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 manager registered with Ofsted on 23 September 2022.

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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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/11/2021 Full Good 15/10/2019 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Staff have welcomed two new children into the home since the last inspection. Staff speak highly of the children and families and professionals say children have made good progress while they have been living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been supported in their move to independence. Staff have a clear plan for keeping in touch with the child to offer ongoing support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. When one child was at risk of receiving no educational provision, the manager worked effectively with other professionals to secure additional funding. As a result, the child has been able to stay in school, where he has supportive relationships. Because of this consistency, he has made progress in how he communicates, and has made friends and gained independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff receive training, including from other professionals, to support children who communicate non-verbally. Staff use a range of communication methods such as ‘now and next’ boards, with pictures to show daily routines and to help children make choices. One child has used their first sign to communicate their favourite activity. Staff are developing an understanding of children’s likes and dislikes through observations. Despite this good work, one child with complex needs does not have sufficient detail recorded in their plans about their specific communication needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to stay healthy. They carry out research to understand children’s complex health needs. A specialist doctor commended staff’s initiative in introducing a monitoring device. This allows staff to be made aware if a child is becoming unwell due to a serious health condition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have established routines and recording systems to help the children with their personal care. This increases their independence and self-esteem. However, plans are not sufficiently detailed to show staff how to give consistent personal care or how to help children make further progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s interests. For example, an indoor and outdoor swings have been purchased because this is one child’s favourite activity. Children enjoy new experiences such as trips to the beach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Memory books capture children’s positive experiences with photos and notes to help prompt memories. Staff spend time sharing such memories with children, as they know how important this is for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager consults the staff when planning for new children to move in. Staff are very committed to giving children individualised care and they adapt their approach. Staff receive training to meet a child’s specific needs before they move in. They Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 4 work well with families and other professionals to help children settle. However, staff have not given enough consideration to the impact change can have on children already living at the home. For one child, this led to incidents of distress.

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

Staff work with children on a one-to-one basis and support children to stay safe. There are always plenty of adults around to help and support children.

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

Staff identify emerging risks for children and adapt plans to help children stay safe.

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

Incidents when children go missing from the home have significantly reduced. Staff follow children’s plans, which are agreed with the social worker and child. This allows the child time to think about their response before leaving the home.

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

The manager provides thorough reflection when serious incidents occur. She analyses the incident record to identify learning. Staff use team meetings to reflect and adapt their approach. Even though there have been occasions when staff have been seriously hurt during incidents with one child, staff have remained committed.

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

Staff understand the importance of rules and boundaries in helping children to stay safe.

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

Staff frequently carry out well-planned work with children to address behaviours that may present a risk to themselves or others. Staff help children to manage difficult feelings. This work is of good quality and is highly individualised.

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

The manager understands the need to balance the safety of one child and others in the community with supporting the child to become more independent. The pathway plan is not yet in place for the child in line with required timescales. The manager has raised this with the local authority .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager shows great passion and commitment to the home. She has a clear focus on staff well-being. Staff unanimously praised the manager for the support she gives them. There are many examples of how she promotes team morale, such as team quizzes and a ‘positivity box’ to share encouraging comments in team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from being cared for by an enthusiastic staff team which focuses on providing good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are several new members of staff. They are positive about the induction and training they receive. The number of staff who have a diploma in residential childcare is currently low. However, the manager is ensuring that staff are enrolled at the earliest opportunity. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 5 The manager provides good-quality supervision and appraisals which are well planned and detailed, with reflection by staff and the manager. This helps staff to stay focused on children’s needs and to maintain their resilience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s inclusive approach is a real asset. She supports staff in areas they may find challenging. She enables staff to draw on their individual strengths and interests to help children. Staff have collaborated to develop education tools and reward charts. Staff are proud of the work they do, and children enjoy supportive relationships with motivated staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. She produces her own personal development plan which draws on feedback from several sources. The manager promotes a positive attitude to learning. Staff continue to develop their practice so that children’s experiences improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work closely with external professionals and communication is effective. Through the manager’s advocacy for children, she has been able to influence some important areas of care planning. She is proactive in securing support from external agencies such as counselling services. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure children already living in the home are prepared and supported when another child moves into the home. 22 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home works in partnership with relevant people 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. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. Staff should understand that they have a responsibility to observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views, acknowledging that it is not the sole responsibility of the child to ‘tell’. They should also understand how children might communicate their feelings through

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Recommendations

their behaviour or non-verbally, especially where the child has a disability which Inspection report for children’s home: 1263505 7 does not allow them to communicate as others might. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)

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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: Platform Childcare, Suite 2 Millennium Court, First Avenue, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2WH

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Inspector

Helen Gronhaug, 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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