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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and provides care for up to six children who are overcoming trauma or have experienced exploitation.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The current manager is not registered with Ofsted. He is preparing to leave the home and a new manager has recently been appointed. The new manager is in the process of submitting their application to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm home which is clean and well maintained. Children have the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms, and there are photos of them around the home. Children feel supported and enjoy living in this home due to the trusting relationships that staff develop with them. One child said that living in this home is ‘fun’, and ‘a life-changing opportunity’. Other children described the home as ‘amazing’ and ‘happy’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children a variety of activities and outings. They encourage children to remain active and take care of their health and self-care. When needed, staff take children to health appointments and ensure that children take medication. Staff advocate for children so that their emotional health needs are met.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. They advocate for children’s wishes and have worked with family members and professionals to improve the quality of children’s time with family. This helps children to develop and maintain positive relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to teach children how to keep themselves safe. As children get older, staff support them to develop independent living skills to prepare them for adult life. Staff help children to think about their future and what they will need to achieve their goals. One child said, ‘If you had seen where I was when I came here to where I am now, I’m just unrecognisable.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team is supported by a programme psychologist who works directly with each child and with the team. This supports staff to provide better trauma-informed care for children. One professional said that the therapist has been ‘fantastic’ and has gone ‘over and above’ what would be expected to support the emotional well- being and mental health of the children living in the home.

p.3

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

Children feel safe. They can identify staff in the home who can help them with their worries. Children understand why rules and boundaries are in place and know that staff want to keep them safe. One child said, ‘They really do care and will not give up on us.’

p.3

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

Staff are consistent in their responses and provide clear boundaries, along with nurturing care. Risk management plans and missing-from-care plans are updated regularly, and staff follow all necessary safeguarding procedures. However, risk management plans do not always have clear strategies to follow and do not always identify related risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 4 Staff have developed positive and effective relationships with key people involved in keeping the children safe. Staff are good advocates for children and challenge other professionals to meet the children’s needs as well as they can. One social worker referred to the staff team as ‘really amazing’.

p.3

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

When children go missing from the home and are at significant risk, staff are proactive in searching for them and working with others to support their quick return. All staff take responsibility for trying to find the children, including the therapist and managers. Effective staff responses to significant risks have helped to keep the children safe.

p.4

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

Staff physically hold a child as a last resort and only when needed to keep the child safe. When staff do have to hold a child, they record this well and talk to the child afterwards about what happened. Allegations of harm are not made often. When this has happened, appropriate procedures have been followed and other professionals have been kept informed.

p.4

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

Children know how to make a complaint, but none have felt the need to do so. Children say that staff always respond if they ask for things to change or improve. This enables children to feel heard and valued.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is undergoing a period of transition. The current manager is in the process of moving on from the home and a new manager has been appointed. The management team has been working hard to make improvements in the home and is committed to providing new opportunities and positive outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team has undergone some staffing changes but appears stable. Staff receive regular supervision and attend frequent team meetings that provide them with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and to discuss the changing needs of children. Staff also benefit from access to a wide range of mandatory and child- specific training opportunities that enable them to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is supportive of staff, with one staff member saying, ‘It is a really nice supportive environment here. The managers have an open-door policy. You can always have a chat with them if you’re feeling overwhelmed or you have questions.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff working with the children are appropriately qualified and safer recruitment practices are followed. The manager is clear in his expectations of staff employed in this home and will challenge practice that does not meet those expectations. This ensures that all staff are suitably knowledgeable and safe to work with vulnerable children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 5 The manager has good internal monitoring systems and makes good use of independent monitoring to ensure that staff provide consistently good care to the children. This oversight promotes the safety and well-being of the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers have a good understanding of each child and the areas in which they need more support. They celebrate children’s accomplishments and support them through difficult times. One staff member said, ‘To see how much the children have progressed in the last year is just incredible. They are just amazing. They are happy, they have all got such a good future ahead of them. It really makes me proud.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are provided with clear steps to respond to each child’s individual behaviours. When there are related risks, these should be included in support plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

p.6

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

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jessica Middleton

p.7

Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn.

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8