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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 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

The home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children aged between seven and 17 years. Children are likely to have experienced trauma, which has led to social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2016 and is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2023 Full Outstanding 08/02/2022 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Outstanding 12/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children live at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Before the child moved in to the home they were able to meet staff and take part in activities. A sensitive approach helped the child to feel at ease. Two of the children have lived in the home for over two years. This continuity of care has provided the children with stability and has helped them to form strong bonds with the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves on from the home, the manager and staff work alongside the child’s social workers and foster carers to ensure that the move is well planned and is at the child’s pace. As part of the planning, the child’s foster carers are invited into the home to meet the staff to gather further information about the children and their needs. This attention to detail has resulted in two children experiencing positive moves to foster care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large home that is decorated to a high standard. The children’s bedrooms have been decorated to their taste and are bright and spacious. Children are involved in the upkeep of the home and their photos and certificates are displayed on the walls. Children enjoy living at the home and one child told the inspector that he ‘loved’ the games room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s good health and support them to attend routine health appointments. Staff work closely with specialist services to ensure that children receive the support that they need to maintain their well-being. Children are encouraged and helped to eat well and to be active. This helps children to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager understands the importance of education and works hard to ensure that children’s educational needs are met. When a child is not in school, staff work well with other professionals to ensure that the child has opportunities to learn, in keeping with their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships. Staff help children to enjoy time with people who are important to them, in keeping with their care plans. This includes children being able to invite those who are special to them to visit the home. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there was a period of change and uncertainty for children when some staff provided support to another home within the organisation. However, the manager and staff worked hard to reassure the children, and the children have settled now that the staff have returned to work in this home.

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

Children enjoy positive relationships with the adults who care for them. All of the children say that they feel safe and that they can identify a trusted adult in the home Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 4 who they can talk to should they need to. Staff have a clear understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities and have received safeguarding training that includes a focus on the children’s safety needs.

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

Children rarely go missing from care. On the occasions that this has occurred, staff have followed protocol, including working with the police and actively searching for the child to ensure their safe return home. Children are offered an independent return- home interview to consider the reasons why they went missing and to understand how the risk of a child going missing might be reduced.

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

Staff work well with external agencies to ensure that the children are kept safe and that they have appropriate support. A social worker said, ‘The staff team work hard to keep him safe and since being at the home he has made great progress.’

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

Safer recruitment procedures and practices are thorough. All potential staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks reduce the risk of unsuitable adults being employed to work with the children.

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

The arrangements for the receipt and administration of medication to children are safe. Medication is stored correctly, and regular audits of the medication systems take place. Staff have completed relevant training in the administration of medication and have a good understanding of the importance of children taking their medication as prescribed.

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

Staff are consistent in their approach when children display behaviour that is challenging. They understand children’s emotional needs and the reasons behind their behaviours. The support of the newly appointed therapeutic practitioner is developing the staff’s understanding of the range of strategies that they can use to support the children to manage their feelings safely. However, this work is still in its infancy and the practitioner is still developing their relationship with the staff and the children.

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

Incidents are self-harm are rare. When they do occur, the children are generally supported by the staff to understand how to keep themselves safe. However, staff missed an opportunity to complete direct work with one child where self-harm had happened and this was out of character for the child. Consequently, the child did not have the benefit of exploring their feelings, and the child self-harmed again.

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

Staff understand when it is necessary to hold a child, and only use physical interventions as a last resort. Staff are appropriately trained to hold children safely. When a child has been held, they have the opportunity of a debrief. However, the quality of these varies. This is a missed opportunity for children’s wishes and feelings to be heard and for children to understand why they were held.

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

Regularly reviewed risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance to help them to manage the risks posed to children and how to keep children safe. This helps staff. However, on at least two occasions, the staff have not followed the children’s risk assessments and children have not been supported as agreed when their behaviour has become challenging. For example, one child’s risk assessment highlights the need Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 5 for support by female staff. However, she was held by a male member of staff despite female staff being available. This does not support children to feel secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. The registered manager was not present at the inspection. The trainee manager and the responsible individual are overseeing the operation of the home in the registered manager’s absence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, a stable staff team provides consistency of care and stability for the children. Staff are dedicated, child-focused and committed. Staff feel well supported by the managers, especially when there have been unsettling times in the home. As a result, staff morale is high and staff enjoy their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring and review systems in place. The responsible individual completes regular audits. These are used well to track and review the quality of care. There is a development plan in place that identifies the strengths and areas for improvement. This sets out future actions to develop and support outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff communicate well with other professionals. Social workers spoken to during the inspection say that communication is excellent and gave praise to the commitment of the staff and managers and the care that they offer to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have the training required to meet the needs of the children living in the home. Staff receive regular supervision. However, the quality of supervision is varied, and supervision records have been cut and pasted. This is a missed opportunity for staff to be provided with an opportunity to adequately reflect on their practice and identify any further training they may need. Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 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, 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

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; help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff follow children’s risk assessments and staff complete work with children to help to keep them safe. 21 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that any child is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of a restraint, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 7

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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: 1227869 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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Inspector

Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 9 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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