Children's home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 1 Registered provider: Compass Children’s Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a large national provider and offers care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager is vacant.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2024 Full Good 16/01/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 25/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children report being happy and well cared for and say they like living at the home. They are making progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relationships are at the forefront of practice. Staff are positive role models for children; a stable and knowledgeable team has provided a consistent presence for them. Children can identify adults they can talk to if they are worried.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain positive lifelong links. They are supported in spending time with people who are important to them, and staff advocate for children to ensure that their time with family and friends remains positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being supported to develop independence in line with their relevant care plans. There are clear strategies in place to help children build the skills they need to prepare for their next steps. Staff have high aspirations for children and encourage them to push themselves by learning new skills, such as travelling independently, self-care and managing finances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported in having positive experiences when they move on from the home. Staff consider the needs of the children staying in the home as well as the child moving on to ensure that plans help children to prepare and say goodbye to each other. Children are involved in choosing holidays, trips and activities to make their final days living at the home special. One child is preparing to move back to their family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage in education. Staff advocate for children who are not in full-time education. While awaiting educational provisions to be identified, children are encouraged to engage in educational activities at the home. Staff make effective use of online training and resources to provide children with valuable learning experiences. This has included a range of different learning activities, including woodwork, photography and mechanics. Children’s interests are used to encourage their engagement in learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being met. They are encouraged to engage in routine check- ups. There is a thoughtful level of therapeutic support offered to children and staff. Staff receive feedback from therapeutic lead practitioners, who observe and assess the quality of care and therapeutic support in practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, bright, warm and welcoming. Children are supported and encouraged to participate in making choices about their home. Children’s photos are proudly displayed, which contributes to a family-style environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been improvements in recording practices in response to recommendations raised at the last inspection, including writing records for children in a child-focused way and keeping children at the heart of records they may choose to read. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 4

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities well. Children are supported to reflect on and discuss any incidents. Staff help children explore various topics, including substance misuse, missing from care, and exploitation, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s developmental age and stage.

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

Behaviour management practices are robust. Staff use a range of strategies and skills to de-escalate incidents and persevere in their attempts to help children in crisis without the use of physical intervention.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff take immediate action in alerting the relevant professionals and attempting to locate them by calling them, searching the local area and visiting known places. Children who used to regularly go missing no longer do so and are now settled.

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

Managers provide good oversight of incidents and work closely with placing authorities and other professionals to ensure that children receive timely and thorough responses. When risks for children continue to increase, managers work with professionals to review the support available to children and make all attempts to ensure their safety and stability.

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

Immediate responses to concerns and allegations raised are effective. Managers inform the local authority designated officer and follow their guidance. However, there are challenges managing allegations for staff moving across services. Wider information- sharing and recording practices do not allow managers to have appropriate oversight of potential conduct concerns raised about staff members when they worked at other homes in the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager left the home in May 2025. Since this time, there has been an interim manager overseeing the home with an experienced deputy manager. Managers have high aspirations for children. They uphold clear expectations for staff to ensure that children receive a good standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers know the home well and can identify its strengths. They are reflective and open about areas they feel can improve. The recent changes involving the merging of two teams have been thoughtfully handled; a staggered approach to introducing staff to children has helped children and staff feel settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have systems in place to monitor the performance and development of staff. There are clear plans to upskill the team and ensure that staff remain on schedule to complete their level 3 qualifications within timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 5 Staff value the support and guidance they receive from managers in the home. Supervision sessions take place frequently and are a valued forum for improving and reflecting on childcare practice. Staff have said the consistency in support from managers has been key in contributing to children’s feelings of stability in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the policy on protecting children from abuse and neglect includes arrangements for dealing with allegations involving staff in the home. In particular, the registered person should ensure that there are clear procedures to share information and manage allegations for staff who move across services and homes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

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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: 2613849 7

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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: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Inspectors

Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Lee Kirwin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613849 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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