Children's home run by Platform Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 1 Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children with learning disabilities .

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager left the home on 19 November 2021. In March 2022, the appointed manager left. Interim management arrangements were put in place until a new manager was appointed on 19 April 2022. No applications for registration have yet been submitted to Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 November 2021

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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: a monitoring visit was completed on 10 February 2022 due to Ofsted receiving some concerns about the home. Requirements were set as a result of the visit. Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/11/2021 Full Good 15/10/2019 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 3

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improvement to be good

There have been a lot of staff changes. This has meant that children’s progress has been disrupted. One child has mental health needs has not received the stability they need. The child’s routine is not good. For example, the child did not wake up on the day of inspection until approximately 5pm. The child lacks motivation and is watching television during the night. The manager has sought support from the child’s GP, and she acknowledges that more needs to be done to support this child.

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improvement to be good

Other children are making progress. For example, one young person has started to say more words, ask questions, and put words together to form a short sentence. Another child presents as calmer and more communicative. Since the last monitoring visit, children are participating in regular activities. One child is looking forward to attending police cadets.

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improvement to be good

Some children struggle to maintain a healthy weight. The manager has supported children to lose weight healthily. She has been offering healthier choices and putting in firmer boundaries around unhealthy snacks.

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improvement to be good

Although staff are aware that one young person is bi-lingual, there was no evidence of both languages being supported as part of the young person’s day-to-day care. Opportunities are lost for the child to develop their language and communication skills.

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improvement to be good

Children have been negatively impacted by staff leaving. Over the year, staff turnover has been high. After the last monitoring visit, all the staff members left. A new staff team formed from February 2022 onwards. Children are starting to form relationships with the new staff; however, they are still building their trust in them. The staff team is currently all female. However, it is recognised by the organisation that the children would benefit from males working in the home.

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improvement to be good

On inspection, one child was playing a computer game that was not appropriate due to an age restriction. Appropriate security measures are not in place to ensure that this does not happen again.

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improvement to be good

One child’s care has fallen below expected standards. The state of the child’s bedroom was unacceptable. The bedroom was unfit for the child to use; it was unhygienic and hazardous to health. The child had slept in this room for several months. Although staff had been cleaning the bedroom, it was evident that this was not working because the condition was too severe. Tradespeople had been booked to undertake maintenance work; however, the work had not yet started, and the Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 4 situation had been allowed to drift. The manager did not take effective action to move the child to a bedroom that was clean and free from hazards, despite one being available in the home.

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improvement to be good

Despite shortfalls, safeguarding processes have improved and staffing ratios have remained at safe levels. Behavioural incidents for children have reduced, and the dynamics in the home appear calmer. It was noted that one child is now more able to regulate their emotions when they get frustrated.

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good

Although a new manager has been appointed, the children have experienced three different managers since the registered manager left. The current manager is working hard to support the children and staff. However, more time is needed to embed these changes and create consistency for children.

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good

The organisation has arranged for an independent visitor to come to the home once a month to check on the quality of care. Ofsted has not received these reports, which it should have done since March 2022. Ofsted has not been able to check that the home is running properly because it has not received these reports.

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good

The manager does not yet have a good understanding of children’s financial disability benefits. However, she plans to improve her knowledge in this area to make sure that children get what they are entitled to.

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good

On inspection, it was noted that children’s life-story work is not yet to a good standard. There are gaps and, although photos have been taken as part of the child’s journey, most are undated and without a narrative. One young person is due to leave the home imminently; however, suitable life-story work is not yet in place. Despite shortfalls, the organisation has remined committed to this young person and supported their placement for an extra year to support their transition into adulthood.

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good

The staff team has received relevant training, and team meetings focus on upskilling the team. Staff receive regular supervision meetings with their manager and probation reviews are detailed. The manager does not yet ask staff about their well- being during supervision. This is necessary to support staff and to ensure that care given to children remains consistent. There is a pattern of staff doing overtime to cover staff shortages. This is not sustainable in the longer term. The manager and responsible individual are aware of this and are taking steps to improve this situation.

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good

Although one child’s bedroom was of an unacceptable standard, the rest of the house was clean and well presented. Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 5

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to the poor condition of one child’s bedroom, which had not been checked properly by managers. This is also in relation to a child playing computer games when the age range is inappropriate and unsuitable for them. 30 August 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

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; 30 August 2022 Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 6 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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 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;

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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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to monitoring children’s bedrooms, upskilling, recruiting and retaining staff, life-story work, regulation 44 reports, and one child’s lack of daily routines.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should work 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 participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. This may include the use of, and support to use, communication aids, equipment and/or any necessary language support. This relates to the manager supporting children’s language and heritage as part of their day-day care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22 paragraph 4.6) Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 7  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. The manager should ensure that staff’s

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Recommendations

well-being is discussed in supervision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39 paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. The manager should undertake training to enhance their understanding of children’s disability payments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53 paragraph 10.11)  Whenever possible, staff in day-to-day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. Where the home’s Statement of Purpose makes it explicit that the home uses staff of one sex only, clear guidance will need to be in place and followed as to how children are enabled to maintain relationships with people of a different gender. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 54 paragraph 10.22 )

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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: 1263505 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 2 First Floor Millennium Court, First Avenue Centrum 100, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2WH

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Inspector

Andi Lilley-Tams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1263505 9 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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