Children's Home run by Compass Children‟s Homes Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 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 operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 8 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home, and all were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Good 14/05/2024 Full Good 17/04/2023 Full Good 30/08/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 3

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Summary of findings

Leaders, managers and staff do not fulfil their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children and promote their progress and wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

Children have moved into and on from the home without effective care planning, resulting in children experiencing heightened risk, further moves and instability. Children’s wishes are not listened to, and they feel that they do not receive the care that they need from staff and managers.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have not ensured that staff have the knowledge and skills to meet children’s individual needs. They have not ensured that children’s plans provide staff with the guidance and information required to safeguard children.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers do not consistently follow allegation management processes or share information about significant incidents accurately with relevant professionals and Ofsted. This hinders these agencies in making informed decisions about the care of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The serious shortfalls identified in the help and protection of children have negatively affected children’s overall outcomes, experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not experience well planned moves into the home. They are unprepared for their arrival at the home, creating feelings of anxiety for them and instability for children already living at the home. The compatibility of children and the complexities around risks are not fully explored by managers. Leaders and managers do not ensure that staff have the knowledge, skills and practice guidance to provide quality, safe care for children. Some children feel that their wishes and feelings are not listened to, as leaders and managers prioritised the needs of others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children to visit their friends and family. However, there is limited information relating to children’s friends and family and the impact that these relationships may have on children’s safety is not recognised. These shortfalls have prevented staff and other agencies from taking immediate action to locate and safeguard children when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is warm and welcoming with rooms decorated in bright colours. Children choose the style and decoration of their own bedrooms. However, other areas of the home and garden need attention so that they are well maintained and provide inviting spaces for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 4 Children’s movement around the home is restricted, with internal doors being locked. This prevents children from accessing a toilet, the utility room and communal rooms. The rationale for these restrictions is unclear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s educational attainment is mixed and not all children have identified education provisions. However, there are some strong links with the virtual school and together with staff they provide tutoring for children while appropriate and longer-term arrangements are made in respect of their education.

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

Staff have not taken action to protect children from harm. A member of the public was able to enter the home and access secure areas, including a child’s bedroom. While it is acknowledged that the member of the public had intervened to support a child and staff experiencing difficulties in the community, this level of access to the children’s home by an unknown adult was not appropriate. Staff did not seek support from managers to help them to understand how to manage this situation.

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

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of significant safeguarding incidents, and their decision-making does not protect children from harm. Despite concerns about staff conduct and safeguarding practices, leaders and managers enable these staff to continue to care for children without ensuring that lessons learned and identified actions from investigations into concerns are fully implemented.

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

Children know how to make a complaint and are able to voice their concerns. However, when allegations are made by children, leaders and managers do not consistently follow allegation management processes. Children are not kept informed of the outcome or offered ongoing support during the investigation process. This means that they do not always feel listened to and are not assured that their concerns are taken seriously.

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

Children’s plans do not provide staff with the guidance and information required to safeguard children. Learning from incidents is not used to develop staff knowledge and update children’s plans. This effects the staff’s ability to make safe decisions and respond appropriately to manage and reduce risks to children.

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

Managers do not accurately share information with relevant people as required. Information that is shared with professionals, including Ofsted, following significant safeguarding incidents is not sufficiently detailed. Professionals are forming decisions about the safety and wellbeing of children without a full and accurate understanding or knowledge of the incident. This does not help to safeguard children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not promote the welfare and safety of children, and their oversight of incidents and staff practice is ineffective. Managers do not always recognise the shortfalls in staff practice and there are missed opportunities to protect children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 5 Staff supervision sessions and team meetings are held regularly. However, supervisions and team meetings are not used to promote learning or reflect on children’s needs, incidents and presenting risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the provider’s statement of purpose accurately reflects this home. Information about staff experience and qualifications is not representative of the team and this document does not clearly demonstrate the care this home can offer. This hinders professionals from making informed decisions when searching for placements for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a deterioration in the quality of care provided to children. While leaders and managers recognise this, they are not using monitoring activities effectively to drive improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirements Due date

* The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirements Due date

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

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Requirements Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirements Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; and

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Requirements Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)) 14 June 2026

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Requirements 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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Requirements Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirements Due date

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

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Requirements Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirements 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; and 14 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirements Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirements Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirements Due date

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

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Requirements Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirements Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; and

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Requirements Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 25 June 2026

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Requirements Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirements Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirements Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirements Due date

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

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Requirements Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare; 25 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 8 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirements Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(e))

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Requirements Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirements Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirements Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirements Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified;

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Requirements Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; and

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Requirements Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 25 June 2026

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Requirements Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirements Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)) 25 June 2026

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Requirements Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirements Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises— 25 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 9 is necessary and proportionate; and

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Requirements Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iii))

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Requirements Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2539587 10

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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: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Gomersall

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Inspector

Rachel Moore, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2539587 11 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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