the development of seniors and managers. These middle managers are also about to start a modular leadership and management course run by the provider. These initiates continue to strengthen the service and increase the specialist skill base of the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 6

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation (12) (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the home provides children with a safe and welcoming environment. 31 July 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and of children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 2620678 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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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

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620678 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 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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