Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd in East Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to six children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to be registered 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive personalised care from staff. Children can express themselves and explore their identities openly. Diversity is embraced and children learn about equality through fun activities such as culture nights. As a result, children develop an awareness and appreciation of other cultures and beliefs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to build and maintain friendships outside of the home. Staff work with children to overcome barriers to maintaining relationships and support them to safely develop their confidence in the community. Children enjoy a range of opportunities and positive experiences. They have fun in the home and in the community, through planned activities such as bowling, shopping and arts and crafts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is promoted by staff. One child is attending school full time and is being helped to prepare for their GCSEs. When children are not attending school, staff work with the virtual school team to provide an alternative timetable suited to the child while an appropriate school placement is found.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to learn skills that will be important to them in life, such as personal care, cooking and laundry. Children receive help when they need it. However, children cannot access the laundry room without staff being present due to an unnecessary lock. This prevents children from further developing their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home in a planned way, this is done sensitively and in line with the needs of the child. Children visit the home and help to prepare their bedrooms before they move in. Staff give gift hampers to the children to help them to feel welcomed as they move into a new home. This means that children have a positive experience of moving in. However, staff have not always had the training to meet children’s needs from the point they move in. This shortfall in staff training undermined staff’s ability to meet one particular child’s needs. This resulted in the child having to move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are due to move on, the quality of care they receive is inconsistent. One child has been regularly informed of the progress of their move and is being helped to create a memory book. However, on another occasion, records did not demonstrate that the child had received appropriate emotional support or had been provided with information about their move to a new home.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and can confidently explain the action they would take to report concerns when they arise. When children talk to staff about challenges they have experienced, they are taken seriously, and staff act to help Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 4 them. The manager ensures that the children receive appropriate support through a well-coordinated multi-agency response.

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

Staff help the children to reflect on their behaviour and to understand the impact of their actions on others. This helps children to build more positive relationships with those around them. When staff use restraint, this is proportionate and is done to keep children safe. The records of these incidents are clear and detailed.

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

When children experience difficult feelings that lead to them being at risk of harm, staff respond with care to help them feel safe. They work effectively with other specialist agencies such as mental health services and the children’s therapists. This ensures the children’s needs are better understood and they have effectively planned care.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. They are supported to do so by staff, who advocate for children when necessary. Complaints are investigated externally when it is appropriate. This provides an extra level of scrutiny.

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

When consequences are applied following behaviours that challenge, these are restorative in nature and are designed to help children learn from their experiences. Positive behaviour is encouraged through the use of consistent boundaries and clear expectations, while children’s achievements are rewarded regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has applied to register. He has clear expectations of the standards of care provided by staff and is passionate about delivering positive outcomes for children. Staff are positive about their experiences of working with the manager. One member of staff described the manager as ‘great’ and said, ‘He’s really supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good staff morale and enthusiasm in the staff team. The manager ensures that the staff receive regular and meaningful supervision that helps them to reflect on the progress and needs of each child. New staff benefit from a planned induction to prepare them for their roles and from ongoing training opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have created a positive environment for children to grow up in. The home is well maintained and furnished to a high standard. Children’s artwork decorates the house. Children’s views are valued, and they have a say in the way the home is decorated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that the home is operated using a consistent approach. On one occasion, when a child moved into the home on an emergency basis, managers failed to follow their admissions process as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Because of this. they did not receive important information about that child before they moved in. This meant that their needs were not fully understood and, as a result, staff did not have the skills required to meet the child’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 5 Monitoring and quality assurance systems are effective. The manager uses external scrutiny to make ongoing improvements to the quality of care provided to children. He works closely with specialist colleagues within the organisation to identify areas for development. Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, undertake an assessment of the suitability of the child to be placed at the home before the placement is offered, considering the needs of the child, and ensure that staff have suitable training to meet the child’s particular needs.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, ensure that each child’s move on from the home is well planned and helps each child to prepare for leaving, both practically and emotionally. 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure the design of the home enables children to develop independence skills within the supportive environment of the home, including through encouraging independent use of kitchen and laundry areas. Access to areas of the home should only be restricted following assessment of risk to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.25)

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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: 2645485 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s 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

Glen Strowbridge, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2645485 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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