Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to five children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 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

Date of last inspection: 21 October 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2024 Full Outstanding 23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 11/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 3

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improvement to be good

Children in the home have trusted relationships with some staff who care for them, and managers are attuned to their needs. Staff are sometimes able to help children to feel safer when they are upset or angry. However, this approach is not consistent across all the staff all the time.

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improvement to be good

Children have been helped to access individual education packages and have plans for their future education and training. There is good progress for the children living in the home and the manager and staff have advocated strongly for children in this area of care. The staff ensure that children have routines in place to help them be ready to learn and provide learning experiences that enrich their learning.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised risk assessments and plans to help support their behaviours. However, there are shortfalls where staff have failed to follow children’s risk assessments or agreed staffing ratios. This has led to serious incidents involving children, including children hurting each other or incidents that have involved the use of physical intervention to prevent further harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to access activities they enjoy. One child has a successful voluntary role, which helps with their sense of pride and self-esteem. Staff help children to keep in touch with people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

One child who came to live at the home after the previous inspection left in an unplanned way. This was following a serious incident involving other children and staff.

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improvement to be good

The home environment, while presenting well in some areas, is not consistently clean or clear from damage. This has contributed to some incidents involving children escalating when damaged items have been used or slipped on. This does not instil a sense of care or pride in the home and serves as a reminder to children about events that have not been positive for them. Damage is not consistently repaired in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

One child has been helped to be safer and to understand the impact of a criminal conviction and conditions linked to this. This has helped the child to reduce their risk of reoffending and helps the child to be able to have more opportunities and prepare for independence. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 4 For two children who had a high number of serious incidents when they first came to live at the home, the frequency and duration of these incidents have reduced over time.

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improvement to be good

Children have not consistently been supported by staff to understand the impact of bullying and harmful behaviours. Some of these behaviours have been underestimated to be ‘banter’, ‘playfighting’, ‘wrestling’ or sibling type behaviours. Staff minimise the impact of such behaviours on the children in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children have been physically hurt by other children and have reported to not feel safe due to the behaviour of peers. Children have reflected after a serious incident that they felt the staff did not do enough to intervene. One child became involved in two incidents that did not involve them and, on one occasion, stood in front of a child to try to stop another child from assaulting them. Staff did not prevent this from happening.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always followed the agreed staffing ratios for the children in the home. Staff have not always followed children’s individualised risk assessments. For children with a high level of complex needs, this is significant because it leaves children at risk of harm from their peers and at risk of further criminalisation. Staff, including senior staff, have not always taken care to accurately record and report concerns to managers in a timely manner.

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good

Staff have commented on the support given by the manager. Staff have said that they feel supported by managers, including the senior management team. External professionals have commented on good communication with the manager and of them advocating for children.

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good

Staff sufficiency has been an issue that managers and staff identified during the inspection. While rotas are filled to ensure the home is not left short staffed, managers are working shifts and staff from other homes are filling staffing shortages. Staffing levels were a concern when it was decided that a fourth child could come to live at the home.

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good

The lack of a consistent, permanent staff team impacts on other aspects of managing and developing the home. Children are hindered from being able to build and maintain meaningful relationships with staff who are familiar to them. Staffing instability impacts on the staff’s ability to understand and recognise children’s needs.

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good

The manager follows safer recruitment practices. Staff receive induction and training that is tailored to meet the needs of the children who live in the home. Supervisions take place regularly, as do team meetings. Risk assessments and plans for children are comprehensive, individualised and updated regularly. Incidents have Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 5 management oversight and learning. However, plans are not always followed by staff and learning from incidents is not embedded, which have led to repeated incidents.

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good

Overall, there are some improvements that need to be made in the three main areas of judgement for the home, and the effectiveness of leadership and management affects each of these areas. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to children’s risk assessments being adhered to.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that the home and garden are safe for children and free from any possible hazards. 31 July 2025

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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— 31 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to leaders and managers ensuring that staff understand and respond to children’s needs effectively.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff work together as a team and promote continuity and consistency of care for children.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that staff, including senior staff and shift leaders, report any concerns to managers and leaders in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should continually assess staffing in order to ensure that the needs of the children can be met.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to children being cared for by staff who are familiar to them and who understand how to respond to their needs and risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 8 It also relates to staff adhering to the staffing ratios agreed for all children at all times.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staffing being sufficient to care for the children who the home agrees to care for.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should be assured that the needs of children in the home can be met and that staff follow risk assessments and care plans in place.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the need to reassess risk assessments for children following emerging or changing risks, such as when serious incidents have happened in the home, and make effective changes to risk assessments that staff follow to keep all children safe. Those staff should be aware of how to meet the particular needs of the children cared for in the home. 31 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

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. 31 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 9 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix)(xi)(xii)(xiii)) Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 10 In particular, the responsible person should ensure that bullying or harmful behaviours between children are recognised and acted on quickly to reduce risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to staff responding effectively and being proactive in addressing unwanted behaviours. It also relates to staff responding effectively and being proactive in addressing unwanted behaviours, and ensuring that children do not feel that they have to intervene in incidents, in the knowledge that staff will manage them.

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Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: 2679801 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Caroline Hose, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2679801 12 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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