Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 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

This home is run by a private provider. It offers care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s statement of purpose highlights that the staff are trained to apply a specific model of care.

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Information about this children’s home

The interim manager is currently seeking registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported by a committed, enthusiastic and child-focused staff team. These attributes have contributed to there being a vibrant and fun-loving atmosphere in the home. This has created a solid foundation for the children to develop trusting and loving relationships with the staff. All five children were spoken with during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are skilled at motivating the children to pursue their interests and passions. The children are involved in community activity clubs and have opportunities to broaden their experiences. Memorable moments are captured through taking photos, which are added to the children’s memory books. In doing so, the children will have the opportunity to fondly look back on these childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The interim manager strongly advocates for the children’s right to an education. The manager respectfully challenges professionals when they believe that more support and understanding of each child’s needs are required. These endeavours have resulted in one child returning to school with the right support after a period of absence. This vigour and determination apply to all the children and their access to an appropriate education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Food and mealtimes are an important part of day-to-day life in the home. There is a vibrant atmosphere around mealtimes. The staff make a concerted effort to encourage the children to sit at the table to eat with them. There are skilled staff who use their culinary wisdom to create nutritional meals and add a sense of fun around preparing meals. These efforts help children to broaden their awareness of different foods and to enjoy food with others, which makes mealtimes an enjoyable occasion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a good focus on promoting children’s positive mental health. A therapist is embedded in the team. Additionally, the children’s guide and other resources help to give children and their families a clearer understanding of what therapy entails and its potential benefits for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the home provides therapeutic care to children, the therapy and care teams have not been working cohesively. Consequently, the interim manager was not aware of how the therapist supports the children and what the aims of the therapeutic interventions are. This inhibits the interim manager’s ability to better understand and communicate the children’s care planning to other professionals.

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

Staff use physical intervention techniques with the children when it is deemed absolutely necessary. Following these events, the interim manager provides oversight and gives the staff further advice about restorative approaches that could be used in future instances. Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 4 This approach supports reflection, learning and recovery for the children and the staff. It is also likely to decrease the need to physically intervene when children are upset.

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

The children have structure and boundaries around the use of their mobile phones. Notably, the rules around the use of mobile phones and access to the internet are tailored specifically to the individual needs of each child. This means that children are empowered to learn independence skills around their use of mobile phones at a pace that reflects their needs.

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

The organisation has been under considerable pressure to recruit new staff. Despite this, it has not sacrificed its safer recruitment practices. Due diligence has been maintained in challenging times for permanent and agency staff. This steadfast resolve has given an opportunity for the interim manager to build a child-focused staff team.

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

Since the last inspection, the interim manager has needed to address underlying issues that prompted the children to make allegations around poor staff practice. This created anxiety and uncertainty across the staff team. The interim manager has since devised a clear strategy that has guided staff and increased their confidence around addressing this issue.

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

Although the organisation has a whistleblowing policy, it does not make it explicitly clear to report concerns of abuse to the child’s local authority. There is a risk that staff will unwittingly delay passing concerning information to other professionals outside of the organisation.

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

There is good emotional and practical support for children who have self-harmed. Staff have received training and are confident in their approach to supporting the children in this area of their care. However, following these events, the children’s written records lack sufficient detail. This limits the interim manager’s and other professionals’ ability to reflect, evaluate and plan the child’s future care needs in this area.

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

There have been significant changes in the staff team since the last inspection. At the time of the inspection, the skill set in the staff team did not reflect the therapeutic approach to care that is outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. There have been occasions when the language that staff have used with the children has lacked awareness and, in one instance, unnecessarily escalated a child’s behaviour. The manager is aware of this and is implementing an ongoing support plan to develop this aspect of the children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers demonstrate accountability and transparency throughout their day-to-day practice. There is ownership of the shortfalls in practice and plans are formulated to resolve them. However, gaps remain in the leadership of the home which need to be addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 5 Although the interim manager has a good depth of knowledge of the children, they have not used this to compile meaningful care plans. Consequently, important aspects of the children’s care are overlooked by the staff and are not reviewed effectively as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have failed to provide good enough guidance for staff to support a child to manage a healthy relationship with a close friend. This has resulted in lax boundaries and an avoidance to hold important conversations with the child around sexual health and relationships. Furthermore, the social worker has not been properly consulted and there has been a distinct lack of curiosity and collaboration with the child’s friend’s carers/parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been significant challenges for the interim manager to grapple with in respect of supporting and guiding an inexperienced staff team. The manager knows that the children’s care has been negatively affected at times. However, leaders and managers have remained focused on developing staff’s knowledge and confidence. There has been an open and honest dialogue with the children. These efforts have enabled sustained improvement from a point of vulnerability to a place where the children and staff are starting to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

All staff have received an induction. The interim manager highlighted that this experience should have been more controlled and organised for the staff. This is a further example of the interim manager showing their accountability for the team but also transparency around explaining the journey that the team has been on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The interim manager is committed to the role and is pursuing registration with Ofsted. Additionally, there is a new responsible individual who has embarked on the role and is going through the suitability process with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 6

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful. (Regulation 11 (2)(a)(vi)) 15 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)) 15 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the policies for the protection of children include information about whistleblowing. This includes clear procedures for how staff should report to an appropriate authority any concerns they have about a child in the home being either at risk of, or already experiencing, significant harm. In particular, the policy should make it clear that a child’s social worker or local authority should be contacted as part of the whistleblowing process. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.15)  The registered person should lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. This specifically relates to ensuring that the care provided reflects the therapeutic approach Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 7 to care that is outlined in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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: 2683690 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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Inspectors

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Jan Edwards, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2683690 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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