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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in October 2022. The manager has been in post since 6 March 2023.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good experiences at the home and make good progress. Staff provide specific and personalised care, which meets the needs of each child. Feedback from families and professionals shows that the staff have positively supported the development of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff build good, trusting relationships with the children. They recognise their moods and how to respond to them. As a result, the children approach staff confidently, knowing that their needs will be met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to therapeutic input that helps them in all areas of their lives. The involvement of a psychologist helps the staff to understand the children and their support needs. Staff implement the organisation’s therapeutic and nurturing models of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. They work with a range of professionals to ensure that the children receive good-quality educational support. Where children do not have a school place, staff support them with their learning and development through various education programmes. Staff ensure that the children complete their work before any social activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children have activities and interests that help them to develop as individuals. This includes activities such as fishing, playing golf, swimming and walking. Staff encourage children to have pets. They helped the children to develop a pet’s corner, where there is information on the value of animals and how to care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff consult children in all decisions that affect them. Regular house meetings and one-to-one sessions support this. Staff know the children’s views and help them to express their wishes and feelings. However, the manager did not fully consider one child’s views when the child made it clear that they did not wish to move into the home. After much planning, this led to the eventual withdrawal of the offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to be respectful of each other, while also learning how to give each other space. The children eat together with staff and value this aspect of living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to prepare for independence. They support the children with all aspects of daily living. This includes cooking, washing and maintaining their personal and communal space. Consequently, children make good progress in this area of their lives. Parents recognise the notable change in their children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 4 Staff know the individual health needs of the children. However, they did not notice that the incorrect dosage of medication was recorded in one child’s healthcare plan. Managers did not notice this in the monthly file audits.

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

Children are safe in the home. There is a good understanding of risk management. The staff regularly review and update the children’s individual risk assessments. Children are aware of their vulnerabilities and are involved in managing them. This includes managing their phone time or telling staff if they have self-harmed.

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

Staff work well with a young person to reduce and manage self-harm. Consequently, the child feels well supported. Staff are alert to risk and regular room checks mean that opportunities to self-harm reduce.

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

Staff understand the processes for the management of any safeguarding allegations. They respond appropriately to support the child. The staff work effectively with a range of professionals to ensure any concerns are responded to appropriately.

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

When children go missing from home, the staff work well with other professionals to ensure their safe return. The staff and other professionals instigate one-to-one sessions and debriefs with the children to encourage them to talk about when they go missing from home. These discussions provide opportunities to learn about why the child went missing and how to prevent further occurrence.

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

The children’s behaviour support plans help staff to understand the behaviour of each child and how best to meet their needs. Consistent boundaries mean that children know the expectations of their behaviour. Staff receive specialist training and model acceptable behaviour. The staff provide incentives for the children to work towards an agreed set of goals. Staff manage behaviours well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is no registered manager at this home. The manager has been in post since March 2023 and has started the process for registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are clear about the areas of development for the home. They work together to address them. For example, there is a strong commitment to ensuring that there is a suitable and dynamic staff team. This includes developing a group of bank workers who can supplement the core team to provide consistency for the children. However, the manager does not have a clear understanding of the role of the independent visitor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the training and support that they receive. The staff receive effective specialist training that equips them to meet the particular needs Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 5 of the children living in the home. Leaders and managers provide regular, reflective supervision that is of a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strong induction process is provided to all staff, including bank and agency staff. This ensures that those who work at the home are well prepared to meet the needs of the children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer, record and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should work in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including

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Recommendations

under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. The manager should have a good understanding of the role of the independent visitor in evaluating and making recommendations that help to drive improvements in the home. (‘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: 2692638 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Compass Community Ltd, 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2692638 7 inspects 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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