Children's Home run by Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 1 Registered provider: Platinum Services for Children (Residential Care) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and operated by a small private company. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties with associated complex needs.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2016. He is suitably experienced and holds a level 5 leadership and management qualification.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of inspection, 4 children were living in the home, and all children spoke with the inspector as part of the inspection.

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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: 18 November 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: 1222089 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Good 30/09/2024 Full Good 18/09/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 3

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Summary of findings

The managers and staff provide a good level of care. Children are positive about the care and support they receive as well as the relationships they build with staff. Staff understand children's vulnerabilities and teach them about risk, increasing their safety. Relationships with the wider network are strong, and this contributes to well-planned care for children. Overall, the children receive good support that enables all-round progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to move into and out of the home in a child-centred way. They are supported to work towards individual goals and ensure that they receive the right support to help them feel safe and secure in a new environment. Before children move in, the manager considers staff's skills, ensuring that they are confident in meeting children's needs from the outset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak positively about the support they receive and the relationships they build with staff. This helps them to make progress from their starting points, with one child now attending full-time school. Staff speak warmly about children and celebrate and show genuine pride in their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress with education. Staff will work alongside other professionals to identify specialist provision to increase children's participation in their academic studies. Staff maintain close links with education settings in order to tailor support that children receive at home. This helps to reinforce consistent expectations. One professional commented on the high level of commitment shown by staff and their genuine interest in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specialist assessments are available to children to ensure that children's health needs are met. Staff advocate for children and work closely with partner agencies to reduce waiting time for key services and ensure that support is not delayed. This proactive approach means children access the help they need more quickly. This level of support enables children to benefit from tailored support devised to meet their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain links with family, friends and significant people in their lives, helping them to maintain a sense of identity and belonging. Staff encourage children to develop their independence, offering guidance that builds key life skills. They also use creative and interactive approaches, helping children to understand their rights and feel empowered. Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 4

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

Children learn how to keep themselves safe in the community and online through one- to-one discussions with staff. Staff strike an effective balance between promoting children's independence and keeping them safe. This helps children to develop important life skills for the future.

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

Concerns regarding children's safety are escalated appropriately. However, when important multi-agency meetings are cancelled, managers do not always ensure that they follow up concerns in a timely way. This lack of oversight reduces a coordinated approach to review risk and ensure that children receive the support they need.

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

Where physical intervention is used, this has been as a last resort and to ensure the safety of children. Staff respond calmly and use their understanding of children's needs to manage situations effectively. Management oversight of incidents supports staff to reflect and learn. Children's views are actively sought and used to inform future practice.

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

Staff have a good understanding of exploitation and the risk children may face. Professional curiosity is used to explore risks with children. However, when risks are reviewed, this is not always reflected in guidance for staff. This has the potential to create gaps in staff understanding and limit their ability to respond confidently and keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced manager leads the home and is dedicated to ensuring that children receive a good level of care. The manager maintains oversight of the home's objectives and ensures that these are reflected in children's care. Children receive individualised care because the manager understands their plans, tracks their progress closely and adapts support when needed. This helps children achieve good outcomes and improves their day-to-day experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive continuity of care from a stable staff team. Good safer recruitment practice ensures that only suitably qualified staff work with children. The staff team speaks positively about the support available from the manager. Mandatory training is delivered to all staff. Where gaps are identified, bespoke training sessions are delivered to ensure that staff are equipped to respond to children's individual needs. Staff receive mandatory training in addition to training that relates to children's individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff understand the importance of developing positive working relationships with other professionals. A joined-up approach allows for children's support networks to be strengthened, improving their outcomes. For example, 1 child experienced a positive move from the home, supported by well-coordinated child-centred planning. Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 5 Staff receive regular supervision. However, the quality of reflective practice within supervision is mixed, meaning staff do not consistently benefit from reflective learning and professional challenge needed to improve practice. In addition, there are missed opportunities to identify additional training when significant incidents have occurred in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported to make complaints. Complaints are followed up promptly, and children's views are gathered. However, children are not consistently updated about the outcome of their complaints. This practice does not ensure that children feel listened to and receive appropriate support when they make a complaint. Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that reflection is used to promote a culture of learning. Also, the registered person should ensure that children are supported following making a complaint and kept informed of the outcome. 10 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children's case records are consistently kept up to date and all entries are clearly signed and dated by the author of each entry. Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 7 ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1222089 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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Inspectors

Salma Ahmed, Social Care Inspector Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1222089 9 regulates 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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