Children's Home run by Platform Childcare Ltd in Derby

Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 1 Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022. The manager was not present for the inspection and did not have the opportunity to contribute to the inspection. The inspection was led by an acting manager in the registered manager’s absence.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children and one young person lived here at the time of this inspection. The inspector observed and spoke to 3 children and the young person during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 3 February 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2026 Full Good 04/03/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 03/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 3

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Summary of findings

All 3 children, and the young person who lives in the home were spoken to as part of the inspection. The registered manager was not present for, or involved in, the inspection. Children are not supported to develop their independence and social skills, while leaders and staff are not consistently communicating with relevant professionals before making important decisions around children’s care. Care plans for children are not up to date, and staff have not sought medical advice for a child they are worried about. Staff do not feel supported by the registered manager, and interactions and debriefs are not always recorded. Children have positive relationships with most of the staff and leadership team, and say that they feel settled and safe.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and staff do not consistently consult and inform relevant professionals before and after making significant decisions for children. Staff and leaders do not always seek consent from professionals in relation to these decisions, which has contributed to disruption and uncertainty for children.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to develop some independence and life skills, but development plans lack structure. Children are not clear what their independence plans look like, and do not have a clear pathway in place to work towards their personal goals. Two children are restricted from having free time on their own, in line with their safety plans. Leaders and staff are yet to devise clear plans of how these children can work towards developing their social skills and independent time.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a clean and spacious environment. Children have access to all areas of the home other than the games room at night, as this continues to be used as a staff bedroom. Children have access to the lounge area overnight if required, but remain unable to access all areas of their home. The leadership team has agreed to review this when children move on, allowing the opportunity to make adjustments to where staff and children sleep, or consider the number of children the home is registered to care for.

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improvement to be good

Staff prioritise and support children to attend and engage in their education. Two children are attending school, while one child is being supported to access appropriate post-16 options. Staff travel long distances to support this and are invested in children’s progress and attainment. Professionals praise staff’s communication and advocacy in supporting children’s educational attendance. Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 4

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improvement to be good

Staff and leaders do not show sufficient professional curiosity in response to a child sharing information relating to their safety and potential risk of exploitation. Staff and leaders have not recorded subsequent conversations with children, and professionals are not always informed of significant safeguarding information within appropriate timescales.

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improvement to be good

Children are not being supported to rebuild and repair relationships with staff after difficult incidents. Children’s feelings and emotions around incidents and the staff who have supported them are not routinely explored. Leaders and staff have not challenged children when they have expressed socially unacceptable views and behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Care plans and risk management plans for children contain reflection, detail and triggers for certain behaviours, but are not up to date and do not consistently provide an accurate reflection of current risks to children. Staff are unable to uphold consistent rules and boundaries for children due to inconsistent information and guidance within care plans.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out resilience-based key-work sessions with children. One child has received support around substance misuse. However, staff have not sought health advice and support when they have been worried about a child’s presentation. Staff are not guided to access health support in the child’s risk management plan.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a family-orientated and relaxed environment, where they express feeling safe and happy. Children identify staff who they can speak to about important topics such as identity, mental health and relationships. Staff use a patient and caring approach, which promotes children feeling able to share their views and feelings openly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders do not consistently provide oversight following incidents. Oversight does not always contain clear actions and responses for staff. Leaders provide a level of surface reflection, but important details are not fully explored with staff in good time, leaving important issues unaddressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have verbal conversations with staff and children following incidents which are not always recorded. The daily logbook has been destroyed by a child, and no reflection or changes to recording processes have taken place to prevent this from happening again in future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not feel supported by the registered manager when it comes to making decisions and enforcing rules and boundaries for children. This has negatively affected staff’s confidence and autonomy in making day-to-day choices relating to the care of children. Staff express that they have felt more empowered to make decisions since a Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 5 change in the management structure. The acting manager is not fully supported by the senior leadership team as they have not yet been provided with their own email address.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff report that team morale is improving after a difficult period and remain committed the wellbeing and progress of children. Staff are not currently given clear opportunities to develop, and specific training has not been offered to staff in good time. The acting manager is committed to introducing new development plans for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has built positive and longstanding relationships with children. The registered manager is praised by professionals as someone who is passionate for wanting the best for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 18 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 7 The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 18 November 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; 18 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 8 are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to safe and confidential management and storage of documents and records relating to children.

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 18 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 9 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. This includes developing clear plans to teach, enhance and track children’s life and independence skills. To ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5) Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 10

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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: 2689391 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Platform Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Avenue, Centrum 100, Burton-on-Trent DE14 2WE

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Inspector

Patrick Rowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2689391 12 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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