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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 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 run by a private provider. It provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were six children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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: 28 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: 2666161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2024 Full Outstanding 13/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have extremely positive relationships with staff. Staff have unconditional positive regard for the children they care for and a deep understanding of their individual personalities, needs and presentations. One child said, ‘Without fail, they are there for me.’ Another child said, ‘They will drop everything for you.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are strong advocates for the children and dedicate a lot of time to listening to their wishes and feelings. Children have many opportunities to share their views. There is a dedicated weekly meeting where children and staff come together to talk about what matters to them. Staff have a brilliant understanding of what children are entitled to and will do everything in their power to ensure that the children experience a high level of care and support. One child spoke about their request for increased family time and said ‘within 10 minutes of asking it was sorted’. Children have a strong sense of confidence and trust in the staff to advocate in their best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Most of the children living at the home had experienced long periods of being out of education before coming to live at the home. Since living here, every child participates actively in education that meets their needs. Some of the children benefit from having an on-site school, whereas another child attends an external college, in line with their wishes and feelings. All the children have made outstanding progress in their education and now aspire for the future, which they are being supported to achieve. Staff understand the importance of education and have taught this value to the children. One child spoke of staff encouraging them to complete qualifications outside of school hours. Staff support children to understand the value of education and, as a result, the child feels that they have ‘doubled their learning’, which has been helpful in supporting their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children living in the home benefit from extensive support from the in-house assistant psychologist who completes regular sessions with them in line with their needs. The therapeutic approach to care is strong and consistent. The registered manager, who was previously the in-house assistant psychologist, shares her knowledge with the staff, who can continue the emotional support for the children outside of therapeutic sessions. All the children in the home have made outstanding progress in their emotional and behavioural presentation because of the high level of therapeutic support they receive. One child said, ‘I can control my anger better now, I wouldn’t have been able to sit and talk to you like this before.’ Another child said, ‘They have helped me come a long way from where I used to be.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Some staff have not completed training that is specific to the children’s needs in line with the provider’s timescales, which needs to be addressed to ensure that all staff fully understand how to support the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 4 Many of the children are being supported by staff to prepare for independence due to their ages. There is a programme in place that has been developed by the provider to encourage the children to work through independence tasks and additional learning. The children spoken to feel that staff are supporting them to be more independent. Some children’s progress has been slower than others due to their own wishes and feelings and competency. However, staff should ensure that they continually promote the independence programme and support children to overcome the barriers to achieving this in a more consistent way.

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

Children are safe in the home because of the safeguarding practice of staff. There have been no missing-from-care incidents or physical intervention since the last inspection. A range of professionals were spoken to, all of whom have complete confidence in the staff’s ability to keep the children safe. One professional spoke about the incredible reduction in one child’s risks because of the safeguarding practice of staff and stated, ‘it is an opportunity for his whole life trajectory to change because of this home’. Research- informed risk assessments and support plans are in place for all children, which assist staff to understand the individual child’s needs and how they can best support them.

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

The children’s safety is further enhanced by a staff and management team who show high levels of professional curiosity. Several potentially unsafe situations for children have been avoided due to the tenacity of staff and management in understanding the risks posed to children and their abilities to challenge other agencies’ decision-making when they feel the children are at risk of harm. The registered manager understands the importance of safeguarding for every person involved in the running of the home. They have even ensured that the home’s housekeeper has regular supervisions to ensure that she is aware of potential safeguarding issues and how these should be addressed should they arise during her time in the home.

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

Some children did not understand how their risk-related behaviours impacted on the safety and well-being of others before moving into the home. Through extensive work, staff have worked alongside the children and external professionals to support the children to understand their behaviours and how they can make positive changes to enhance their life chances. One professional commented on the significant changes in one child and the staff’s support in helping this child to embrace their ‘cheeky personality’ but to also reduce potentially harmful behaviours at the same time.

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

A strong multi-agency approach is implemented in the home, and the registered manager has cultured many robust professional relationships to keep the children safe. The registered manager and staff take time to understand the roles of agencies in the child’s life and what they can expect from them. This has benefited children, who have staff who are advocating for the full support of external services. One professional said, ‘I have a lot of respect for them [the staff]. [Child’s name] is thriving, and they have helped [child’s name] make amazing progress’ in relation to the child’s behavioural presentation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is run by a registered manager who is inspirational and educative. The registered manager has a strong sense of passion for ensuring that the children have the best possible lives while they live in the home. The strength of the relationship between the children and the manager is evident, and this further contributes to the children’s positive experiences. The registered manager is present in the home and very involved with the children, who speak incredibly highly of her. One child said, ‘The manager is very busy but somehow always finds the time for me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from a highly knowledgeable manager who supports them to develop their own learning and apply this in practice to enhance the children’s lives. For example, the manager gathers extensive information from research that directly relates to the children’s individual needs and creates simplified versions of the information for staff. The manager supports the staff in how they can use this research directly in their practice with the children, and there have been many examples of positive results from this implementation. From the staff spoken to, all spoke highly of the manager and her many abilities. One member of staff spoke about how they receive constructive feedback from the manager, which has furthered them in their roles and supported them to progress to senior positions in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular, high-quality supervisions to improve their practice. Supervisions are child focused, detailed and support staff to make positive changes in their work, while also acknowledging the amazing work they are already doing for the children. Similarly, in regular team meetings staff are supported to upskill in a range of areas that are relevant to the children’s needs, often with input from the home’s assistant psychologist. Staff speak of ‘learning from each other’ during these meetings as they are given the opportunities to present their own areas of expertise, which are highly embraced by the staff team. One parent said, ‘I can’t fault them. They are really amazing.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides exceptional oversight of the running of the home. All incidents and changes in the children’s lives are recorded and receive analytical comments from the manager, which supports staff to develop their practice and ways of thinking in relation to the children. The manager is aware of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. Developmental areas are highlighted in regular audits that are conducted by the registered manager, with corresponding action plans, which are implemented in full.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager understands her role and frequently goes above and beyond to achieve success for the children and staff. She maintains an outstanding ability to lead a large staff team to a high standard. The success of her management is fluent throughout the staff’s extraordinary passion and dedication to the children and seen through the presentation of the children. All children spoken to said that they were happy. One child said, ‘I’m happy as ever, it is perfect, and I couldn’t ask for somewhere better to live.’ The passionate testimonials from the children speak volumes in relation to the manager and her staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they support children to take risks in line with their age and understanding within a suitable timeframe in preparation for transitioning from the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff undertake training that is specific to the child’s needs within the agreed timescales. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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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: 2666161 7

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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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Inspectors

Angela Ross, Social Care Inspector Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2666161 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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