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

Inspection report children's home: 2875589 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in January 2026 and is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager in post, who is suitably experienced and qualified. This is the homes first inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. They were present and spent time talking with the inspectors.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2875589 2

p.1

Summary of findings

The child living at the home is having a good experience and has begun to make progress in a short space of time. Staff understand the child’s risks and are proactive in taking action to keep the child safe. Leadership and management at the home is strong, well organised and provides good oversight. As a newly registered children’s home, leaders and managers have established a positive ethos and culture at the home based on nurture and respect, from the outset. As a result, the child receives well planned and good quality care from staff that are skilled and highly supported in their roles.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child had a planned and positive introduction to the home. Managers have helped the child to understand the reason for the move, and the child told inspectors they prefer this quieter setting. As a result, they are very settled living at the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a good quality living environment that reflects the child’s interests. Staff help the child to safely manage their bedroom in line with their needs and risks. Staff are aspirational for them to increase the belongings they can have in this space and small progress is being made.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the child to pursue their hobbies and take time to listen to the child’s varied interests. Staff encourage and show great pride at the child's musical talent, promoted through weekly drum tuition and access to a range of instruments. Furthermore, staff encourage them to try new activities, widening their experiences.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Routines and expectations at the home promote school attendance. As a result, the child has excellent attendance at school and engages well. There is effective partnership working between the home and school. Staff are interested and invested in the child's education. For example, staff have sent a good luck card and displayed a banner to wish the child well for their exams.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing to the child and show them respect and encouragement. As a result, the child has built trusted relationships with the staff. The child highlights their keyworker as someone important to them, describing them as 'great'. Staff also show warmth and respect in the way they write the child's records.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware that the child has an interest in faith and religion and make sure they can always access their bible. Staff took the child to church on one occasion. However, this was a non-active church and there was no service taking place. Managers and staff have not yet taken action to help the child identify options of active churches to attend. Inspection report children's home: 2875589 3

p.2

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

Staff understand the child's needs and risks well. The child’s plans set out what action staff must take to care for the child and keep them safe. As a result, staff provide consistent care for the child, and the child understands expectations and likely responses from staff.

p.3

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

Staff are highly responsive to changes in the child’s presentation. They actively use de- escalation techniques when emotions and behaviours escalate. Staff only physically intervene with children's behaviour when it is necessary. The child is helped to reflect on behavioural incidents, and this helps them understand how they could manage their emotions differently. Staff and managers are reflective following incidents and identify any learning from these, this is then used to tailor the child's plans.

p.3

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

There is a strong focus on consultation, discussion and feedback with the child. There is a wealth of direct work that has taken place. This has covered a variety of important topics and staff are skilled at engaging the child in these discussions. As a result, the child is learning about keeping themselves safe, for example safe use of tools and safety in the car.

p.3

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

The child has made one complaint relating to school, this has been taken very seriously. The manager has kept the child well informed throughout the process. There has been effective partnership working with the head of school, the social worker and the virtual school to resolve this. As a result, the child is reassured of their own progress and the action being taken to explore future education options.

p.3

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

Managers and staff have received comprehensive training in safeguarding matters. They are confident in what action to take to raise and escalate any concerns. For example, appropriate action was taken when there was an allegation relating to a previous home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager, responsible individual and staff team have a wealth of experience. The staff team is consistent, with no use of agency workers. This enables the child to receive support from people they know well.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is enhanced by an assistant psychologist. This strengthens therapeutic practice at the home and provides specialist assessments and support for the child. Furthermore, all staff are in the process of completing enhanced therapeutic training. This means the child benefits from skilled staff, who understand how to respond to their needs.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support they receive from leaders and managers. One staff member said, ‘The home is run excellently; managers are clear about roles and expectations and crucially we know where to get support if needed.’ Staff receive regular supervision that promotes their wellbeing and development. Inspection report children's home: 2875589 4 The manager is very present and consistently available to support the staff and the child. There is a very natural atmosphere often characterised with fun and laughter, where managers, staff and the child are all very comfortable in each other’s company.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a key focus on training and development for staff. Training is well planned and covers a wide breadth of topics. Furthermore, staff are enrolled to begin their qualification right at the commencement of their roles; managers monitor and ensure continual progress is made. This enhances the expertise of the staff team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are well organised and this means they have diligent oversight of the child’s experiences and progress. They take swift action when needed to ensure that staff sustain high quality care for the child. Inspection report children's home: 2875589 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children understand what local leisure and other cultural or religious services are on offer for them, support them to access any relevant leisure passes and encourage them to participate in activities in the community and wider if appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.6) Inspection report children's home: 2875589 6

p.5

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 children's home: 2875589 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspectors

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Fran Dallow, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2875589 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

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

p.8