Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 1 Registered provider: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd

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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 cares for up to three children who have social and emotional difficulties and are likely to have experienced trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in August 2023 and has a relevant management qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. Two children were present during the inspection, and one was away from the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2024 Full Good 15/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/06/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff ensure that children’s experiences of moving into and out of the home are positive. For example, one child met the staff and children they would be living with before they moved in. This practice helps children to prepare for changes in their lives and reduces anxieties they may experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time for children is prioritised and promoted. Staff and the managers work with children’s family members to ensure that the time children spend with loved ones is a positive experience. As a result, one child has returned to live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. One parent said, ‘[Name of child] has made phenomenal progress in the home and is more confident.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school or college. There is effective partnership working between staff and education professionals. As a result, children engage well in education and have achieved qualifications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that acknowledges children’s strengths. Children spoke positively about staff and said they felt safe. This creates an environment where children feel able to talk to staff about their feelings or any worries they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities of their choice. One child enjoys going to the local gym, and another child said that they enjoyed playing for a football team. Staff encourage children to be as independent as possible. This helps them to prepare for adulthood. One child said, ‘I am more independent now. I can cook, travel and manage my money.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children register with local health services and have access to specialist support, such as child and adolescent mental health services and substance misuse services. However, for one child, dental appointments have been missed, and staff have not identified and implemented support strategies to address this.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. They feel confident to raise concerns and escalate them should they need to. Staff speak with children about risks and dangers. Discussions include topics on online safety and exploitation. This helps children to keep themselves safe and make safer informed decisions.

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

It is rare that children go missing from home. When children are not where they are expected to be, staff respond well. They look for children and support them in returning home. Staff talk to children to understand why they left the home and about their experiences. They work well with other professionals, such as the local police. Staff ensure that children have an opportunity to speak with an independent person. This Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 4 practice helps keep children safe, and information gathered is used to reduce reoccurring risks.

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

When physical intervention is required, it is used as a last resort and to ensure children’s safety. The manager monitors all incidents, and opportunities are provided to staff and children to reflect and learn from these. In addition to this, the home has an independent psychologist who regularly visits the home to help staff understand each child’s individual needs, focusing on areas of concern that are relevant to them.

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

All children were given the opportunity to speak to the inspector. Children’s feedback was overall positive. However, conflicts between children have affected their experience of living in the home. Staff do respond to incidents. However, preventative strategies are not always used. For example, there are missed opportunities to speak with children to educate them on the possible impact of their behaviour.

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

When children raise concerns about staff, these are taken seriously. Managers share information with professionals and take action to address concerns. However, the manager does not always notify Ofsted when there has been a serious incident in the home. This impacts on the regulator’s ability to oversee the quality of care.

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

Managers have not taken effective action to meet all the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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

Monitoring systems are not always effective. Managers do not ensure that staff have access to the children’s most up-to-date care plans. This impacts staff’s ability to fully understand and deliver care specific to the child’s needs. For example, when children’s care plans are reviewed, the manager does not keep a record of discussions and decisions agreed. Furthermore, not all managers and staff have access to children’s education and health care plans.

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

Children are not always helped to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. The managers do not have an effective system to monitor this. As a result, children’s bedrooms are not always a nice space for them to spend time relaxing.

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

Staff receive supervision that provides them with an opportunity to discuss each child. There is reflection, and the manager uses scenarios to test staff responses and knowledge. The manager does not always keep records of these discussions.

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

Staff receive a wide range of training that supports them in their role, including therapeutic parenting. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff are trained to support the individual needs of one child who has a specific diagnosis. This affects staff’s ability to fully understand their needs.

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

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She has a good knowledge of children’s starting points and what they have accomplished since living at the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 5 Staff regularly attend team meetings. This provides staff with an opportunity to reflect and discuss each child’s current needs and seek advice. This supports children’s progress and the staff’s ability to help them.

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

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported by managers and each other. One staff member said, ‘Managers are supportive. They listen and are inclusive.’ Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 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 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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. 6 July 2025

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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;

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child 6 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 7 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place to review and improve the quality of care provided for children. This also relates to ensuring that staff have the relevant training to meet the individual needs of children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should promptly notify Ofsted if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home that the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff respond to the health needs of children and help children to manage specific individual health needs arising. In particular, staff should support children to understand the importance of attending routine dental appointments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: 2503915 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Union House, 111 New Union Street, Coventry, West Midlands CV1 2NT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Leonard Pattinson

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Inspector

Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2503915 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 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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