Children's home run by Platform Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 1 Registered provider: Platform Childcare 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

A private company owns this home. It can provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector met and spoke with each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 31/05/2023 Full Good 25/04/2022 Full Good 26/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children living in the home receive exceptional, child-centred care that enables them to make considerable progress in all areas of their lives. Staff provide children with a nurturing environment and are highly attuned to the emotional and developmental needs of each child. This provides children with a clear sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are making remarkable educational progress. When they first came to live here, they faced significant barriers to learning and had reduced timetables. Through strong encouragement and effective collaborative working with education providers, children now access full education provisions, are making friends and achieving academically. One child successfully completed their GCSEs. They attended their school prom, an important milestone in their journey, and have now progressed to college to study further education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work in partnership with children’s social workers. Pathway planning is effective and considers future accommodation needs for children as they approach adulthood. Staff thoughtfully plan independence planning and support each child, enabling them to develop autonomy and take appropriate responsibility for daily tasks. Staff challenge placing authorities when they believe care planning is not effective or in a child’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff routinely seek children’s views, wishes and feelings through a range of creative meaningful opportunities, daily conversations, children’s meetings and monthly manager chats. These approaches ensure that children feel listened to and provide the opportunity to influence decisions that affect them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support children to engage in enjoyable activities that support their interests. Staff spend time with children, playing board games, baking, arts and crafts, and holidays. These opportunities enable children to have happy memories and to develop social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help children maintain and strengthen important relationships. Staff support children to purchase cards and presents for family celebrations. Staff’s flexibility and efforts ensure that visits are meaningful. Advocacy for one child has enabled a sibling to visit the home. This has allowed the children to have more quality time together in a more relaxed environment.

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

Children have lived in the home for a significant period, which has provided them with stability and attuned care from staff who know them well. They benefit from consistent routines and clear boundaries that foster safety and predictability. The nurturing environment and dedicated support from staff have enabled known risks such as going missing from home and incidents of self-harm to reduce significantly over time. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 4 Leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to workforce development. A comprehensive training programme equips staff with essential safeguarding knowledge and therapeutic approaches, ensuring high-quality care and support for children. In addition, staff make effective use of online resources from NSPCC and Macmillan Care, enabling them to gain specialist skills tailored to meeting children’s individual needs. This ongoing investment in professional development reflects the organisation’s dedication to maintaining a skilled,

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

Children have detailed risk and behaviour support plans tailored to their individual experiences. Managers monitor incident records and children’s care planning carefully, with learning from reviews used to strengthen practice. This systematic approach ensures that children’s safety and well-being are consistently prioritised.

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

Staff regularly review and update plans, ensuring that they remain current and effective. Staff incorporate specialist advice into plans, enabling staff to understand and apply strategies that work for each child. This ensures a responsive approach to safeguarding and provides consistent, well-informed support that meets children’s specific needs.

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

When children make allegations, staff take them seriously and manage concerns swiftly and sensitively. Staff share concerns with the appropriate agencies and undertake thorough investigations. This ensures that children feel safe to express worries and reinforces a culture of transparency and protection for those who live here.

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

Staff are highly skilled in recognising emotional triggers and supporting children to manage their feelings through de-escalation techniques, while maintaining a calm and respectful environment. Staff will only intervene physically as a last resort and solely to prevent harm. When safeguarding incidents do occur, they are carefully recorded and subject to robust management review.

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

Staff demonstrate a strong awareness of online safety. They deliver thoughtful, well- planned direct work to help children understand risks and use online platforms responsibly. When responding to threats of self-harm, staff act with sensitivity, vigilance and curiosity. Staff encourage children to express their feelings, develop insight and resilience, and adopt safer ways of coping.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership and management is a significant strength that has a direct, positive impact on children’s experiences, safety and outcomes. The manager leads with integrity, warmth and confidence, ensuring that children’s needs remain central to all decision- making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager knows children exceptionally well and spends meaningful time with them. The manager is a strong advocate for children, with a clear understanding of trauma and the impact of instability. They confidently challenge and escalate concerns when necessary to ensure that care planning remains firmly child centred. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 5 Leaders have established a highly motivated, cohesive and stable staff team. Staff feedback is overwhelmingly positive, and they report feeling supported and valued. The team shares a strong sense of purpose and trust, which has resulted in excellent staff retention and consistency of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is forward thinking and aspirational. They have a clear plan for continued development of the service and staff team, which promotes a strong learning culture. Training, professional supervision and reflective practice workshops are of excellent quality. These opportunities enable staff to continually develop their knowledge and skills, ensuring they are confident, well-informed and able to respond sensitively to children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Management quality assurance systems are robust and ensure accountability, safe practice and continuous improvement. However, the annual survey facilitated by the regulator has not been supported. This represents a missed opportunity to gather valuable feedback to drive further improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager fosters highly effective partnership working with schools, health professionals, social workers and families. Feedback from external agencies is extremely positive, reflecting the respect and trust built through collaborative working. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure that they actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and that the point-in-time surveys are distributed to all relevant people, so they can provide feedback. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 1263837 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Avenue, Centrum 100, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2WE

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Inspector

Tazim Akhtar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263837 8 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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