Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 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

A large national provider owns this home. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2022.

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 requires improvement to be 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: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 25/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are looked after by caring staff who are familiar with each child’s personality and needs. As a result, children have built secure relationships with those looking after them and feel a sense of permanence and belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. For children who live far away from their families, this remains the same, with staff supporting this in a flexible and sensitive way.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging with appropriate education. For one child, staff are providing educational activities and a bespoke timetable and are working with external agencies to help the child to return to full-time education. For the other child, staff are advocating for the child and collaborating closely with the child’s school to ensure that the child is provided with a good education and remain in school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live at the home, there is careful planning to ensure that this is a positive experience. Staff work sensitively to provide children with information and visits to the home to enable them to feel assured. Plans for how children are supported to leave the home are less clear or well managed. In one example, a child left the home abruptly and it was not clear how staff had supported the other children in the home to understand this. It was clear, however, that staff had tried hard to achieve a more positive ending for this child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time doing activities that interest them and some that help them to lead healthy lifestyles, such as cycling or going to the gym.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek children’s views and act on them. Children feel included in decisions in relation to their care, and this helps give them a sense of ownership and belonging. This also helps children feel valued, which has helped them engage much more in meetings and discussions about their plans and ambitions. For example, a child who was reluctant to attend meetings about their education now does so and has valuable input.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are guided to provide a good quality of care to children through well-written plans. These are updated regularly and highlight the individual care and support needs for each child. This enables the staff to know what to do to keep children safe, and they know who to inform should they have concerns about a child’s well- being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for the children and work with them and the wider professional network to help children to realise their future aspirations. Staff advocate strongly in the interests of the child to ensure that their chosen career opportunities are made available to them. As a result, children’s self-esteem and confidence improve. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 4

p.3

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

Staff prioritise the safety and well-being of children. Children are able to share concerns with staff if they are worried.

p.4

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

When children go missing from the home, staff take effective action to ensure that children return safely. Staff liaise closely with the police and social workers and discuss these incidents with children, to better understand how to support them to make positive decisions and make safer choices.

p.4

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

Safeguarding arrangements for the home are effective. When concerns arise, staff take prompt action including sharing information with the police and social workers. Records of these concerns are generally clear, but on occasion do not always capture sufficient detail to evidence that all agreed actions are taken. Plans are updated following any concerns to ensure that staff have the information needed to help children to be safe.

p.4

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

When children experience difficult emotions, staff manage these incidents well through nurturing language and their understanding of children’s needs and experiences. As a result of this, the use of physical intervention is rare. When physical intervention is used, it is proportionate and for the least amount of time needed to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Records of these incidents are clear and detailed, showing clear learning from staff to better inform their own practice.

p.4

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

Recruitment practices are thorough and follow safer recruitment principles. This enables the children to be cared for by adults who are suitably experienced and of good character.

p.4

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

Health and safety in the home, including fire risk, is effective. Therefore, children live a safe environment and staff know what is expected in an emergency to keep themselves and others safe.

p.4

good

The registered manager has been away from work in recent months and, until recently, her role was covered by a series of interim arrangements. This situation has had an impact on the management oversight of the home. An interim manager has recently taken on the manager’s role full time and has made a positive contribution in terms of improving management monitoring systems and oversight.

p.4

good

Management oversight in the home has not been effective, which has resulted in documentation being outdated or actions and outcomes not being appropriately evidenced in records. Recent interim arrangements in the absence of the registered manager have resulted in some improvements to address this. However, there are still significant gaps in supervision records. Although this shortfall has not had an Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 5 impact on children’s well-being, it has meant staff have not been provided with regular and consistent support by senior leaders.

p.4

good

Staff vacancies have been addressed with recent recruitment initiatives having been successful. New staff stated they are well supported by their peers and report cohesive teamwork. This helps build a settled team around the children and ensures stability and consistency of care.

p.5

good

New staff undertake suitable induction training. However, the training records are incomplete, and some staff have not undertaken or updated aspects of their required training. However, managers have recognised this and have taken appropriate action to address this.

p.5

good

Staff recognise the challenges that have occurred in the home with the absence of the registered manager. However, they report that interim management arrangements have enabled them to feel they have a source of support where needed.

p.5

good

Staff support children to explore their own identity in a way that children feel comfortable with. For one child, this has been through them drawing and writing, so that staff can ask the right questions that enable these discussions to occur.

p.5

good

Children are involved in decisions about the home and have contributed to the recent redecoration plans for the home. Each child was happy with their new bedroom colours and felt that they had been listened to by managers.

p.5

good

Managers and staff have high expectations for the team and are ambitious about children’s futures. They speak passionately about providing a good quality of care and working with children to unlock their potential.

p.5

good

Professionals, such as social workers, report good relationships with the home. They feel that staff communicate with them regularly and they feel that the team supports children well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirements 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—

p.6

Requirements Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirements Due date

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

p.6

Requirements Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirements Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirements 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;

p.6

Requirements Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.6

Requirements Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

p.6

Requirements 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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(h))

p.6

Requirements Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure good management oversight of record-keeping and ensure that staff have completed all required training. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 7 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirements Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 29 February 2024

p.7

Requirements Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirements Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.7

Requirements Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.7

Requirements Due date

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

p.7

Requirements Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

p.7

Requirements Due date

In particular, ensure that recording clearly documents the plans and outcomes for children who leave the home and that the impact this has on other children is considered. 29 February 2024

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they work in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child, but particularly the child’s local authority and statutory social worker. The registered person should evidence what they have done to achieve engagement, including any actions taken to escalate concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)

p.7

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: 2613849 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspectors

Emma Haskell, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Jay Shekleton, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 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.

p.8

Inspectors

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 .

p.9

Inspectors

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.9

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9