Platform Up Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 1 Platform Up Ltd Registered provider: Platform Up Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in the East Midlands. The provider can accommodate up to eight individuals in two shared or group-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, four looked-after children aged 16 and 17 years were accommodated.

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provider

The service was registered with Ofsted on 21 December 2023. The service manager registered with Ofsted on 12 August 2025.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 24 November 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 26 to 27 November 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Children experience warm, supportive care, with positive interactions with staff contributing to emotional security and placement stability. Education and health needs are generally well met, with tailored plans and access to specialist services.

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Summary of findings

Children make progress with their independence, emotional resilience and academic engagement.

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Summary of findings

Staff demonstrate perseverance in managing challenging behaviours, avoiding placement breakdowns. However, staff training does not always equip staff with the skills or knowledge they need. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 2 Proactive safeguarding measures and direct work on sensitive issues help protect children and raise awareness of risks. Risk assessments and notifications to Ofsted are inconsistent.

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Summary of findings

Supervision is infrequent and poorly documented; audits have not been completed since February 2025.

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Summary of findings

Financial arrangements contribute to delays in repairs and prevent activities taking place.

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Summary of findings

Record-keeping is inconsistent, enrichment activities are limited and emergency admissions lack thorough compatibility assessments.

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Summary of findings

Safe recruitment principles have not always been followed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children experience a nurturing and supportive environment, with warm, welcoming and thoughtful staff interactions. This helps children feel valued and emotionally secure, reducing anxiety and promoting trust. Positive relationships contribute to placement stability and a sense of belonging, which supports resilience and long- term progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Education needs are consistently met through tailored plans, children’s regular college attendance and celebration of their achievements. Staff maintain strong links with college and advocate for additional support when needed. As a result, children make steady academic progress, build confidence and develop essential skills for independence and future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Cultural and language needs are considered, with materials translated and access to culturally relevant activities provided, helping children feel respected and included.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children’s physical health needs are addressed through routine medical care, healthy lifestyle support and timely interventions. Emotional health is supported with structured plans and access to specialist services such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) when required. This improves children’s physical health and emotional resilience, reducing crises and promoting stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Record-keeping is inconsistent; children’s experiences, interventions and key-work sessions are not systematically documented. This risks children having incomplete life records, meaning their voices and a record of their progress may be lost, leading to unmet needs and poor care planning. The lack of accurate documentation can affect future decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

There are limited enrichment activities and hobbies for children, with group activities not taking place this year due to funding issues. Children feel isolated and miss opportunities for social development and enjoyment, which impacts their confidence, Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 3 sense of belonging and opportunities to build memories and develop relationships with adults and other children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Overall, children’s accommodation is homely and welcoming. However, noticeboards in the homes give them an institutional feel, reducing the homeliness. Delays in repairs, for example to broken toilet seats, and basic items, such as inadequate mattresses to sleep on, further affect children’s dignity and comfort. Video doorbells are used for surveillance and monitoring, despite no identified risk. This can create mistrust and a lack of privacy, impacting children’s emotional security.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff demonstrate perseverance in supporting children with their behaviour, avoiding unplanned moves and promoting stability. Behaviour management strategies include positive reinforcement and de-escalation. This helps reduce trauma from frequent moves and helps children to live in a consistent environment.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff are proactive in promoting children’s understanding of personal safety. This helps children make informed decisions and feel better protected from risks.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children are admitted to the service in an emergency, there are weaknesses in compatibility assessments and risk management. Decisions are sometimes made within 30 minutes, without sufficient exploration of needs. This has led to vital information being missed, increasing potential risks.

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How well children are helped and protected

Risk assessments are not consistently updated after incidents, creating safeguarding concerns. Unmanaged risks could compromise children’s safety and emotional security. Notifications were not sent to Ofsted, due to lack of regulatory knowledge, reducing accountability and oversight.

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How well children are helped and protected

Training does not provide staff with the knowledge they need to support children with some of their specific needs. This increases the potential for staff to respond inconsistently to children.

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How well children are helped and protected

The provider’s open-door policy encourages informal conversations, helping children feel heard. However, poor formal recording limits accountability and follow-up. This has contributed to some of the children’s concerns, for example about a toilet seat being broken, not being fully addressed. This affects the trust and confidence children have in the support provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are approachable, friendly and strong advocates for children, maintaining effective communication with social workers and professionals. This coordinated approach benefits children through timely responses to needs and improved care planning. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 4 Supervision is infrequent and is not reflective. It is also poorly documented, limiting professional development. Risks relating to close relationships between supervisors and staff they are supervising are not mitigated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Monitoring audits have not been completed since February 2025, and the registered manager confirmed that some of the information in the quality of support report was compiled from memory due to a lack of oversight. This reduces accountability and may lead to gaps in identifying risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Children’s voices and views are missing from their individual support plans, risk assessments and reports of focused-work sessions. Their views are obtained as part of quality of service report surveys and house meetings to improve the service delivery.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Financial arrangements cause delays in repairs and prevent activities from taking place limiting children’s quality of life. Requests for outings and essential items such as new mattresses remain unmet, affecting comfort and opportunities for enrichment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The provider has not always ensured that safe recruitment processes are followed. A senior leader appointed a close family member without them being interviewed for the post they were appointed to. The registered service manager challenged this decision, and appropriate action was then taken. This led to a shortage of staff, which resulted in managers having to work shifts. This contributed to limited management oversight of the quality of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The provider’s contingency plan is inconsistent with other documents and is out of date. The business plan, workforce development plan and contingency plan are inconsistent with each other. This reduces the potential for consistency. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 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, The Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry);

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Requirement Due date

there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

any other individuals or organisations who or which have been notified; 8 January 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 6 any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

is made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(f) (4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work effectively as a team, where appropriate, to meet the needs of children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills appropriate for the work that they are to perform;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the supported accommodation undertaking has sufficient staff to support and accommodate children safely and effectively;

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Requirement Due date

implement recruitment practices that ensure staff are suitable to work with children and to keep them safe from harm;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place for the supervision, training and development of staff;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a business continuity plan is in place, outlining the actions the registered provider will take during unplanned disruption, covering all areas of the undertaking’s operation, including staffing, premises and emergency scenarios. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(k)) 8 January 2026 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 7 The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) in relation to each child accommodated by the supported accommodation undertaking which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 2,

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff keep clear and accurate records and update them promptly when needed. 8 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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

ensure that children are encouraged and enabled to take a lead role in determining the support they receive and to participate in and influence how the supported accommodation operates;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

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Requirement Due date

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 8 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

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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

ensure that the premises used as supported accommodation—

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Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces; 24 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 8 are designed, furnished and maintained to remove avoidable hazards which could pose a health and safety risk to children;

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Requirement Due date

only use devices for monitoring or surveillance in communal areas and then only if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to each child’s need for privacy;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child is provided with a private bedroom—

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Requirement Due date

which is equipped to meet the child’s individual needs. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(viii)(ix)(c)(iv)(d)(ii))

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 9

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Supported accommodation provider details

Nominated individual: Rosswitha Morrison

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Rosswitha Morrison

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Inspector

Shelley Chowdhury, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Platform Up Ltd 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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