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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Ltd

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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 applied to register 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 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: 6 February 2024

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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: 1227869 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 15/03/2023 Full Outstanding 08/02/2022 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The five children living in the home are settled and have made positive progress since they have been living in the home. Staff use a variety of strategies, rewards and incentives for positive behaviour and achievements. This supports and encourages children to make progress and positive changes in their lives. For example, children are making progress in their education. One child, who previously struggled to attend education, is now happily attending full time. Children are also learning to manage their feelings. One child is developing skills in regulating their emotions more effectively, which is supporting them with a plan of returning back to their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care that is personalised to their individual needs. Longstanding members of staff know the children well and respond to each child in a manner that supports them in feeling heard and understood. This, in turn, has reduced children’s feelings of frustration and the number of incidents. Children feel safe and secure. However, newer members of staff are still getting to know children. On occasion, this has hindered their ability to de-escalate situations effectively, leading to physical interventions being used in situations that could be managed differently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and have positive relationships with staff. Affectionate and playful interactions between staff and children are frequent. Children approach staff when needing support. Children have staff that they feel able to trust and confide in, which promotes their feelings of security and safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children share their wishes and feelings with staff on a regular basis. Weekly house meetings and one-to-one meetings between children and staff provide children with opportunities to share their views around activities, meals, achievements and other issues they wish to discuss. Children feel involved in decisions being made about their day-to-day lives. This supports children in feeling valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation in extra-curricular activities outside of the home is limited. Children spend vast amounts of their free time in the home, rather than developing hobbies or participating in activities that would develop their social skills and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and generally feels welcoming and homely. Photos around the house reflect the children living in the home and the memories created by staff and children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and decorated in line with their individual taste and interests. Children are comfortable and feel a sense of belonging in the home. However, there are aspects of the home environment that require improvement. Children’s bedroom doors have fire door signs on the front, which takes away from the homely feel. The manager has plans in place to modernise and improve the environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 4

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

Children’s safety and well-being are prioritised by the manager. Risk assessments are detailed and updated regularly to ensure that staff understand the individual risks and needs of each child and what they must do to keep children safe. Children feel safe in the home and the community.

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

Physical interventions are frequent and often occur due to trivial issues escalating. Recordings are limited in relation to how some staff de-escalate situations. Newer members of staff sometimes lack skills in de-escalating situations that experienced staff would de-escalate using the home’s therapeutic approach and their understanding of each child’s triggers and needs. Children receive care that is inconsistent in responding to their behaviour, which is confusing to them. However, children are well supported following any physical interventions.

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

When children have gone missing from the home, they are given the opportunity to reflect on incidents and share their feelings. Children are supported in finding strategies to manage their negative behaviours and stay safe.

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

Natural consequences are used to help children understand the impact of negative behaviours, and various rewards are used to recognise positive behaviours. Children can choose an activity or a takeaway as recognition for positive behaviour. Children understand that there is a consequence to all of their actions, which encourages them to make positive choices.

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

Complaints and allegations against staff are taken seriously and investigated in full. Information is shared with the professional network, and risk assessments are put in place to ensure the safety of children. Children are provided with the outcome of their allegations in a sensitive manner. Children feel heard, safe and able to share any worries they have.

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

Incidents of bullying are taken seriously and explored with the children involved, alongside close monitoring by staff. Staff carry out work with children to support them in understanding the impact of bullying behaviours. Safety plans are put in place to keep children safe from harm. Therapeutic support is also offered to children and staff to develop effective strategies to respond to bullying episodes.

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

The storage and administration of medication are now managed safely. Following an error in the administration of medication, administration procedures have been amended. Medication audits, alongside new processes, ensure that all staff are aware of any changes to the medication needs of children and the company’s medication procedures. Children receive the correct medication in line with their health needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is calm and reflective. She is focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for children by providing them with care that is child-centred and therapeutic. She is visible in the home and works closely with staff and children, which ensures that she has a good understanding of how children are feeling and progressing. The manager is proactive in making changes to the physical presentation of the home and ensuring that staff have the necessary training to deliver care that meets the individual needs of children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been significant changes in the management and staff teams in recent months. Children have had a number of changes to the adults caring for them, which has been unsettling. The staff team is now full and made up of longstanding members of staff and a number of new staff. However, children currently receive varying levels of therapeutic care depending on which staff are on shift, which does not provide consistency or predictability for children. The manager and the home’s therapist are working with the newer members of staff in getting to know the children and ensuring that their practice is in line with the therapeutic model of care the home uses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of incidents in the home is good, with appropriate action taken as necessary. Staff recordings of incidents are not always child-focused and sometimes use stigmatising and punitive language that is not in line with the home’s therapeutic approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and speak positively of the management team. Staff said that they feel able to approach the managers with any concern they may have, and they find supervision sessions to be useful. One member of staff said, ‘Management have gone above and beyond to make themselves available to us.’ Staff morale is high, and children are cared for by staff who are happy to be working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and a vast range of training are offered regularly. Staff find this useful. Supervision records outline issues discussed and actions agreed but are not always reflective or clear in terms of how staff are being supported to develop their practice or address areas of concern. Staff and management are not always clear on the outcomes of supervision sessions, which prevents progress from being monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have strong working relationships with professionals and families. All feedback from professionals and family is positive in relation to sharing information and the progress children are making. 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, 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.

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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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff practice being in line with the home’s therapeutic model. 28 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home, where appropriate, and are encouraged to participate in those activities. Staff should support children to take part in school trips, out-of-school and other clubs, volunteering and leisure activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 62,

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Recommendations

paragraph 14.4) 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 Childrens Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Menaka De Silva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1227869 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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Inspector

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