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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 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 organisation runs this home. It provides care for up to six children who may have emotional or social difficulties. There are four children currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who has 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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 30 November 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: 2646001 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and caring relationships with staff, and they speak to staff about any worries or concerns they have. The staff are invested in the children and encourage them to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their education. Alternative provision is arranged for children who experience difficulties in accessing mainstream education. The children have good attendance, and one has recently completed their GCSE exams. Staff support children to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A therapeutic practitioner supports the children based on their assessed therapeutic needs, and the emotional well-being of some children has improved. When children struggle to engage with therapeutic support, approaches are adapted to find ways that work for each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to experience new things and explore different cultures and cuisines. Memory books contain photos of children’s experiences, such as cooking and eating new foods and attending local events such as Pride and cultural festivals. This encourages the children to learn about and appreciate diversity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move in or out of the home, this is managed well. This process can sometimes happen quickly due to the circumstances surrounding the child’s move. However, this is planned in a child-centred way as much as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff listen to the children’s voices and encourage them to share their views. Staff have a ‘daily check in’ with the children, and there are regular children’s meetings. Some documents related to children’s care are produced in a child-friendly way so that children can understand their own care plans.

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

Children say they feel safe living in the home. Any identified risks are managed well by the staff, and risk assessments are of a good quality.

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

When children go missing from the home, the response from staff is effective. The staff follow children’s individual care plans in a timely way. Return home interviews are completed to help staff understand why the child has gone missing. The manager evaluates this information to inform changes to the children’s plans. This helps to reduce the risk of children going missing from the home.

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

The manager and staff positively adapted the behaviour management approach with one child. This resulted in a significant decrease in the number of physical interventions used. This had a positive effect on the child and their relationships with the staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 4 Incidents of bullying are rare, with only one incident having been recorded since the last inspection. Staff did not respond to this incident appropriately, and there was no oversight of the incident by the manager. Children have not had the opportunity for support to discuss the incident. This leaves children without clear expectations or boundaries as to how this behaviour will be addressed by staff in the future.

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

Children’s risk assessments highlight the measures required to keep children safe. However, there is a blanket use of alarms on children’s bedroom doors. This is a restrictive measure and may be disproportionate to the needs of individual children. There is also no process in place for this measure to be reviewed.

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good

The manager is regarded highly by staff and other professionals. They are described as supportive and knowledgeable, with high expectations of the staff and for the children. The manager is keen to become the registered manager of the home and has submitted an application to the regulator.

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good

The manager has a vision of where they would like the home to be. They make effective use of the home’s therapeutic practitioner to discuss and plan how the staff can use consistent therapeutic approaches with the children. This includes changing the way language is used in the home and holding developmental sessions for the staff to increase their knowledge.

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good

Regular team meetings support staff in their learning and development. These provide staff with a forum to reflect on how their practice impacts on the progress and experiences of the children. Staff share good examples of practice with their colleagues and reflect on areas for improvement.

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good

The has been significant instability within the staff team. The previous registered manager left, and there has been a high turnover of staff in the home. This has been recognised and acknowledged by leaders and managers. Recruitment is ongoing, and some vacancies have been filled. There is a plan in place to develop existing staff and bring in new staff members, who are currently being inducted. During the inspection, the action plan was updated to reflect this and to carefully consider the impact this would have should another child come and live at the home.

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good

The manager does have some oversight of incidents within the home; however, this is inconsistent and has resulted in some processes not being followed. For example, a member of staff who is in their induction period has not received the appropriate frequency of supervision. Monitoring and reviewing systems did not pick up on this shortfall, and therefore, it was not addressed by the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to bedroom door alarms being used for all children, even when this is not an assessed need. 30 September

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must have full oversight of the home, ensuring that all documents are scrutinised for quality and accuracy. This ensures that all documents are updated as they should be and are fit for purpose. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 7 in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff have the relevant qualification. If staff are working towards this, then it should be completed in the timescale permitted.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that any staff members who are in their induction period receive the amount of supervision that is agreed within that period. 30 September

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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: 2646001 8

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jessica Middleton

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Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2646001 9 regulates and 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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