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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home that is registered to provide care for six children with complex social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since January 2024. She is working towards her level 5 qualification and is awaiting registration with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2024 Full Outstanding 07/03/2023 Full Outstanding 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The six children living in the home were present during the inspection. Three of the children spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive exceptional personalised care that makes them feel accepted and valued for who they are. Staff have an excellent understanding of each child’s unique needs and help them make excellent progress in all aspects of their life. Staff support children to attend educational placements consistently and obtain skills and qualifications to achieve their future ambitions. This is an excellent achievement for many of the children, who previously found attending education challenging. Staff have helped children to develop meaningful skills for independence. This has helped one child to be exceptionally well- prepared for their imminent move to independent living. Another child has been able to develop strategies to regulate their emotions through the therapeutic support offered by staff. This has led to the child no longer needing to take medication to manage anxiety. Children are blossoming and making significant and continued progress in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Moves into and out of the home are managed with extensive planning to ensure that children are thoroughly supported with their moves. The manager is proactive in gathering information about each child to ensure that their needs can be met by the home. The manager visits the children and offers them opportunities to visit and have overnight stays at the home before moving in, which helps to provide a smooth transition. Staff provided comprehensive support to one child who moved back to the care of their family. This helped the move to be extremely successful. Children are well prepared for all transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff go above and beyond to support children in achieving their hopes and dreams. Staff contacted a local football team and advocated for a child to be able to get a place on a football scholarship, as this was their passion. Children feel understood and championed by the staff caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff offer children a variety of activities and experiences to enrich their quality of life and ability to develop new skills. One child is due to climb Ben Nevis with staff to raise money for charity. Another child enjoys learning about different cultures through ‘culture boxes’, which the home orders to try foods from different parts of the world. Children feel confident in trying new things and develop a positive sense of self by doing things for others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The relationships between the staff and children are excellent. Children speak extremely positively about their experiences of living in the home and the care they receive. Interactions between staff and children are warm and supportive. Staff are committed to understanding each child’s individuality and how they can be supported to achieve the best possible outcomes. Children are cared for by staff who are unmistakably dedicated to seeing children thrive and progress in life. Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 4 Children speak to staff daily about their wishes and feelings as staff are always available to listen to children. Weekly ‘get together’ meetings are also attended by children and staff to make decisions around house activities, meals and changes around the home. Children are actively involved and engaged in decision-making that impacts on the quality of their day-to-day lived experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is in an idyllic countryside environment surrounded by green open spaces that can be seen from many of the children’s bedrooms. Some children choose not to close their curtains as they find a sense of calm by being able to take in the views of the countryside. The home is decorated to an extremely high standard and has an unmistakably homely and welcoming feeling to it. Photos of children and staff creating memories together and items that have meaning to the children are displayed throughout the home. Children’s bedrooms are decorated in a creative manner in line with their individual tastes and needs. It is extremely evident that the home is maintained and decorated in a purposeful manner that actively ensures children feel a sense of belonging.

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

Staff have a thorough understanding of the trauma children have experienced and the impact this has on their presenting behaviours. The home’s bespoke therapeutic programme is used to assess and understand the individual needs of children. It also provides staff with creative strategies to support children in managing behaviours that pose a risk to them and others. Children receive therapeutic responses from staff and are supported to develop new ways of managing problematic behaviours.

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

The safety and well-being of children are prioritised by staff. Risk assessments are thorough and underpinned by extensive collaborative working with the professional network to ensure that a holistic approach to each child’s risks is taken. Staff have an exceptional understanding of the risks surrounding each child and are highly skilled at managing them. Staff allow children to take risks with safeguards in place. Children are kept safe while also developing skills on how to manage risks in preparation for independence.

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

Children learn strategies to support their emotional and mental well-being. Staff actively support children to attend weekly therapy sessions with the home’s on-site therapist to address their emotional and behavioural needs. The therapist is visibly present in the home and engages with children to check in on how they are feeling or to offer support.

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

Physical interventions and safeguarding incidents are rare because longstanding members of staff have an excellent understanding of children’s behaviours and triggers. Staff are dedicated to supporting children in regulating their emotions, and children have made significant progress in expressing their emotions in a positive manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 5 When used, physical interventions are managed appropriately. Staff and children always have reflective discussions following a physical intervention. Meaningful learning is gained from the incident to improve relationships and further insight into a child’s triggers and behaviours.

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

Complaints and allegations are minimal but are taken seriously and acted on swiftly when they occur. Investigations are effective and clearly recorded. Children and staff are always provided with the outcome of an investigation in a prompt and reflective manner. Managers take on board the learning from investigations and are always looking at ways improvements to the care children receive can be made.

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

Children have not gone missing from home since the last inspection. Staff create an environment where children feel safe and able to share their worries and frustrations without judgement. Children are settled and happy in the home and are not seeking to leave.

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

Staff use creative, evidence-based methods to support children in managing challenges they are experiencing. One child has been provided with a bespoke sensory diet following an occupational therapy assessment. This is to help them to overcome the difficulties they face with settling in the evenings and being able to sleep. Staff support the child with these sensory routines by completing them with them. Children are treated as individuals and feel valued and supported to address their challenges.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is passionate about the quality of care that children receive and is unquestionably committed to ensuring children achieve the best possible outcomes. She has extensive insight into the needs of each child as she is visibly involved in their day- to-day care. She is proactive in identifying ways of supporting children to thrive. The manager has specifically sourced a specialist assessment to inform how one child is supported with the challenges they are experiencing. This has had a significant and positive impact on the progress the child is making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has strong oversight of all incidents in the home. She uses several rigorous auditing processes on a weekly basis to ensure thorough oversight of all aspects of children’s care. The manager creates action plans following the audits, and she addresses any issues that arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team has changed significantly since the last inspection. The manager has ensured that children are not unsettled by these changes. She ensures that a minimum of three longstanding members of staff are working with the children at any one time. Children always have staff with whom they have an established relationship caring for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is committed to ensuring that all staff are confident in using the bespoke therapeutic framework that underpins the home’s therapeutic ethos. Staff receive clinical Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 6 supervision sessions, training and guidance from a specialist external organisation alongside the home’s therapist to enhance therapeutic practice. Children receive exemplary care that is therapeutically informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff speak extremely positively of the management team and feel well supported both professionally and personally. There is an open-door culture in the home, and staff feel able to approach the manager at any time. Supervision sessions are regularly, and staff find these meaningful and an opportunity to reflect and consider any improvements that can be made. One staff member said, ‘I love it,’ when describing how she felt about working in the home. Relationships between staff and managers are extremely positive, and team spirit is high. The positivity staff feel about working in the home is evident in the interactions observed between children and staff. Children feel part of a community within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive an extensive range of training to ensure that they are highly skilled in meeting the needs of each child. The manager is proactive in accessing specialist training to meet the individual needs of children. Bespoke training packages have been created by the home’s therapist to provide staff with an enhanced understanding of how to respond to a child’s neurodiversity. External training has also been sourced to enhance staff’s understanding around another child’s specific health needs. Children feel understood by staff, which enhances their self-esteem and confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff maintain positive relationships with the professional network and children’s families. Feedback from social workers and parents identified the extremely positive progress children are making and the dedication of the staff team to ensure that children are safe, happy and tremendously well cared for. Inspection report for children’s home: 2576409 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: 2576409 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: 2576409 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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