Children's Home run by Compass Children’s Homes Ltd in East Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 1 Registered provider: Compass Childrens Homes Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to 8 children with social, emotional and mental health needs. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager is in post, who registered with Ofsted in April 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 29/04/2025 Full Inadequate 14/05/2024 Full Good 31/08/2023 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences are variable. Inconsistent staffing has resulted in disrupted routines, missed education and health appointments and uncertainty for some children, particularly when coming to live at or moving away from the home. Planning for children’s futures is not sufficiently developed, leaving some feeling unprepared for independence. The home environment requires greater attention to maintenance and hygiene to promote pride and stability. There are some strong, meaningful relationships between permanent staff and children. Leaders are reflective and have responded to challenges appropriately. They are taking steps to strengthen assessment, stabilise staffing and improve the consistency and quality of care provided for children.

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improvement to be good

Staffing shortages have created inconsistency in care and support. Some children report missing activities and feeling unsettled due to reliance on agency and external staff from other settings operated by this provider. Relationships with permanent staff are positive. However, a high turnover of external staff has resulted in children experiencing inconsistent responses in relation to boundaries and routines. One child moved into the home while there were ongoing concerns around staffing levels. This child subsequently did not settle, and they were moved on from the home at short notice.

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improvement to be good

Children are not benefiting from consistent routines and boundaries. Staff have been unable to ensure adequate support and encouragement for children to get to school and to appointments. Difficulties in communication with external professionals and families have resulted in children and staff missing appointments and meetings. For one child who has not been engaged with education for several months, staff have not requested an early review of their education plan, and they failed to attend the scheduled meeting planned by the virtual school.

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improvement to be good

Planning for children’s futures is not sufficiently developed or timely. Although there are some activities to develop practical skills, children approaching adulthood lack clear and structured pathway plans. There are delays in coordinating multi-agency support and ensuring children’s needs are understood ahead of planned moves from the home. As a result, children remain uncertain about their future and insufficiently prepared for independence.

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improvement to be good

Managers have failed to ensure that the home is consistently well maintained. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, due to damage over time, they have mismatched furniture. Managers have not ensured that there is a clear plan for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in personal and communal areas. Empty bedrooms are being Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 4 used for storage and lack readiness for new children to move into the home. A lack of attention to the home environment reduces children’s sense of pride in their home.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote some individualised opportunities for children to engage and build confidence. These include tailored holidays, memory work and cultural celebrations. A new music studio offers children the opportunity to create and learn about music. One child receives one-to-one tutoring, alongside a tailored music programme, giving them the opportunity to gain a certified qualification. These experiences provide children with meaningful opportunities to have fun and develop interests.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are reflective; they have learned from unplanned endings. When children have needed to move on from the home in an urgent manner, they have ensured this was managed safely and in a child-focused way. Managers have identified how they can improve their assessment process to ensure they can better understand and meet the needs of children moving into the home. They have taken a proactive approach to ceasing admissions to the home while they focus on the improvements required.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice lacks consistency in responding to risks. There is inconsistency in care, including variable routines, weak boundaries and concerns about risk awareness in daily situations. This means children are not always protected through predictable and reliable care.

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improvement to be good

Responses to incidents are not consistently robust or timely. There has been one incident where staff did not seek suitable medical support for a child who self-harmed. Managers have offered training to some staff in the home. However, they have not ensured all staff working there have received the same refresher training in responding to self-harm. In addition, managers have failed to undertake an assessment of ongoing environmental risks for children to ensure that staff can recognise the risks and respond appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Partnership working with professionals is inconsistent. Professionals report missed meetings, delayed communication and a lack of coordination, alongside examples of children missing health appointments and staff being unprepared for important meetings. This results in children not always receiving the coordinated care needed to promote their welfare.

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improvement to be good

Allegations against staff are managed well. There is evidence of appropriate escalation and engagement with the local authority designated officer (LADO). Leaders respond in a timely way to advice from the LADO. Appropriate action is taken to investigate and respond to concerns. This provides a level of external oversight that helps to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 5 Physical interventions are used only as a last resort to keep children safe and reflect an understanding of using the least restrictive practice. Interventions are low level, proportionate and followed by reflective discussions and management oversight. This supports children to feel safe during incidents and enables learning to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been weakness in the oversight and decision-making of leaders and managers. The admission of a child during a period of staffing instability placed significant pressure on the home, leading to increased stress and sickness levels for staff. This impacted on children’s experiences of care and, for one child, resulted in an urgent move. Children’s stability and quality of care have been inconsistent. However, senior leaders have recognised this and are starting to implement systems to address and monitor the delivery of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders have been unable to implement changes to reduce the high turnover of external staffing. In addition, there are no effective measures in place to ensure that all staff coming into the home understand children’s plans, routines and risks. As a result, children have experienced inconsistent routines, safeguarding responses and boundaries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management oversight of permanent staffing has been inconsistent. There have been high levels of absence among the management team. This has reduced the oversight of staff support and, as a result, there have been gaps in supervision and a lack of appropriate follow up to actions agreed with external professionals. However, senior leaders have identified a range of external managers to help with overseeing the home. A lack of consistency in management support for staff has not allowed for continuity in oversight of care, support and communication for children, staff and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have high expectations for staff. Managers use a range of supportive and constructive tools to help reflect on areas of development. They take prompt and effective action to address any staff performance issues. These actions are beginning to stabilise the home and support improvements in care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is strong regional oversight and increasing support to address safeguarding concerns. Managers are receiving additional support from therapeutic leads and internal quality and safeguarding teams to ensure that responses to safeguarding concerns and care practice improve. Senior leaders have increased monitoring and oversight of the home. This is improving practice, although changes have followed serious concerns rather than being preventative. Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement 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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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff need to be aware of the risks children face and how best to respond to them.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must implement a system to ensure that all staff receive suitable refresher training when practice shortfalls are identified.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must undertake an assessment of the home to consider any environmental risks for children who may harm themselves. 16 August 2026

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Requirement 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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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 16 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement 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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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(iii)) 16 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 8 The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and 16 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 9 that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that standards of behaviour are high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. The development of safe, stable and secure relationships with staff in the home should be central to the ethos of the home and support the development of secure attachments that, where appropriate, persist over time. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home works in partnership with relevant people as appropriate to ensure that each child is provided with support (appropriate to their age and understanding) to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and

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Recommendations

participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. In particular, the registered person should review systems of communication with parents, professionals and children to ensure they can actively contribute to children’s care planning and daily care. The registered person should focus on developing professional and effective partnerships with families and other relevant people, which help them to feel involved, share information and contribute their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and is a homely, domestic environment. This specifically relates to ensuring that the home, its furnishings and resources are maintained to an acceptable condition and state of cleanliness. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2644927 10

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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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Inspectors

Steve de Souza, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Georgia Carty, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2644927 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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