Children's Home run by Crystal Care Solutions Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 1 SC480594 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 provides care for up to 5 children who display complex behaviours because of early childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025. She holds a relevant level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

The deputy manager was acting as the interim manager while the registered manager was on planned leave.

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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: 3 February 2026

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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: SC480594 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2026 Full Good 18/02/2025 Full Good 22/11/2023 Full Outstanding 07/12/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 3

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Summary of findings

This home has a consistent ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ inspection judgement history. Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home, and 2 children have moved out. Supporting children through these transitions is a particular strength of the home.

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Summary of findings

The home receives support from an in-house therapeutic team. As a result, staff receive effective guidance to embed a therapeutic model into their day-to-day practice. This helps to ensure that children receive an empathetic and child-centred approach that promotes their safety, stability and emotional wellbeing.

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Summary of findings

The manager and staff are committed to supporting children and encourage them to be involved in plans relating to their lives. The manager uses a range of monitoring tools to maintain effective oversight of the home and to track children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a large, detached property situated in a rural location. There is a separate annex area where one child sleeps and has their own space away from the main house. The garden is large with a sensory area, and vegetables are grown by the children. The home has plenty of communal areas, including a games room and a sensory room. Children’s bedrooms are well maintained and personalised. This helps children to feel comfortable and develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they have positive relationships with staff. Building trusting relationships with staff helps children to make progress. A parent said, ‘Staff are great and really care about [name of child]. There have been improvements, as their interest in education has improved and [name of child] is engaging meaningfully in therapy.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported with their education. Children’s level of engagement has improved, as staff work effectively with schools to overcome barriers. A headteacher said, ‘Without their support of coming into the school, [name of child] would not be where they are now in sitting their GCSEs. They were instrumental in [name of child]’s journey, going above and beyond.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to lead active lifestyles and take part in a wide range of activities. They enjoy golf, fishing, cycling and attending youth clubs. A child enjoyed their first holiday abroad, which was on their ‘bucket list’ of things they wanted to do before moving into semi-independent living. Staff ensure that the children are provided with opportunities and experiences that are comparable to those of their peers, creating lifelong memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build their independence skills. They have chores and learn about budgeting. Children are also supported to take part in volunteer work in an area Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 4 that interests them. This develops children’s skills, confidence and self-esteem, increasing their prospects for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain safe relationships with people who are important to them. Staff help children to spend time with their families and work closely with relevant individuals to modify plans when needed, helping to make these occasions safer and more positive for children and their families. This helps children to remain connected to those who are significant in their lives.

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

Staff work hard to keep children safe, and children say that they feel safe. Individualised plans provide staff with guidance on managing risks and meeting children’s support needs. These plans are updated promptly to reflect changing risks, ensuring that staff know how to respond. This helps to keep children safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of the children living at the home. Incidents in the home are rare, and the need for restraint is low. On the one occasion that restraint was necessary, staff were provided with the opportunity to reflect. The child was also spoken to sensitively about their feelings. As a result, children are better equipped to manage overwhelming feelings in healthier ways.

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

Staff support children effectively when they self-harm. They respond with care and engage in nurturing, non-judgemental conversations to help children explore the underlying reasons for their behaviour. Children are referred to specialist health professionals, and strategies are implemented to reduce the likelihood of further incidents. Staff also educate children about the associated risks, focusing on helping them understand how to stay safe. This helps children to understand risk, make safer choices and feel more confident in reporting concerns.

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

Staff make extensive efforts to locate children when they go missing. They share information with relevant agencies and understand the importance of supporting children when they return home. However, the procedure for reporting a child missing did not specify a specific timescale for contacting the police. As a result, there was a delay in the police being notified on one occasion. This shortfall was addressed during the inspection.

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

Staff manage allegations appropriately. Information is shared with all relevant partner agencies within required timescales. This enables risk to be assessed and responded to effectively to safeguard children. Children also receive a letter acknowledging their concerns and a further letter to inform them of the outcome. Restorative work between staff and children is also carried out. This helps children to feel confident in raising concerns, knowing that they will be taken seriously and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is knowledgeable, inspirational and focused on achieving positive outcomes for children. She takes a hands-on approach and has built strong relationships Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 5 with the children. On one occasion, she flew abroad to spend 24 hours with a child as a surprise, demonstrating to the child how important they are to her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high. They have reported enjoying coming to work and feeling very supported. One member of staff said, ‘The manager is supportive and people friendly; I can speak to her at any time. I would not be worried if anything went wrong and I had to speak to her.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive a comprehensive range of training and regular supervision. Staff also attend regular team meetings that provide opportunities for them to reflect on children’s care. Team meetings are often frequented by the in-house therapy team that offers support and guidance to staff, helping them to provide a therapeutic response to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed monitoring systems that help her to identify patterns and trends in children’s behaviour. This supports the manager to review the quality of care provided to children. However, there has been a high reliance on agency staff. As a result, boundaries have not always been enforced effectively, and children have at times received conflicting information. This has led to inconsistencies in the care being provided to children, which had not been identified by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager and staff team have developed positive working relationships with all partner agencies and the children’s families, which has supported the positive outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staff to care for children without an over-reliance on agency staff. The registered person must also ensure that effective monitoring and reviewing systems are in place to identify shortfalls in practice and drive continuous improvement in the quality of care provided to children. 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC480594 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have up-to-date guidance on managing risk and are supported to continually and actively assess the risks to each child, as well as the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and the placing authority, must set out the steps the home will take to manage identified risks on a day-to-day basis. This specifically relates to incidents of children going missing from home and the actions to be taken in respect of children who are subject to deprivation of liberty orders. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC480594 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: SC480594 9 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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