Children's home run by Platform Childcare Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 1 Registered provider: Platform Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home offers children short-term stays for up to a maximum of three months.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in July 2021 and there is a registered manager in post.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home registered, two children have left. Despite the best efforts of the staff, they were not able to fully meet children’s needs. Staff worked with the children’s placing authority to ensure that children experienced a planned move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child currently lives in the home. The child is making good progress from their starting point. The child’s social worker is positive about the support that staff give the child with her education, which includes transporting the child long distances to school and overseeing home learning. The social worker thinks that the home could not do anything better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s physical health needs are met by registering them with local health services. Staff talk with children about their emotional health needs and help them to develop strategies to manage their emotions. For instance, a child was able to bring their pet kitten to the home because staff observed that being with an animal calmed the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have clear routines, such as a bedtime routine. This has enabled one child to settle well at night and improve their sleep patterns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the placing authority to support children to see people who are important to them. This includes gradually increasing time spent with family to include planned overnight stays. As a result, children’s identity and positive family relationships are promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take part in activities with children, such as visiting the fairground, going to the gym and watching films at home. This enables children to develop good relationships with staff which are based on shared interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well kept and provides children with a comfortable environment. However, the utility room is used by staff as an additional office space. This prevents children having independent access to laundry facilities. Additionally, areas of the garden are overgrown and uncared for. This detracts from what is otherwise a homely feel and has the potential to compromise the child’s comfort and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records are not always written in a way that helps children to understand their life story. Staff complete children’s records in a way that is impersonal and jargonistic. This means that children do not have a balanced record of their time in the home that they can look at in the future and which may help them to build resilience. Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 4

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improvement to be good

Since the home registered in July 2021, two children who moved into the home moved on more quickly than originally anticipated. Some serious incidents occurred during their time in the home. Through effective monitoring, leaders and managers identified that they were unable to provide sufficient support to manage potential risks for these children. The child who currently lives in the home is more suitably matched. Staff have the skills to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Management oversight is sometimes weak. The manager has not ensured that, when restraint has occurred, records contain full and accurate information. For example, they do not identify that staff have not always received a debrief after they have restrained a child. When debriefs do take place, records are not always signed and dated. Additionally, managers do not always ensure that risk assessments are updated with emerging risks and that all staff have read them. These omissions potentially compromise the quality of children’s care and their safety.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans do not always consider children’s particular needs. For instance, plans do not have guidance about the best way to talk with a child who has particular needs. Staff have not consulted with the child about strategies that help him to calm. Although staff use physical restraint as a last resort, they have used restraint on many occasions to manage the child’s complex behaviours. This is a missed opportunity for staff to develop alternative strategies to help a child to manage his emotions and to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow children’s risk assessments. One child was able to take house keys and tools because staff were not sufficiently vigilant. Staff called the police to support the child, which resulted in the child being further criminalised.

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improvement to be good

Staff are generally vigilant of children who are at risk from self-harm. They act quickly to keep them safe. Staff then ensure that children receive the care and support that respond to their individual needs. They talk to children in dedicated resilience sessions about their feelings and about strategies to keep them safe. However, on one occasion, staff did not spend time with the child in a debrief session. This means that the child was not supported and educated by staff to manage his self-harming behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not ensure that newly recruited staff provide sufficient proof of their address. Omissions in safe recruitment of staff mean that managers cannot be sure that they only recruit suitable staff to care for children.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not always inform Ofsted of notifiable events. This includes when police involvement has occurred in relation to a serious incident. This means that Ofsted has not always had all information about the quality of care that children living in the home receive. Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 5 When a child goes missing from the home, staff follow the child’s missing-from-care protocol. When necessary, the staff will consult and involve the police. When a child returns, staff talk with the child and arrange for an interview to be conducted by an independent person. This offer of an independent interview helps the staff to receive beneficial information about the child’s triggers and the reasons why the child decided to go missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Regular health and safety checks and fire drills ensure that the home is a safe environment for children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds a management qualification at level 5 and has previous experience of managing children’s homes. The manager has positive relationships with external agencies, including social workers and the police. Professionals are kept well informed about the children and state that communication is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Monitoring and review systems enable managers to track children’s progress and to identify areas for improvement. Because of this rigor, managers were quick to recognise difficulties in meeting some children’s needs. This good level of monitoring enables managers to ensure that the home has the capacity to continually improve children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive an in-depth, good-quality induction that includes face-to-face training in supporting behaviour and in the company model of care. Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the manager and that this helps them to develop their practice. This is reinforced through regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by a consistent staff team. Agency staff are not used and any shortfalls in staffing are covered by bank staff or staff from other homes in the company who are known to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When there are gaps in staff’s knowledge and training, managers arrange additional training to increase their skills. However, managers do not use research to help staff to quickly understand a child’s particular needs. This is a missed opportunity for managers to ensure that staff have the skills to help and support children effectively at the earliest opportunity. Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 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, 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that staff follow children’s risk assessments.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that staff talk to children following any incidents. 2 January 2022

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and 2 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that they improve their monitoring and review systems to ensure that staff read children’s risk assessments.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring the location assessment is fully updated.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to managers using research to enable staff to understand children’s needs while waiting for planned training.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that there is sufficient evidence regarding staff’s current addresses. 2 January 2022

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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 2 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 8 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)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that staff receive a debrief following incidents of restraint, and ensuring that records of debriefs of staff and children are dated and signed.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. Outside areas should be well maintained and attractive places for children to spend time in. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 13.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that the design of the home, where

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Recommendations

appropriate, enables children to develop independence skills within the supportive environment of the home, including through encouraging independent use of kitchen and laundry areas. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.25)

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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 children’s home: 2627409 9

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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 2, First Floor, Millennium Court, First Avenue, Centrum 100, Burton upon Trent DE14 2WH

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2627409 10 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 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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