Care Leaving

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care Leaving 1 Care Leaving Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and managed by a private provider. The service can accommodate up to seven children and young people in three shared or single-occupancy homes. At the time of this inspection, this service was providing supported accommodation for two children. Two shared-occupancy homes were visited.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2023.

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Inspection dates:

The inspection was announced on 8 December 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site on 10 and 11 December 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are enthusiastic and committed to supporting children to make progress.

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Summary of findings

Children feel happy and safe where they live and form positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Children are actively encouraged to have a say in their own care planning.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers demonstrate a strong commitment to advocating for children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care Leaving 2 Safeguarding arrangements work well. Staff closely partner with other agencies to help children get the support and services they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff form strong, positive relationships with children. Children are happy where they live, and staff support them well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are ambitious for children and enthusiastic about the support they provide. Staff undertake meaningful direct work, and most children learn skills for daily living in adult life as a result. One child said, ‘I’m a different person from the one that came here at the start, I never thought it was possible for me to make the progress I have.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to meet their own physical and emotional needs, sometimes in creative ways. When children are not making progress, staff continue to use different methods to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children move into accommodation at their own pace and support them to take part in the process. Children can meet staff before they move in. This helps children settle in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to participate in their own care planning. Children feel listened to and make progress as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff communicate well with the different agencies supporting children. As a result, the support children receive is timely and effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in high-quality and well-maintained homes. Staff make sure repairs happen promptly. As a result, children feel settled where they live. However, the presence of signs, noticeboards and fire extinguishers can give some homes an institutional feel.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff ensure that children’s support plans and risk assessments are updated to reflect their changing circumstances. Support plans are thorough and child focused.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff offer targeted support to children to address known difficulties, such as substance use, mental health and criminal activity. One child spoke about how staff work with him around criminal activities and help him to stay out of trouble.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff take effective, consistent action if children are missing from home. They manage safeguarding incidents well and understand the signs of exploitation. Children are safer as a result.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers have thorough recruitment practices to ensure staff are safe to work with children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care Leaving 3 Staff sometimes provide a higher level of support for children. However, it is not always clear how the service plans to gradually reduce this support to promote children’s independence, rather than continued reliance on care.

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How well children are helped and protected

The needs of children moving into a shared home are taken into account. However, measures to manage potential risks are often generic. The needs and risks for children already living at the home when a new child moves in are not consistently recorded. As a result, it is not always clear whether the needs of the existing children are fully considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are dedicated to their service. The nominated individual and service manager know the children well, and they are aspirational for their futures. All children spoke positively about leaders and managers and felt well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers work proactively with placing authorities and provide appropriate challenge where necessary to ensure decisions are made in children’s best interests. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘Communication from them has been exemplary. Their collaborative approach to pathway planning and independence work ensures consistency and transparency.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have regular supervision sessions with staff. Staff talk about the help they give to children and are offered opportunities to develop their practice. This ensures that children receive the right support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are reflective and make changes to improve the service. They often do so in consultation with the children, which helps children to feel listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have a thorough approach to managing referrals that ensures that all necessary information is considered. They have previously accepted children whose needs were too high at the point of referral. However, they have learned from this to ensure that they only accept children with a level of need the service can meet.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not always notify Ofsted of serious incidents involving children, and when they do, some information is omitted or there has been a delay. This hinders regulatory oversight of how effectively the provider safeguards children. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care Leaving 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supported accommodation settings comply with relevant health and safety. However, in doing so, they should seek to maintain a domestic rather than an institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted of any event that is serious in nature. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 60)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: Care Leaving 5

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire CW12 1ET

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Carmen Eardley

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: careleaving@crystalcaresolutions.co.uk

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Inspector

Amie Pearson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Care Leaving 6 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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