

Marching on with great improvements
This month’s jam-packed edition is a testament and reflection of the scale of change and progression that is underway across Compass. With so many people at all levels working incredibly hard to drive forward improvements both in central services and local services. It is quite simply breath-taking to see.
This includes the work of the People Team in preparing for our second colleague survey and reflecting back on what you said and what changes have been implemented following our first successful survey. Changes such as moving to a common pay percentage, a new appraisal process aligning colleague’s objectives to Compass strategic priorities so people feel more connected to the wider organisational ambitions. And the great news of a new three per cent pay rise plus an expansion to our annual leave entitlement, along with a host of other benefits.
Elsewhere in Compass, much work has come to fruition including new audit guidance, learning portal and development of a Compass SEND framework. And to celebrate the important milestone of our EDI thematic working groups turning one this month, we share the many amazing pledges that have been made to progress all things EDI within local teams, practices and services.
We also celebrate the fantastic news of our newly expanded Tower Hamlets School Health & Wellbeing Service and the onboarding of some amazing colleagues who I know will become a fabulous edition to the Compass family. And the very sad news that our much-loved Warwickshire CYPDAS will come to an end this month after 15 years of incredible service and achievements.
CYPDAS in Warwickshire to transfer to new provider on 1st May
I am really saddened to confirm that our Warwickshire CYPDAS team will be transferring over to a new provider from the 1 May 2025. Despite our best efforts of everyone involved we were unable to retain the contract on this occasion. The result does not take away 15 years of incredible service to the CYP and families in Warwickshire. It has been such an outstanding and high performing service for many, many years, and I know the impact of our loss internally will be felt greatly. We can take great comfort in the fact that our wonderful CYPDAS colleagues will continue to deliver and further develop the service and partnerships they have nurtured making it even more of a success and that the CYP will be supported by such a talented and committed team which is what is most important.
Having been involved in setting up the service from Day 1, I can say hand on heart we should be very proud of all that has been accomplished by everyone who has been involved in delivering Warwickshire CYPDAS.
A huge thankyou from myself, SLT and the Board to our CYPDAS team. You will be hugely missed having been such an important and integral part of mine and Compass’ journey. We wish you all the best in your new venture.
This month’s contents


Listening to Your Voice
We hope you will have your say again to help us to keep on improving and developing as we grow
The second “Your Voice” colleague opinion survey is nearly here! We are really keen to hear from all Compass colleagues so the results represent all colleague voices.
The survey will launch on the morning of Monday 14 April, 2025 and will run for four weeks until Monday 12 May, 2025.
You will get an email with a link to the Your Voice colleague survey on Survey Monkey. You will also see posters coming before launch that will have a QR code with the link.
It should only take five minutes to do. Your answers will allow us to understand where we are doing well and help bring change where it is needed..
The first survey, which was completed in October 2023, provided a baseline of data. This one will allow us to see how we have progressed and to see what needs further focus as we continue to work towards becoming Employer of Choice in our sector.
All the data will be anonymised and confidentiality will be safeguarded. In this survey, we won’t ask any information about you as an individual as we did in the last survey – we hope this will help colleagues feel able to take part.

Following the first survey your feedback has led to:
- A change to the way our progression through pay range works – April 2025 is the last time we will use performance related pay (PRP) as we move to the common pay % applied to all colleagues.
- Improving our appraisal process whereby Senior Leadership Team (SLT) objectives are cascaded through Compass to all colleagues and individual appraisal meetings are refocused on achievements and individual development.
- Introduction of new benefits including electric car lease scheme, health cash plan, cycle to work scheme, annual leave increase linked to long service
- Enhanced Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities with ring fenced funding. Further learning and development improvements are being planned for this year including One Compass Learning platform (launching in April) and Compass leadership development program
- New systems and developments that automate manual tasks, are easier to use for all colleagues and give us better data and reporting to make good decisions ( i.e. Iaptus, , Eploy – recruitment system, Health Box HR – People system, Accounts IQ – finance system).
- Colleague wellbeing improvements including enhanced Employee assistance program (EAP) with Wisdom app, revised absence management policy, restorative supervision investment.
So please do look out for the survey opening and have your say!
3% pay award this year, plus PRP
By Kim Jones, People Director
I am delighted to confirm Compass are making a 3% market adjustment for all eligible colleagues effective on 1st April 2025 (generally “eligible colleagues” are those who have joined Compass before 1st October 2024 and/or have not had a pay increase on or after 1st October 2024 and are not in a trainee role – see our FAQs for more details to check if you are in scope).

As in past years, our market adjustment is calculated taking into account salaries being offered in similar roles externally and the contract income (confirmed by commissioners) we receive to fund any pay increases.
The 3% is applied to all pay bands (except pay band B – please see info below) and thus the bottom and top of the band increase by 3%. In addition, as we have done for the last couple of years, we are uplifting all individual salaries (for those who are eligible) by 3% also.
Band B roles
Please note that if you are currently in a pay band B role, you will have already received your market adjustment ahead of our 1st April 2025 pay award date – this is due to our commitment to pay in line with the real living wage increase (this equated to 3.6% and was paid in February 2025 salary and was effective from 1st November 2024).
Performance Related Pay
In addition to our 3% market adjustment, I am really pleased to confirm the performance related pay (PRP) element will be paid to eligible colleagues (generally “eligible colleagues” are those who have joined Compass before 1st July 2024 and/or have not had a pay increase on or after 1st October 2024 and are not in a trainee role – see our FAQs for more details to check if you are in scope).
The PRP payment is directly related to appraisal ratings; for eligible colleagues, PRP pay award percentages are as follows:
Appraisal Rating | % Pay Uplift |
Exceptional | 4 |
Highly Effective | 3 |
Effective | 2 |
Improver | 0 |
Non-Consolidated Payments (NCP)
More annual leave
As a result of the benefits review which took place in response to our last staff survey, we’re increasing colleague annual leave from April:
✅ 27 days from day one
✅ 30 days after 3 years of service
✅ 32 days after 5 years of service
Increased leave will be available in the April after your work anniversary.
Please also remember our new colleague benefits rolled out recently:
🚗 Electric Car Scheme – Drive greener with a cost-effective way to lease an electric car.
💙 BHSF Cash Health Plan – Get money back on everyday health costs like dental, optical, and physiotherapy.
🚴 Cycle to Work Scheme – Save on a new bike and enjoy a healthier, cheaper commute.
🏖️ More Time for You!
We value everything you do, and these benefits are our way of saying thank you! If you have any questions or want to learn more please take a look at the further information below:
U:\People Team\Benefits
New Health box tool allows us to book leave, claim expenses all whilst on the go, using the app

We’re excited to announce that Health Box HR (HBHR) is now live and ready for you to use! 🎉Instructions for logging on are at the bottom of this email.
You can access the system now, and user manuals are available directly within the tool – simply click the arrow underneath your name to find them. Managers should ensure they read the admin manual for important guidance.
Please note that not all features will be included in our version of the system, and we haven’t rolled out all modules yet. These will be made available over the coming weeks and months. We’re also in the process ofmoving relevant documents across from CIPHR to HBHR so they will be available in the next couple of weeks.
Key Points:
✅ Booking leave – You can continue to book leave which is now in hours for all colleagues, not just part time people.
✅ Claiming expenses – The system is set up for you to submit expenses.
✅TOIL is recorded in a different way in this system, in your record you’ll need to click on overtime/TOIL, record the relevant hours accrued or taken and then choose TOIL from the reward type menu.
✅Check your information is correct in the system, and change it if not.
✅Note that training data is not yet in HBHR .
✅ Support & Queries – If you have any questions, for our first month of roll out please email your manager rather than the People Team. This will help us manage queries more effectively. Managers will have dedicated drop-in sessions, where their questions will be addressed. The first of these will be Friday 4 April from 11am – 12 noon and on another on Wednesday 9 April 11.30 until 1.30.
📲 Mobile App – Download from the App store or Google Play
We will send out regular updates and FAQ’s as we develop them.
Thank you for your patience as we roll out Health Box HR. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to making this a smooth transition for everyone!
Please see instructions on how to log into the platform for the first time and view what has been uploaded:
- Head to our log in page: https://app.healthboxhr.com/login
- Click ‘Forgot Password’ & enter your email address; this should then allow you to reset your password and login to the platform.
Compass publishes 2024 Gender Pay Gap data
by Kim Jones, People Director
We have completed and published our latest Gender Pay Gap report. Our ambition is for our people to reflect the children, young people and their families we support as well as the communities we serve.
A significant challenge for Compass is to increase the proportion of men we employ which will take time and effort acknowledging that this problem is a national workforce shortage. We have increased our proportion of male colleagues from 10% to 11% in the last year but we have much further to go. Our resulting small data set of male colleagues means it is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions on pay gap albeit our pay structures allow a fair progression regardless of gender.

A very warm welcome

Friendly, engaged, enthusiastic team at Tower Hamlets
by Jan Smith, Operations Director
On 1st April, we were delighted to welcome our new school health service to Compass following a new award of contract to deliver integrated school health, substance misuse and sexual health services to the communities in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The implementation team and members of the Senior Leadership Team were welcomed warmly with spring sunshine in the capital and a friendly, engaged enthusiastic team.
Over four days, the new local teams comprising staff transferring to Compass and existing Safe East team members worked together to understand the new model, work out the practicalities of continuing to provide high quality care without disruption and to learn more about each other and what it is like to work at Compass.
On Thursday, we held our first ever London Corporate Induction Day and welcomed colleagues from Compass Elevation (Harrow YP Substance Use Services) and colleagues from central services who are based in the South. This was a fantastic opportunity to focus on shared values and behaviours, to talk about what motivates us in our work and the value we place on individual experience to create services built on compassion and care and the role we all play in creating a truly respectful and inclusive workplace.
Oh, and there were laughs! Throughout the week we spent time getting to know a bit more about each other with team building games and activities with new highs reached in the food rap game!
It has been a wonderful week spending time with some of our fantastic Compass staff and meeting new colleagues who have joined us with such positivity, enthusiasm, experience and commitment – it was an absolute pleasure.
– Jan Smith, Operations Director

International Women’s Day Event in Birmingham
By Siân Kennedy, Outreach Senior Wellbeing Practitioner, Compass Birmingham Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
We work for the new Wave 12 team in Birmingham. On Sunday 2nd March, myself and two trainee EMHPs (Ruth and Geri) worked with the Aston Villa Foundation at an event they provided for International Women’s Day.
We promoted the work we do within schools for all the parents and young people attending to see. We started the day with a women only workout, but following this lots of conversations with parents/football coaches about the importance of early intervention for emotional wellbeing.
After the event, we got provided with tickets to go and watch the Aston Villa Women play a game at Villa Park. It was a wonderful event and we look forward to more joint work with the Aston Villa Foundation in the future.

Members of Compass Changing Lives attended the All Words, All Actions, All Weathers event on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Derbyshire. Continue reading

Our new Anxiety Workshop is a self-guided webinar on worries, anxiety and ways young people can manage both. Young people can sign up to our service to receive help and gain access to our webinar today! Continue reading

Above and beyond
I would like to share a huge thank you message for Siobhan Abbey in Birmingham’s Wave 12 office. She is a lovely addition to the team and very kind and thoughtful. She created self-care kits for the ladies’ toilets containing things such as body spray, feminine hygiene products and other toiletry items. She also home baked brownies, cakes and more for our office safeguarding meeting. She went above and beyond to cater for everyone and all dietary requirements and preferences, including vegan squirty cream ! She is an absolute asset to the team and does it all quietly without seeking praise or thanks. She is very deserving of a huge thank you message! – Zoe Stevens TEMHP, Compass Birmingham MHST
Superstar People Team
A special thank you to all of the project team for the new people and payroll system who have been so dedicated and conscientious for many months from selecting the system in 2024 to all of their work to implement the system in April 2025.
The superstars are (in no particular order): Donna Wilson for leading the project, Colin Quigley and Dan Streets for their wisdom with all things data and general problem solving, Clare Hitchen, Lisa Hoole and Debra Kemp for all their support on the people data and systems, Sarah Watson for working on the training and performance modules, Barry Evans for his work on the Eploy integration and coordinating testing, Jennifer Hicks (and Olakunle Dare) for leading the payroll integration, Jane Wright for being our operations champion and Johanne Parker for kicking off our implementation project. And all of those additional colleagues who contributed to system selection, testing and helping along the way – thank you for your support. A long journey but you have been breath takingly brilliant! – Kim Jones, People Director
Embracing change
I would like to say a huge thank you to Bemrose & Noel Baker team. Thank you for being so supportive of one another, and of me too, whilst also embracing recent changes to ensure we are providing the best possible service for our CYPF. Your hard work, support, and commitment does not go unnoticed, and you should all be very proud of what you have achieved over the last year! So just a huge thank you and a massive well done x –Michelle Allen, Team Leader, Compass Changing Lives MHST
Hardworking & supportive
I would just like to say a big thank you to all my colleagues in the Stratford base for being such a hardworking and supportive team. I recognise that a lot of you are still relatively new and getting to know the job and each other (myself included) but how you have all pulled together to help and support one another has been so lovely to see. There are also some long serving staff who have worked through significant recruitment challenges and continue to remain hugely committed to the work we do with CYP. Huge thanks also to the wider C4H team without whose support our newbies would not have had all the experiences they required – they really quite enjoyed those trips to the other bases and making those connections. Very proud to be leading the South team! – Eilish Flambert, School Nurse Team Leader, C4H
Valued & appreciated
I would like to say Thank you to Lois Adams our new Duty Manager at Compass Changing Lives, Derby. Lois, you have given great encouragement and advice to support a learning and reflective atmosphere on duty. I have seen this foster growth and development for the staff on duty and you always make me feel valued and appreciated. Thank you for never faltering on your positivity and kindness. – Sam Dodds, EMHP, Compass Changing Lives
Heart of everything we do
Massive thank you to our Birmingham Specialist Team for being the best and putting the CYPF at the heart of everything we do! Appreciate all their support amongst all of our schools and thank you for everything 😊 – Renita Paul, Supervising Practitioner, Compass Birmingham MHST
Supporting each other
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the People Team for all their hard work on the various projects we’ve been working on. It’s been great work with you all, and seeing everyone supporting each other, makes me proud to be a part of such a great team. – Donna Wilson, People Business Partner
Amazing team
I would like to add a thankyou message to my Team Leader Michelle Eyre for her all of her support during a difficult few weeks but also since I joined Compass for her support, encouragement, knowledge and guidance and for believing in me. I have grown in confidence and self-belief and couldn’t have done it without her.
I’d also like to thank the rest of the Compass Be team, you are all amazing! Especially my partner in crime Emily Simpson, I could not ever imagine my life without her in it now.
It is no secret that at the start of my journey I struggled a little to adjust, but I would NOT be anywhere else now! I feel like I have found ‘my people’ – and what an amazing team we are! Thanks Compass Be! – Lisa Nicholson, Family Practitioner, Compass Be
Thank you
I would like to thank Kirstie Hanson for her support in producing a new version of the Compass Community Social Value Tracker. The spreadsheet is incredibly useful and helpful not only for me, but for the wider Compass staff. – William Bentley, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Compass Community
Unwavering support
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the BMHST Wave 9 & 10 team for their unwavering support, with special thanks to Arlene, Fiyaz, Karen, and Dean. Their warm welcome into my role and their guidance have been invaluable in helping me grow. I truly appreciate their support and all their contributions to my development in this role. – Olubola Areola, Administrator, Compass Birmingham MHST
Feel very welcome
Thank you to Laura, Lucy, Trina and Angie at NEL for supporting me with SilverCloud and IAPTUS training during my induction and to all of the Compass Flex team who have all been really supportive since I joined Compass and made me feel very welcome 😊(Saffron, Siobhan, Jack, Beth, Maddy & Biancha). – Kelly Jones, Digital Wellbeing Practitioner, Compass Flex


With Jan Smith, Operations Director
Child Safeguarding Practice Review
This month’s safeguarding feature summarises some of the key findings from a recent Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report examining the impact of race, ethnicity and culture on multiagency safeguarding practice. The report published in March 2025 was commissioned to explore how race, racism, and racial bias influences how professionals identify, understand and respond to the safeguarding needs of Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children and their families and contains insights to inform the ongoing development of antiracist practices. NSPCC Learning have published a helpful summary available here Race, racism and safeguarding children – “It’s silent” | NSPCC Learning. Some of the insights with key relevance to Compass’s work are summarised here:
Recognition of race, ethnicity and culture: Explicit recognition of race, ethnicity and culture and an understanding of the significance of these in practice with children and families, was limited. This is both from practice that does not consider race, ethnicity and culture and review processes that do not explore and discuss these issues.
The role of faith and religion: There is poor understanding of the role and importance of faith and religion, including potentially harmful practices. Discussion of faith was often missing from reviews and so the impact and influence of it on the child and their family was not recognised.
Recognition of service engagement barriers: There were some reviews that identified and acknowledged service barriers for children and families, including: racialised trauma from previous professional interactions; experiences of racism in predominantly white communities; language barriers limiting parental understanding; negative cultural perceptions around seeking support; and bias in the form of adultification.
Children’s voices and experiences: Practitioners sought the child’s voice and experience to some extent in nearly half of reviews. Some reviews did identify that language was a significant barrier for Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage children in the reviews. Registered interpreters were not always available and family members were used instead. It was also common for family members to specifically request that they be used instead of interpreters.
Community: There was limited discussion around, or attention to, the influence and impact of community. Community was often a risk factor in relation to known gang activity or youth violence, although in some cases it was thought to provide safe spaces and protection for children. There was limited commentary within reviews around children’s experiences of feeling integrated and connected to their neighbourhood.
Invisibilisation: Many reviews highlighted that the race and ethnicity of children was not recognised, appropriately explored, or understood by practitioners. The unique risks that may be experienced by children from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds were not considered. Children were both ‘hyper-visible’ and invisible at the same time. Children from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds can be hyper-visible to services when engaging in behaviour considered to be harmful or suspicious, while the need to safeguard and protect them is overshadowed or ignored.
The Panel briefing is found here if you wish to read the full report “It’s Silent”: Race, racism and safeguarding children – Panel Briefing 4.
If you have concerns about a child, young person or vulnerable adult please discuss them with your local Designated Safeguarding Lead or contact Compass Designated Safeguarding Officer jan.smith@compass-uk.org.


With Sue Cody, Quality Assurance Lead
Compass Audit Guidance launched
The Compass Audit Guidance and Plan 2025-2026, has been collaboratively developed with the help of staff representatives within the Clinical Working Groups (CWGs), reviewing the revised audit tools within the toolkit, with the aim to support a consistent approach to auditing with a common understanding, albeit embedding bespoke audits for the directorates as per requirements.
Audit is a way to find out if care is being provided in line with Compass standards and allows the services, directorates, organisation, children, young people and families and stakeholders to assess if we are doing what we should be doing is reaching Compass standards and identifies where improvements can be made. This evidence can support our commitment within Compass to maintain the highest quality of care to children, young people and families.
Hybrid approach
In the new guidance and plan with the spirit of continuous improvement and feedback from staff, we have added and agreed to start using a hybrid approach to include percentage scoring. This will aid a consistent approach with benchmarks to show improvement. This will initially be rolled out in the record keeping and governance audits as essential requirement, however audit scoring can be used on all audits, all audit tools have an additional section to add the percentage scoring. Further guidance is available in the audit toolkit embedded .
The audit improvements and revised guidance and calendar have been shared with all colleagues who attend the clinical working groups, I will be attending the Service Manager MHST/EWBS meeting in April to share and will be setting up a briefing session for team leaders who are involved in the audit process to share the amendments. This session will be held in the next few weeks and you will receive an invite in the next few days.
Access the new guidance and plan
However if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. A huge thank you to you all involved in the auditing process.
See link below to Audit Guidance and Plan 2025-2026 U:\Quality\Audit Resources\Compass Audit Guidance & Plan 2025-2026\Audit Guidance & Plan 2025-2026 – March 2025.pdf
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on MS teams or email.

Clinical Governance Group Non-Executive Director Service Visit to Compass Bloom
On the 11th March 2025 Claire Woods, Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Clinical Governance Group (CGG), Len Pendle, Non-Executive Director and member of the Clinical Governance Group (CGG), Sue Berry, Assistant Director Operations (Birmingham and Changing Lives and Sue Cody, Quality Assurance Lead, visited Compass Bloom, Mental Health Support Team.(MHST)
Read more
Anne Haines, Service Manager, said: “Welcoming the NEDs to Compass Bloom was a fantastic experience.
“As a team, we took pride in showcasing not only the impactful work we do but also the opportunities we provide for staff growth and development. The team’s dedication and passion for supporting our schools, CYPs, and families truly stood out throughout the day. Claire and Len saw firsthand why I am so proud of our team and the incredible work we do here in Lancashire.”
The itinerary of the day included a meet and greet, with a discussion about the journey of Bloom, which was led by Anne Haines, Judith Ashworth and Mia Leyland. Mia said that, “It was lovely to have Claire and Len visiting our service – they were so friendly and easy to talk to. Both Claire and Len were genuinely interested in the journey of Compass Bloom, the improvements we have made and the work we are doing now to support the children and young people in Lancashire.”
And Mia said: “It was great to have them in our service building to meet the whole team too and have that connection between the NEDs frontline staff.” They also discussed local achievements and challenges
Amber Balcombe, Sophie Corless, Adele Normington and Freddie Mills shared presentations as part of the ‘Grow your Own’ discussion. Adele felt that “it was such a positive experience meeting the NEDs and welcoming them into our service. They really took their time to listen and understand our individual journeys within Compass Bloom. As a team, we were proud to share the great practice that we deliver to our schools, CYPs and families and what a day in the life of Compass Bloom looks like!”
Hazel Broadfield and Deborah Wheeler, Supervising Practitioners shared their plans for a Wellbeing Champions event to be held in the summer at Edgehill University.
The participation and engagement worker Caitlin Halfpenny, shared her mission to embed the youth voice in service development and provision. We met with Diane Cockshot Commissioner for the service, who shared her feedback about collaboratively working with Bloom.
Carla Hickman, demonstrated how Iaptus is used within MHSTs to record case management information and for reporting.

Len said “What a pleasure to meet such a dedicated and professional team delivering a truly high class service. The transformation in the last three years is very evident and engagement with all their stakeholders is exemplary. It was very inspiring for me.”
This is the third Non-Executive Director (NED) site visit in 2024 and 2025 with the Quality Assurance Lead, Sue Cody. It is one of the ways Compass will continue to connect with colleagues from across the organisation in quality improvement and the development of effective services, this will provide opportunities for staff to share openly their experiences of working in Compass. The outcomes of the visit will be shared with the Clinical Governance Group, SLT and the Board with any areas identified for action will be discussed at Clinical Governance Group and with the Board.
“It continues to be our aim to visit all services over the coming years, thank you so much for Compass Bloom for hosting a very informative day” added Sue.
TV series highlights online dangers for young people
by Sue Cody, Quality Assurance Lead
Many of you may have already watched the Netflix series Adolescence, the series delves into the complex issues of knife crime, cyberbullying, hidden online communication on social media and the psychological impact of chronic harassment, offering a stark reminder of the real-life struggles so many of our young people face. The series follows a 13 year old boy named Jamie, who is accused of murdering his class mate Katie Leonard.
Through Jamie’s story, the show explores several critical themes:
Bullying and Social Media Pressure: The series highlights the intense pressure young people face from their peers and social media. Interactions on Instagram between two of the young people included hostile and derogatory messages, playing a significant role in the unfolding events.
- Toxic Masculinity: The series examined how societal expectations of masculinity can negatively impact young boys. Jamies exposure to toxic masculinity and incel culture on line contributes to his psychological unravelling. It shines a light on external influencers within the online world that are having a profound effect on young people culture.
- Mental Health: The show underscores the importance of mental health awareness and support for young people. Jamie’s actions area a tragic consequences of untreated mental health issues, exacerbated by social isolation and online harassment.
- Adolescence serves as a powerful tool for raising awareness of the mental health crisis among young people.
Emojis and their hidden meanings
Emojis are used to convey deeper, often sinister meanings online.
Compass Be, Kirsty Taylor, Senior Healthy Peer Relationships Worker at Compass Be has developed a emoji terms document to raise awareness for staff and other professionals, which has the key emojis on with their hidden meanings.
See the information sheet here.

New Learning Portal launched
by Sarah Watson, Learning and Development Manager
One Compass Learning
https://compass2.sharepoint.com/sites/OneCompassLearning
We’re excited to introduce our new learning portal, designed to transform how you gain knowledge and skills. This innovative platform offers a range of features to enhance your learning journey.
Designed to be our learning community, it will grow and evolve over time. You can access all the learning materials and suggest new content that you find useful or recommend.
The portal uses the same software as Compass for Teams, Microsoft 365. If you don’t have it open, just use the same login details you use for your laptop when prompted.
Annual appraisal
Unlock Your Potential with the new look Annual Appraisal!
Annual appraisals are a fantastic opportunity to reflect on your achievements, set new ambitions, and showcase your unique attributes.
Documentation, guides and top tips can be found on One Compass Learning. It’s all behind the first tile on the home page. You can record your appraisal directly on the new HR system HBHR. It’s in the Performance module under Assessments. You should have received an email letting you know it’s been assigned.
Embrace the annual appraisal process as a valuable tool for personal and professional growth. It’s your moment to shine, plan for the future, and take decisive actions towards achieving your ambitions!
Continuous Professional Development Funding
Invest in yourself and your future. Apply for professional development funding today and start your journey of continuous growth and success!
In both cases there is a process to help us show due diligence when sourcing learning to ensure it’s a qualify product and to help the L&D Steering Group keep an eye on the budgets. It all starts with completing a CPD request or a training request which can be found under professional development tile on One Compass Learning
Leadership Development
Are you ready to take your career to the next level? Our leadership qualifications through apprenticeships is the perfect opportunity to develop your skills and unlock your potential.
To apply, complete the continuous professional development form on One Compass Learning under the tile Professional Development. Full details on the four programmes on offer are also in this space.
- Team Leader L3
- Business Administrator L3
- Associate Project Manager L4
- Operations Management L5
Places are limited and you should have the written support of your Manager and Director.
SEND framework and tool kits workshops to start
by Evalynne Charmer, Project Lead ‘Neuro-Inclusion Review & Development’
Hi everyone 😊
Our Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing Services SEND Framework and toolkit has landed!
We appreciate that adapting our approaches with SEND CYP is essential to their engagement in our services, and we have developed these tools to help you to build your skills and confidence in adapting your environment, communication styles and interventions, to enhance the benefits to both CYP and yourselves.
WORKSHOPS are available to help MHEWB staff to embed the guidance and toolkit so get signed up (to one only) when they come around!
SAVE THE DATES: Weds 30th April 10 – 11.30am; Thurs 1st May 3.30-5pm; Monday 5th May 2-3.30pm
The Framework itself is a guidance document to help practitioners build confidence in working with SEND children and young people and includes process from referral to discharge, the relational approach, SEND principles of practice, adapting interventions, available CPD, and an A-Z of useful information guides.
You can find the Framework and Toolkit here: U:\01. Resources HUB
We are building on the SEND intervention resources hub, including rolling out a CYP and Parent/Carer Consultation across the summer term, so watch this space!
Can I just take the opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in creating this much needed guidance and toolkit. Our lovely practitioners, the SEND T&F group, Service Managers and Team Leaders; our fab Senior Operational Team for their oversight and contributions; the talented Maddy Wakelin for making the Framework look so fantastic and, of course, our multi-tasker-supreme Sarah Walton for your constant and positive support. You have all been invaluable with your input, enthusiasm and hard work. Thank you all, Evalynne 😊

EDI Thematic Working Groups update

Our colleagues make team pledges of support
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Thematic Working Groups (TWGs) have completed new resources showing the pledges colleagues in services and central services have made as they strive to support people with differing needs.
The TWGs had previously asked each service to make a pledge, addressing goals their team would like to achieve over the coming year in relation to Race & Culture, LGBTQ+, SEND/Disability and Gender.
Pledges are reviewed by teams throughout the year in line with the TWG agreed awareness days. They have been circulated to TWG members to ensure their services pledges are shared and displayed. All Pledges, by TWG and by Service can be found in U:\Equality Diversity & Inclusion Steering Group\Thematic Working Groups\PLEDGES
SLT approves budget for 2025/26

At our March meeting, SLT reviewed and approved the organisational budget for 2025/26 which incorporates all local and central services individual budgets ahead of it being ratified by Board. The budget includes the three percent market adjustment recently announced in our pay award communication by Kim Jones, People Director. Compass’ turnover for 25/26 will be approximately £24 Million per annum which is a significant increase from 24/25 which was £20 Million.
We also reviewed the positive progress made against our quarterly priorities which included Birmingham, Derby/shire and Barnsley MHST wave 12 team mobilisations as well as preparations to launch a new integrated CYP school and wellbeing service in Tower Hamlets from 1 April 2025 including the onboarding of new 30 new colleagues. Behind the scenes Central Services work to launch the new integrated people and payroll system – HealthBox HR and completion of the re-configuration of Eploy making it more user friendly for all (with further work planned on creation of new dashboards and reports).
Much work is also underway in preparation for pay award in April as well as the cascade of the new business plan priorities starting with the CEO objectives to Directors and direct reports and the launch of our new learning platform. Having prepared for this being one of our busiest months ever, we spent time checking in with each other and making sure relevant leads had all the support and resources they needed.
Know our Senior Leadership


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Training update
June | Safeguarding L3 | Tues | 10th | Remote | Full |
July | Safeguarding L3 | Fri | 18th | Remote | Full |
September | Safeguarding L3 | Thurs | 18th | Remote | Tower Hamlets |
October | Safeguarding L3 | Tues | 7th | Remote | |
November | Safeguarding L3 | Mon | 24th | Remote | |
December | Safeguarding L3 | Tues | 16th | Remote |
BLS Training
April | BLS | F2F | Awaiting confirmation of dates for Tower Hamlets | ||
April | BLS Andy Train | Weds | 16th | Remote | Mop up remote session for Birmingham, Derby, Tower Hamlets, Barnsley & Wakefield – Please contact training if you can not attend your allocated slot |
May | BLS Andy Train | Tues | 6th | F2F | All colleagues in Wakefield have been sent a calendar invitation |
May | BLS Andy Train | Weds | 14th | F2F | All colleagues in NE Lincs have been sent a calendar invitation |
June | BLS Andy Train | Tues | 10th | F2F | All colleagues in Lancs have been sent a calendar invitation |
July | BLS Mark the Medic | Weds | 9th | F2F | All colleagues in Connect4Health services due for renewal have been sent a calendar invitation |
July | BLS Mark the Medic | Fri | 18th | F2F | All colleagues in Derby services due for renewal have been sent a calendar invitation |
July | BLS Mark the Medic | Weds | 9th | F2F | C4H – Venue tbc |
July | BLS Mark the Medic | Fri | 18th | F2F | Derby CL & ETISS – Coney Green |
August | BLS Andy Train | Thurs | 7th | Remote | Mop up remote sessions for C4H, Derby & Lancs |
October | BLS Mark the Medic | Weds | 15th | F2F | Derby CL & ETISS – Coney Green |
November | BLS Mark the Medic | Weds | 19th | F2F | Birmingham W9 &10 |
December | BLS Mark the Medic | Weds | 17th | F2F | C4H – Venue tbc |
January | BLS Andy Train | TBC | TBC | TBC | Mop up session for Derby, Birmingham & C4H |
Non Mandatory Courses
June | Mental Health First Aid | Weds | 11th | Sarah Watson Facilitating |
June | Restorative Supervision | Thurs | 12th | Restorative Supervision Training – Chesterfield – x2 spaces left – please liase with your manager |
June | Mental Health First Aid | Weds | 18th | Sarah Watson Facilitating |


Know someone who’d be just right for Compass – and for whom Compass would be just right for them?
You do? Well, refer that friend! And get a cash reward…
Lynne referred Sam at Compass Shine
Lynne – I have known Sam for a number of years and I was aware she was looking for a new job. I suggested Compass and the admin/data role as I knew she had the capabilities to meet the requirements of the job but also how Compass might suit her and her personal needs.
Sam – I joined Compass through the refer a friend scheme. My friend, Lynn referred me in. I went for an interview and I subsequently got the job and she also received a reward for referring me in and we’ve been working together now for two years within the service. You know, we do know each other quite well and we know what strengths each of us brings to the team.
Lynne – I was over the moon when I heard Sam had successful achieved the position. I love working for Compass and love that Sam enjoys it too. I’m always on the lookout for other friends who might be able to work with us too.
Do you have any colleagues in other organisations who may be interested in our roles? We have recently changed our Refer a Friend Policy and we have increased the amounts on offer, so for Band A-C the amount has increased to £500 (from £250) and for Bands D-H the amount has changed to £1000 (from £350). Scan the QR code for the policy.
2025 Awareness Calendar
Compass head office staff have produced a new Awareness Calendar for use in services. The Calendar is a live document. The EDI Thematic Working Group will agree more key dates and events in their upcoming meetings, which they will support organisation-wide.
See the latest Calendar for 2025 here.
U:\Staff Updates\Awareness Calendar and newsletter
Contacting your People Team
General People Team queries: peopleteam@compass-uk.org
Recruitment and onboarding queries: recruitment@compass-uk.org
Training queries: training@compass-uk.org

Compass Points email address.
You can get in touch with Compass Points via our email address. It’s compasspoints@compass-uk.org.
If you want to say thank you please remember to start the subject line with Just Say Thanks
Tell us your news…
Next deadline for Compass Points is 21st April, 2025.
Please note that sometimes, we may not publish all stories in the month they are submitted. Because of the volume of Say Thanks messages, we ask that they’re as brief as possible. We may need to edit any submitted content.
Please send all submissions, including thank yous, to compasspoints@compass-uk.org“