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

Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 1 Registered provider: Compass Children's Homes

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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 children's home is registered to provide care for 5 children. The home specialises in providing a therapeutic environment for children who display sexualised behaviours.

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Information about this children's home

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out, and one child has moved into the home. At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living at the home and all spoke with the inspector.

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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: 1247764 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 11/11/2024 Full Good 03/01/2024 Full Good 30/01/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 3

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Summary of findings

This inspection has identified that children experience positive relationships with a staffing team that understands their individual needs. Children have appropriate access to education, health and wider support services that enable them to make progress from their individual starting points. Overall, the home is delivering good-quality care that meets children's needs effectively.

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Summary of findings

At the time of the inspection, the registered manager post was vacant. However, there is clear evidence of active recruitment to successfully appoint into this role. Leaders have ensured that interim management arrangements are in place to maintain consistent oversight of the home and to support the continued delivery of safe and effective care for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's moves into the home are carefully planned and well managed. Prior to moving in, staff and leaders visit children in their current homes to begin developing relationships and gathering key information about children's individual needs. Children are supported to visit their new home, enabling them to become familiar with their new environment and the adults who will be caring for them. This thoughtful and child- centred approach helps children to build trusting relationships with staff at the earliest opportunity. Staff and leaders also work effectively with the children already living in the home to prepare them for the arrival of new children and minimise any disruption to established routines and relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For most children, staff support and promote opportunities for them to spend time with, and maintain, relationships with people who are important to them. Staff and leaders ensure that arrangements are safe and take account of children's wishes and feelings. However, for one child, opportunities have been missed to establish a clear and consistent schedule of communication with their family. This matter was raised formally by the family. Leaders have appropriately acknowledged the shortfall and have taken steps to address the concerns raised, providing assurances of the actions being implemented to improve communication arrangements and to ensure children's relationships are being consistently promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders have not consistently ensured that the home environment is maintained to a safe and appropriate standard. Monitoring systems have not been sufficiently effective in identifying and addressing maintenance issues and repairs in a timely manner. Consequently, children have not consistently benefited from a living environment that is safe, well maintained and meets their welfare needs. During the inspection, the identified concerns were addressed by leaders. Leaders provided assurance that appropriate plans are in place to strengthen oversight arrangements to prevent a recurrence. Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 4 Children make good progress in their education, with attendance improving from their individual starting points. Staff and leaders place a strong emphasis on the importance of education and work effectively with the on-site education setting to help children overcome any barriers to learning. One child is currently being supported to complete

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

their GCSE examinations. Leaders have maintained effective partnership working with the education team for one child with health needs to ensure that appropriate support and reasonable adjustments are in place. This has helped the child to continue to access education. The child spoke positively to the inspector about their future aspirations to attend college, and described the support they have experienced from staff to help them achieve their goals.

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

Leaders maintain effective oversight of all safeguarding incidents involving children and use this information to identify factors that may be impacting children's sense of safety and security. This enables leaders and staff to respond proactively to emerging concerns and adapt support arrangements to meet children's changing needs. Leaders work collaboratively with professionals from children's wider support networks to review children's progress against agreed plans, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and, where necessary, make timely referrals to specialist services. When external agencies do not provide the quality or level of support required to meet children's needs effectively, leaders advocate strongly on behalf of children. They challenge professionals appropriately to secure the necessary services for children.

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

Staff consistently use the least-restrictive approach when managing and responding to children's safety needs. Physical intervention is used only as a last resort and when necessary to prevent significant harm to children or others. Records of incidents demonstrate that staff are committed to using de-escalation strategies and effective communication in line with children's individual behaviour support plans before considering restrictive interventions. Leaders maintain effective oversight of incidents. Records are detailed and reviewed promptly and both children and staff are provided with opportunities to discuss incidents and raise any concerns. Leaders use reflection and learning from incidents to inform practice and further strengthen staff responses. This approach ensures that interventions remain proportionate and centred on children's individual needs.

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

Children understand how to raise concerns and make complaints. Staff and leaders respond to these appropriately, ensuring that issues are taken seriously and managed effectively. As a result, concerns raised by children are addressed without delay, demonstrating that children's views are valued and acted upon.

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

Positive rewards and verbal praise are consistently used by staff to recognise and celebrate children's achievements. This helps children to develop confidence, self-esteem and a sense of accomplishment. When consequences are necessary, these are proportionate, restorative and tailored to children's individual needs. Leaders maintain effective oversight of all consequences to ensure they are appropriate and not punitive Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 5 in nature. Leaders regularly review practice and identify opportunities to strengthen the consistency of staff responses. Through reflective supervision and team discussions, leaders provide staff with clear guidance and support to ensure that children experience effective responses to their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

For most staff, supervision is regular and effective, with a clear focus on children's experiences, needs and outcomes. Supervision records include clear action planning to support staff development and career progression. However, staff who are undertaking their induction period have not consistently experienced regular formal supervision. This has resulted in some inconsistency in the level of structured support and oversight provided by leaders during a critical stage of their employment. It weakens how new staff apply the home's policies and procedures and are appropriately supported to develop in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders use learning from practice and feedback to improve the experiences and care of children. They learn from feedback and any serious or notifiable events. Leaders can identify strengths and areas for improvement and implement clear development plans to improve the experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders respond promptly when there are concerns about staff practice, which has an impact on the safety and quality of care that the children receive. Managers ensure that the appropriate professionals are informed and, where required, disciplinary processes are followed. This robust practice not only supports children to receive consistent, good- quality care but also promotes children's safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work in a supportive environment that promotes ongoing learning and professional development. Leaders maintain a consistent focus on ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge required to meet the individual and changing needs of children. When new or emerging needs are identified, leaders respond promptly by providing targeted and bespoke training that is relevant to the current needs of the children in the home. This ensures that staff are appropriately equipped with the necessary resources and understanding to ensure that children experience effective responses to their care needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all necessary repairs to the home environment are completed promptly. 10 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that appropriate forms of contact are consistently promoted and facilitated for each child with people they identify as important in their lives. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 58, paragraph 11.18)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive regular supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 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: 1247764 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes

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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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Inspector

Charlotte Tippett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1247764 9 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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