Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 1 SC367551 Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All children shared their views with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since March 2026. They are suitably qualified and have applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 September 2025

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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: SC367551 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2025 Full Good 01/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/07/2023 Full Good 03/05/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 3

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Summary of findings

Children receive a good standard of care and are making good progress. They are well supported by staff, with whom they have positive relationships. They are able to discuss any concerns and difficulties with staff. This enables children to feel that they are listened to and that their wellbeing is promoted.

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Summary of findings

The manager and staff have high aspirations for children. Staff show commitment to their role and enjoy working in the home and supporting children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children report feeling happy and safe and like the staff team. One child gave the home ‘200 out of 100’. Another child said, ‘I class the staff as family; they don’t treat me as a care kid.’ Warm, natural and friendly interactions take place between the children and staff. As a result, children are visibly becoming more confident and assertive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are well planned. Before moving into the home, children meet with staff and visit the home, where they are able to ask questions and are provided with information, such as the children’s guide. This reassurance allows children to settle into the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves out of the home are also well planned. For one child, there were lots of conversations about the progress they had made at the home, and a meal to celebrate their time at the home took place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is well supported. The staff supported one child to reach a full timetable at school following a detailed plan. Staff put a structured educational timetable in place for children who are not in school. This supports children back into education when the time is right.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s hobbies and interests are well supported. One child has been helped to continue ice skating in their hometown, despite the travel distance required. They have recently joined the local ice hockey team as a result. These experiences support children to have fun and develop their confidence and self-belief.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identity and cultural needs are known and understood. This helps children feel accepted for who they are as individuals.

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

Children feel safe in the home. Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and risks. Staff know how to respond when a child is struggling to manage their day. Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 4 Children like the other children they live with. Their interactions with one another are monitored by the staff team. When difficulties arise, staff intervene quickly and put in steps, such as arranging trips out to help repair relationships. This ensures children live in a home in which they feel safe and know they will be supported if problems occur.

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

When children raise concerns, they are suitably explored and acted on. Leaders and managers involve the relevant professionals, and children are kept informed of the outcome of any investigations. Children feel listened to and valued as a result of this proactive and transparent approach.

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

Staff have lots of conversations with children, which helps the children to understand their behaviour. One social worker said, ‘The staff have got to know the real [name of child] so they can respond to their needs more appropriately.’ This helps children make safer choices. This approach has contributed to a noticeable reduction in incidents, including self-harm, going missing from home and the need for physical intervention.

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

When children go missing from home, staff mainly respond appropriately by looking for the children and reporting them as missing in line with their missing-from-home protocol. Additionally, the staff have conversations with the children to identify their reasons for going missing and to explore risks with them.

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

On one occasion when a child was missing, a message from a family member about the location of a child was not acted on for over an hour. The message was not seen as the phone was being charged. The communication with the police when staff did locate the child was unclear, and the child ran away from staff. This potentially led to the child being missing for longer than necessary. The return home interview for the child also was significantly delayed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the role. She is suitably experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager has an ambitious vision and is committed to developing the home, children and staff team. Changes have already been introduced, such as time given for staff to reflect with one another at the end of their shift.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have implemented effective monitoring systems. Although some areas for improvement were identified, overall, the manager has good oversight, with regular audits taking place to ensure the quality of care provided for children. Additionally, the leadership team identified the need to appoint a new independent visitor, as the reports lacked sufficient information for effective monitoring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular formal supervision and have access to structured team meetings, which provide them with opportunities to reflect on their practice. Discussions are detailed, child focused and linked to research. This helps staff to continually improve and develop their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 5 Induction for new staff is comprehensive and provides training relevant to the role and the needs of the children. In contrast, some staff have not completed their restraint training and some of their refresher modules within the organisation’s timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about working at the home and say that they are well supported by their manager and colleagues. One member of staff said, ‘I could not wish for a better team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager follows safer recruitment processes. This practice reduces the risk of unsuitable people being employed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure primary lines of communication are open for the child, family members and professionals when children are missing from the home, to ensure timely action is taken to locate the child. 30 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. The staff and manager should ensure information about children who go missing from home and actions taken are recorded in a way that provides a clear overview of the incident to enable thorough oversight. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. Additionally, ensure that staff complete the organisation’s mandatory and house-specific training within the required timescales to support the development of staff skills in the home to meet children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53,

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Recommendations

paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 7

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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: SC367551 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crystal Care Solutions Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Emma Hutton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC367551 9 and inspects 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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