Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd in Surrey

Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Compass Children’s 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 home is operated by a private company and was registered in September 2020. The home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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

Date of last inspection: 13 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2023 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good 04/05/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

In a short space of time, the home has supported two children to settle in and begin to build firm relationships with staff. The home’s therapeutic approach is well embedded in the day-to-day running of the home, ensuring that all practice is child-centred. Children’s voices are clearly evident in all aspects of the home and staff are proud of and genuinely care for the children who live there. Leaders and managers work effectively in partnership with social workers and parents. They are fierce advocates for getting children the best deal. The registered manager is passionate and approachable with clear oversight of the home. The team values her guidance and respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a calm and welcoming environment, with comfortable spaces for children to relax and make their own. Moves into the home are carefully thought through and well managed. Because of this, children settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and have fun. The home has embraced the children’s passions and interests, with one child being supported to continue an activity they really enjoy and another being able to explore many new hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress, even in the short amount of time they have been here. They form positive relationships with staff, and one social worker commented that this was the best home she had worked with. Children are learning to talk through concerns with trusted adults and, as a result, they feel settled and stable in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proud of children and show them genuine care and nurture. Staff go above and beyond to ensure that children get what they need and act in a way that a good parent would to make sure children are well presented. Staff ensure that children have nice clothes. The support that staff provided to one child to improve their hair care has made a significant difference to the child in terms of their confidence and feeling good about themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are accessing education. Staff have supported continuity in educational placements and, because of this, one child’s attendance has improved. Staff advocate strongly to ensure that children who are not in education access the right provision and engage in learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the value for children of maintaining relationships with their families. Staff work closely with parents and others who are important to children, to help children stay close and feel part of their family network. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Staff know the children well. They have an informed understanding of children’s needs and are skilled at using therapeutic interventions to support children when they are upset or in crisis. Staff manage situations effectively and do not resort to using physical interventions. As a result, children feel safe and cared for and learn to express their emotions in positive ways.

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

Staff are recruited safely and undergo a thorough induction. Staff told inspectors that they have found this useful. Specific training was provided prior to a child moving in and followed up to ensure that staff could meet the specific needs of this child.

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

Allegations are rare. However, when allegations do occur, they are managed effectively and investigated, so that staff gain a clear understanding of the child’s perspective and learn from incidents to improve practice. As a result, children feel listened to and safe to voice any concerns.

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

Staff prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children. They are in tune to behaviours that do not follow children’s usual patterns. Staff support children to take acceptable risks so that they can learn and develop. One child is able to access the community and see friends unsupervised, and staff always stay in touch and have clear boundaries to promote the child’s safety. Another child is being supported effectively with higher levels of supervision. As a result, previous risks of danger in the community have significantly reduced and the child is learning to understand how to make safer decisions.

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

Children seldom go missing from the home. When a child does go missing and staff are unable to establish a child’s whereabouts, they take steps to ensure the child’s safety.

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

Children are supported to build trusting relationships with staff. Unfortunately, a company-wide blanket policy in relation to searching children’s rooms had a negative impact for one child in terms of them feeling that their privacy was unnecessarily compromised. This policy is now under review to ensure that staff can adapt to each child’s individual needs and feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an inspirational leader, and her team and the professionals she works with hold her in high regard. She is passionate and enthusiastic about making sure children get the best, and her open and honest approach is evident in her practice. This models to her team a strong ethos, which runs through practice in the home and ensures that children’s best interest remain at the heart of decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions and team meetings are child focused. The voice of the child is clear throughout, ensuring that everything is brought back to the support provided to improving practice for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by leaders and managers and share in their passion for caring for children. Therapeutic practice is strongly embedded in the way staff talk about children and care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers advocate for children when they don’t feel children are getting what they need, and step in to ensure that children do not miss out. For example, when there were delays in delivering on a promise from professionals to get a child a bike, the manager stepped in and made sure the child got a bike without unnecessary delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents and social workers were consistent in their praise in terms of how staff work with them and keep them informed. As a result, all of the people in the child’s network feel fully involved and informed and play their part in ensuring that children receive excellent care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child’s needs and developmental stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action, in particular when considering the implementation of company-wide policies relating to daily room checks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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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: 2578675 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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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Inspectors

Emma Blake, Social Care Inspector Lee Kirwin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2578675 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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