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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 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 and managed by a private provider. The home provides care for up to six children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were six children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2024.

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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: 2616605 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/10/2024 Full Good 02/08/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from a staff team whose members understand each child’s individual needs. The children speak positively about their relationships with the staff and recognise that boundaries are in place to keep them safe and to be happy in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and are making progress physically, emotionally and socially. The emotional health of all the children has improved since living in this home. Staff understand that a child’s mental health can be impacted by their past experiences in a negative way. Children’s needs are assessed quickly when they arrive at the home and plans are put in place with the assistance of the in-house therapist to understand the child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff strongly advocate for children to attend the school or college that meets their individual needs, working in partnership with teachers and social workers. Staff ensure that children’s barriers to education are understood and addressed, and children achieve their potential. Managers professionally challenge the local authority when they believe that it is not acting in the children’s best interests. However, education, health and care plans are not documented in the children’s placement plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are safe and say they are happy because of the level of support from the staff team. Children have positive relationships with each other. Staff manage any disputes between them sensitively and quickly to stop issues escalating. Records of key-worker sessions indicate that children openly talk to staff and discuss any issues that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff hold regular key-worker sessions with children. Some sessions are planned, some follow a significant event and some are to help children prepare for upcoming events. These are often led by children, who decide when and where these sessions take place. However, these sessions are not always documented accurately, which limits children’s ability to view them and revisit any topics discussed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for adulthood. The children who have left the home were supported to move on positively and had practical and emotional support. Children new to the home are welcomed sensitively. Before children move in, a thorough assessment is carried out to consider the children’s needs alongside the needs of the other children in the home and the skill set of the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 4

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

Safeguarding incidents are managed well by staff. Staff spoken to demonstrate that they know the children well and have a good understanding of their risks and how to respond to these.

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

Individualised risk management plans are in place that identify individual risks and guide staff on how to manage these. Staff ensure that there are clear chronologies of events, which gives staff a current and up-to-date understanding of children’s behaviours.

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

Staff are therapeutically trained, and this is embedded in their approach for caring for the children. Regular input from in-house therapists and other professionals ensures that staff provide care that is reflective and trauma informed. Staff respond calmly and safely when any incidents occur, and this promotes the child’s welfare.

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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, they experience a well- coordinated response. Staff use their relationships with the children to support them in making positive decisions, and staff work with professionals and their families to reduce these risks. All staff are trained in the missing-from-home procedure and know how to respond appropriately.

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

Staff focus on promoting children’s positive behaviours. As a result, physical interventions are used rarely and only used as a last resort to safeguard children from harm. Children are supported to reflect on the hold after the event. However, there is no evidence documented that debriefs with staff are taking place. This limits their ability to reflect on the event and identify any lessons learned.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An inspirational manager leads this home. Two deputy managers support him. He is an ambitious leader who knows the children extremely well. He has high expectations for children’s progress and achievements. The manager aims to provide safe, stable, loving care to all children and leads by example, providing child-focused leadership that prioritises children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is knowledgeable about the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager invests in the professional development of the staff team to improve the quality of care provided to children. Feedback from external professionals was positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. They are an opportunity for the team to get together and to share information and updates about the children. They are also used as a development opportunity for staff. However, the records of these meetings are procedural rather than focusing on staff practice. This is a missed opportunity for staff reflection and further development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 5 Staff report feeling supported by the manager and senior staff team, having regular supervision to discuss the children and training developments. Children’s behaviours and past incidents are discussed. However, supervision records do not show that practice- related discussions have taken place. This is a missed opportunity for staff to reflect on their performance, or to gain individualised support from senior staff to improve their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff complete all required training and have opportunities to undertake shadow shifts before working unsupervised in the home. There is a detailed training programme for staff. All staff are up to date with the home’s mandatory training, and they have also received specialised training to meet the specific additional needs of the children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, when children are held, the registered person, or other senior person nominated by the registered person, should debrief the staff involved and record that this debrief has happened. 30 November 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) 30 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 7 Specifically, when children have education, health and care plans, the registered person must ensure this is recorded in their home placement plan.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s home placement plans are written in a style that reflects the voice of the child. 30 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice. Specifically, reflection on care given to the children and supporting colleagues in their development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  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. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 8

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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: 2616605 9

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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: Compass Community Ltd, 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Bowker

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Inspectors

Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2616605 10 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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Inspectors

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