Children's home run by Platform Childcare Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 1 Registered provider: Platform Childcare 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

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children who present with challenging complex behaviours. The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide children with good-quality care in a warm, caring and nurturing environment, and firm and consistent boundaries. The children receive personalised care that helps them to make progress in all aspects of their lives. The staff spend quality time with the children and spoke fondly of them during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences living at this home. Their relationships with staff are strong, and important to them. Children feel safe. Staff encourage them to share their views about their care and feelings. This engagement has enabled the children to develop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make good improvement from their starting points in their education. A child who did not attend school prior to their move to the home has received a number of commendations from their education provision for their learning. Other children consistently attend their education provisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health improves because staff support them to attend their appointments with healthcare professionals such as child and adolescent mental health services, dentist and specialist health advisers. Because their health needs are being met, children’s self-esteem and resilience build.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have an in-depth understanding of the children’s individual needs and consider children’s history, identity and cultural background. The children engage in sessions, discussing their individual circumstances and how these define their identities. A diverse staff team that is knowledgeable and receives appropriate training fully meets the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff review, monitor and discuss children’s targets with them. The staff are clear about the children’s individual goals and ensure that they are relevant to the child. This ensures that children’s progress continues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children learn some new independence skills; however, this is minimal. A lack of clear guidance means that the children are not fully prepared for their transition into adulthood.

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

The children’s risk-taking behaviour, particularly incidents of going missing from care, has reduced following their move to the home. The staff use workbooks and provide effective and meaningful direct work sessions that children participate in. The staff support children to develop strategies and increase their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 4 On occasions when children have gone missing, the staff swiftly implemented the home’s policy and searched persistently to help the police find the child. The staff work in partnership with external agencies to safeguard the child once found. A professional said, about the staff’s response, ‘I couldn’t have asked for more from them.’ This effective multi-agency working reduces the risk of children going missing again.

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

The staff ensure that children at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation are safe when they are at the home. The children engage with staff from external agencies who support them, and largely abide by free-time restrictions and the rules of the home. However, some children continue to be at risk when attending mandatory appointments and make connections that are detrimental to their care. On occasions, this has resulted in a child going missing. On the child’s return, managers acted swiftly to ensure that the child was safe.

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

The staff provide children with consistent and clear boundaries. When incidents occur, staff spend time talking to the child to gain their view of the support that they need. Detailed risk assessments and behaviour management plans help to reduce the recurrence of incidents.

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

The staff team models consistent and caring behaviours. The sense of security and belonging that these behaviours produce encourage the children to behave appropriately. Physical interventions are rare. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques. Staff apply consequences that are reflective and relatable in response to inappropriate behaviour. However, records fail to demonstrate the effectiveness of these consequences and do not contain all the required information. Ineffective records make it difficult for the manager and staff to identify and evaluate trends and patterns of incidents.

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

The recruitment of staff is exceptional. Records clearly demonstrate that meticulous checks are undertaken to ensure that the children are cared for by staff who have been suitably vetted.

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

The registered manager is undertaking a relevant level 5 qualification. He has a strong commitment to improve outcomes for children. He has made significant improvement to the environment, safety of the children and the routines of the home. He leads by example and is actively involved in all of the home’s operations.

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

External monthly monitoring of the home results in recommendations, which the manager reviews. However, the manager has not acted swiftly on recommendations suggested by the visitor, which potentially delays required improvements. The external visitor consistently fails to contact the children’s parents to obtain their views of the care.

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

The manager produces a six-monthly report of progress at the home and areas identified for improvement. However, although the staff routinely seek children’s views about their Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 5 care and the home, the manager has failed to include their views in the report. The report therefore fails to demonstrate the action that the manager has taken to make improvements in response to feedback from children.

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

There are sufficient numbers of staff to meet the needs of the children. However, there have been a significant number of changes to the staff team since the home was registered. The team has become more stable recently. This stability needs to be maintained to ensure that children receive consistent care. One member of staff has not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescales. In addition, another member of staff has not refreshed all their training. Lack of up-to-date training and/or relevant qualification means that the staff member may not have the required skills to meet the needs of the children.

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

The manager strongly advocates for children’s rights. He appropriately challenges external agencies when he thinks that a child is not receiving the service that they are entitled to. At the same time, he maintains good working relationships. A professional said, ‘The manager is quite creative and will go the extra mile.’ A parent said, ‘They get him [the child] and understand him. They have found another way to keep him and work with him. They see what I see and have given him another chance.’

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

The staff receive regular supervision and take part in team meetings. However, records lack the necessary detail and clarity of the discussions, should they need to be referred to in the future for performance management and personal development.

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

The staff provide detailed information in children’s daily and weekly records. These records, along with photographic memorabilia, of days out and significant days provide children with memories of their time at the home.

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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, 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 31/07/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 6 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

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)(e)(h)) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv)) 28/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to supervision and team meeting minutes. 28/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 7 When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 28/06/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff must help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platform Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 32 Anglesey Business Centre, Anglesey Road, Burton-on-Trent DE14 3NT

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Inspector

Natalie Burton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1264286 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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