Children's home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 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 four children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/07/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Good 26/07/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 3

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improvement to be good

The children who are currently living in the home say they are struggling to have meaningful and trusting relationships with staff. This is due to inconsistency in the approach to care and support by staff. A parent and a professional raised concerns that staff are not consistently delivering care in line with a child’s support plan. Two of the children were not in the home at the time of the inspection and were not wanting to return. Staff are working at improving relationships through continued engagement with children and ensuring that their training is better aligned to meeting the children’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Children have struggled to engage in education. Staff have supported children by encouraging attendance and by searching for a school place when needed. One child has started to attend school part time. For another child, an education provision is yet to be identified seven months after they moved into the home. This has led to children spending long periods of time at home with limited access to education. During these periods, staff have not supported children to have structure to their day and healthy routines and activities to keep them engaged and help prepare them for learning.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is welcoming and feels warm and inviting. Children are actively involved in decorating the house in general and their bedrooms, allowing their personal interests to be reflected. For example, one child’s bedroom is themed around their love for theatre, creating an atmosphere that showcases their personality and passions. This promotes a homely environment while honouring the children’s identities and interests.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to access healthcare when they need it. However, the support for one child who has specific health needs is inconsistent and there are no effective recording systems to enable managers to have good oversight to ensure staff are consistently providing the support the child needs.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in a range of activities. This includes visiting museums and theme parks, going on days out to nearby towns and holidays to a theme park abroad.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to regular therapeutic support to help with their emotional well- being. One child who regularly attends therapy sessions has made some improvements in her self-care and independence skills. Staff and managers meet regularly with therapeutic practitioners to discuss support strategies for the children and their families. Most children move out of the home in a planned way supported by staff and managers. Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 4

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff report this to police when they are unable to locate them. They maintain contact with the children and communicate with the relevant professionals to share concerns. However, in the case of one child who is frequently absent without permission, her whereabouts are known but staff do not consistently take all reasonable steps to reach out to her. This means that there have been missed opportunities to check on her welfare and support her to return home.

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improvement to be good

Staff errors in administering prescribed medication have led to a lack of confidence for some children, families and professionals in the management of medication. The manager has taken steps to refresh staff training.

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improvement to be good

The manager responds well to allegations and incidents of concern. They involve the local authority designated officer (LADO), social workers and relevant professionals. The LADO and social workers have no concerns about the management of allegations.

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improvement to be good

Staff reward children to acknowledge positive behaviour. They seek to educate children so that they can make informed decisions. For example, children are given support to understand the health risks associated with smoking and vaping. The manager has good oversight of consequences used with children to ensure that they are focused on learning and are not punitive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has some insight into the home’s strengths and areas for development. However, they have not promoted a culture of high aspiration for children. Some children say they do not want to be at the home and do not have trusting relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The care provided to children at times falls short of what they need to achieve their potential. For example, children not in education are not consistently provided with structure and routine. For a child who is often absent from the home, there are missed opportunities to reach out and take all reasonable steps to get her home in the way a good parent would.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager communicates well with professionals and challenges them appropriately to ensure they have the information they need in relation to children’s care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say they feel supported by the manager. New staff receive additional supervision for several months after starting in their role and they speak positively about the induction. This ensures that they receive the appropriate guidance to increase their confidence and improve learning. Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 5 Supervision and team meetings take place regularly. Key areas to best support staff and improve practice are discussed. However, records do not always fully reflect what is discussed or identify clear actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback from external professionals and parents is mixed. The manager is commended for her regular communication and response to professionals to support children. Other feedback, however, highlights concern in the consistency of staff practice and the ability of staff to foster positive, trusting relationships with children. This has contributed to children expressing they do not wish to live in the home. The manager and senior leaders acknowledge that there have been challenges and are striving to build better relationships with all parents and professionals. Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when children are absent from the home and their whereabouts are known, all reasonable steps are taken to engage with them to encourage them to return home. 11 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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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

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust. (Regulation 11 (1) (2)(viii)) 11 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 staff— 11 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 7 help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these subject to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  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. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1252937 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

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1252937 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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