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

Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. All the children spoke with the inspectors.

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 outstanding

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

Date of last inspection: 14 November 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2023 Full Good 08/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have created a home that is characterised by warmth and mutual respect. Children know that they are loved and cared for by staff. The staff invest time in developing relationships with children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school or college full time and are making progress towards their individual targets. When children experience difficulties at school, managers seek to understand their concerns and work quickly to address them. When one child experienced a delay in their education planning, the manager worked to ensure they were offered the opportunity to attend a college of their choice.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well planned for and met. Staff are curious about children’s health, neurodiversity and medication needs. As a result of multi-agency discussions, children have been able to reduce their medication and benefit from improvements to their health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff are thoughtful about planning activities of interest to the children. These include going to theme parks, car shows, celebrating cultural events, swimming, playing instruments, skiing and going on adventure experiences. All the children have been on holiday to Spain for a week with staff. For some children, this was their first experience of flying. This created special memories and exciting new experiences for the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Weekly children’s meetings are attended by the managers. These provide children with opportunities to have their say on the care that they receive. Children know that they will be heard and that their views are fully considered.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely, well-maintained house. Children’s ideas about how to improve the layout of the home are respected. A new gaming area has been created for children to enjoy, in line with their wishes. Managers ensure any repairs are completed quickly.

p.3

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

Children make excellent progress from their starting points. Children receive help and care that is attuned to their individual needs and preferences. This helps them to build social skills and confidence. Children receive specialist support and talk openly about difficult past experiences. Children have learned to manage stress in a healthy way.

p.3

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

When a child was regularly using harmful language towards staff, managers demonstrated crucial insight and curiosity into this behaviour. Staff provided consistency and reassurance to the child and demonstrated patience and empathy in their approach. The child shared important information with the manager about previous harm. Managers shared this information with relevant agencies and supported the child, Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 4 seeking guidance from a therapist. The child’s use of harmful language has significantly reduced, and their emotional well-being is thoroughly supported.

p.3

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

Children feel safe. They do not go missing from this home. Children who have previously gone missing have not done so since moving into this home. Children are helped to feel safe and secure through nurture and trusted relationships with staff. Three children said that they would immediately speak to any member of staff if they were worried.

p.4

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

Children know how to make a complaint and always receive a response when they raise concerns. When children’s peer relationships are strained, staff work with each child to explore their feelings and reassure them. Two children said that staff are ‘very quick’ to intervene when there are disagreements between children. Staff encourage children to make amends. Learning to rebuild relationships has given children valuable social skills and confidence, which has helped them to take part in extra-curricular and sports clubs.

p.4

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

A therapeutic practitioner works at the home for two days a week. They provide reflective supervision sessions to staff about their practice. Staff are helped to consider relevant child development theories such as attachment and resilience, and how they can use this knowledge in their practice. Staff say they are better able to understand children’s behaviours and emotional needs because of this support.

p.4

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

Regular reviews of children’s progress take place with their individual therapists, the therapeutic practitioner, managers and local authorities. These reviews are led by the home, and provide helpful information and inform children’s plans.

p.4

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

Children’s plans are detailed and include specific strategies to support their development and manage complex vulnerabilities. This written guidance includes the application of relevant theory, explaining children’s emotional needs and linking this to their behaviour. All the children have made progress in developing positive coping strategies when managing difficult feelings and relationships.

p.4

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

Consequences and rewards are used effectively to incentivise children’s social behaviours. Children are quickly rewarded and acknowledged for showing kindness and working hard.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced. A deputy manager supports her and together they have effective oversight of practice and records. Managers know children very well. They have high aspirations for children and staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers. A comprehensive induction process helps them to feel prepared for their roles. Staff said that managers are always available for guidance and support.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers regularly seek feedback about their practice. This helps them to drive improvements and reflect on progress. Three social workers were positive about the Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 5 manager’s communication with other agencies and said that the staff understand the needs of the children well. Two family members said that managers go out of their way to keep them updated and make them feel welcome.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training in matters relevant to the children they care for. This includes peer- on-peer abuse and restorative and therapeutic approaches. Staff meetings and supervision sessions take place regularly, and staff find these helpful.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ask other agencies for their views when considering how best to care for children. When they do not receive a timely response from other agencies, they escalate this appropriately.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers conduct thorough investigations when necessary. They ensure that the views of all relevant children, families and professionals are heard. They take quick action if practice falls below the standard required. On one occasion, although all practical safeguarding actions were implemented, a concern raised about a manager’s practice was not notified to Ofsted. Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is notified if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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: 2692653 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

Inspectors

Natalie Day, Social Care Inspector Sarah Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2692653 8 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.7

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 tt . 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

Inspectors

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

p.8

Inspectors

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

p.8