Children's home run by Compassion Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 1 Registered provider: Compassion 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

This privately owned home provides care for up to two children with learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in October 2023. The current manager has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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: 2737305 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making good progress from their starting point. They are building positive relationships with staff, and they feel able to share their wishes and feelings with them. Staff respond with empathy and understanding, demonstrating a strong commitment towards the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support and encourage the child to engage in education. They wake the child in the mornings and take them to their tuition lessons in the library. As a result, the child attends regularly and has made progress in their learning; they are planning to take their exams next year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to share their views, wishes and feelings through regular ‘table talk’ sessions. The child shares their thoughts and views and discusses them with staff. This provides a safe space for the child to reflect on their progress, raise concerns and share preferences around food and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys a range of activities in the community, including fun trips to arcades, where they participate in virtual reality experiences, trampolining and escape rooms. These experiences provide positive stimulation and help them to build confidence and social skills in enjoyable settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to keep in touch with people who are important to them, including parents and grandparents. The staff arrange family time at home and in the community and work closely with the child’s family to support the child’s progress, safety and stability. This helps the child to feel connected and to maintain their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s physical and mental health needs are understood and met. They are registered with local services and attend routine health appointments. Staff provide emotional support and have removed access to harmful platforms online. As a result, the child reports feeling calmer and their evening routine has improved.

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

Staff and managers have a sound understanding of the child’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities. They recognise the child’s behavioural triggers and, in most cases, respond to these effectively. However, some plans are very long, meaning that new and agency staff may struggle to read and implement them quickly.

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

Key-work sessions happen regularly with the child to focus on their needs, risks and vulnerabilities. Staff use these sessions to promote positive behaviours and to challenge harmful behaviours that affect the child and others. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 4 Staff encourage the child to learn about other cultures by celebrating different festivals and visiting places of worship. These experiences have helped the child to develop curiosity and to gain understanding about diverse cultures and practices, while promoting respect for diversity.

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

When the child goes missing, staff respond quickly and appropriately, applying the organisation’s ‘missing’ protocols. They inform safeguarding agencies, including the police and the child’s local authority. When the child’s location is known, staff work closely with the child, their parent and the local authority to ensure that they return safely to the home.

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

There is a behaviour management plan for the child, and staff use techniques outlined in the plan to de-escalate incidents. While most staff apply these strategies effectively, others struggle to implement them consistently when faced with challenging behaviour. In some cases, staff rely on the use of police support or the threat of calling the police as a means of controlling the child’s behaviour. The manager said that this is in accordance with advice from an external specialist team. However, this strategy is not documented in the child’s care or risk management plans and risks criminalising the child, as well as causing the child to feel fearful and to be distrustful of staff and the police. The leaders recognise this shortfall in practice and have arranged specialist therapeutic training to help staff to support children with complex needs and behaviours.

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

When physical intervention is used to manage the child’s behaviour, some records of these incidents lack detail about the debrief offered to the child after the event.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders, managers and staff know and understand the child’s needs well. Managers and staff work effectively with the child’s social worker, parents and external agencies to promote positive outcomes for them. They work closely with key professionals to ensure that the child receives specialist support, including therapeutic and mentoring support. This has helped to safeguard the child from harmful behaviours and has enabled them to reflect on their beliefs and actions in a safe way. As a result, the child reports feeling less angry and stressed, and is showing improvements to their emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A serious incident in December 2024 was not reported to Ofsted in a timely manner by the registered manager. However, as soon as senior leaders became aware of this incident, they took appropriate action. Their actions included supporting the child and informing safeguarding agencies and Ofsted. Staff in the home now understand and are clear about following procedures to ensure that incidents and allegations are immediately reported to the relevant people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which covers important topics such as staff skills, training, areas of development and the child’s risks and needs. However, some supervision sessions are not sufficiently reflective, and in one case, parts of supervision minutes were copied from a previous meeting. This limits opportunities for staff to reflect and improve on their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 5 Team meetings happen regularly and are well attended. However, they are mostly task focused and do not consistently include discussion on important topics such as how to work as a team to support the child. However, recent team clinical supervisions have provided the opportunity for reflection, enabling staff to consider links between the child’s behaviours and their previous life experiences, as well as current wider societal influences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are sufficient to meet the child’s needs, although some staff have worked very long hours without much rest. This has impacted on the quality of care, including the ability of staff to manage and de-escalate challenging behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the ongoing challenges, the child’s placement in the home remains stable, and they have now been living at the home for two years. Social care professionals involved with the child have consistently praised the managers and staff for the good care that they provide to the child. They report that the child has made significant progress across various areas of their life since moving to the home and that their risks have reduced when compared to their starting point. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that children involved in restraint incidents are debriefed.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) 3(a)(b)(c)) 19 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 7 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff working hours promote consistency of care and do not impede the ability of staff to safeguard and support children effectively. 19 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff discuss children’s risks, needs and progress in supervision. 19 December 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, when there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their risk assessment clearly identifies risks, triggers and strategies to manage assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 8

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2737305 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compassion Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fourth Floor, Unit 5b, The Parklands, Lostock, Bolton BL6 4SD

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2737305 10 regulates and inspects to 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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