Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 1 SC065313 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care 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

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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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: 22 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since the last inspection –None Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home provides a stable placement for the young people who live there. There have been no new admissions or discharges since the last full inspection, which has given young people time to settle and make progress.  Young people’s progress in many areas is exceptional. Progress records clearly document young people’s progression from their point of placement.  The staff team offers stability and consistency to young people, which allows them to form highly positive relationships based on nurture, care and trust.  The approach to helping young people to engage with therapeutic services offered by the company is flexible and creative, which results in good participation.  From the point of placement, young people’s risks significantly reduce across all areas.  When young people go missing, records evidence a strong multi-agency approach and staff making every effort to locate and return them.  Young people respect the rules and boundaries and believe these to be fair and

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Key findings from this inspection

consistent.  The registered manager sets high standards for staff and has high aspirations for young people.  Young people are involved in the planning and development of the home, for example by contributing to the home’s development plan and staff appraisals.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 While there are recruitment procedures in place that are designed to ensure young people’s safety, full information has not always been gathered prior to an individual starting to work with young people in the home.  The staff team is made up almost entirely of one gender, which does not ensure that young people benefit from care delivered by a gender-balanced staff team.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/09/2016 Full Good 24/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 3

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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, 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(3)(d)) 27/09/2017

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Recommendations

 Whenever possible, staff in day to day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. Where the home’s statement of purpose makes it explicit that the home uses staff of one sex only, clear guidance will need to be in place and followed as to how children are enabled to maintain relationships with people of a different gender. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22)  Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate that a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding young people against extremism and radicalisation are gained, refreshed and recorded within the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progression for young people in this home is extremely good from their point of placement. The home has admitted young people who were hard to place because of their risk-taking behaviours, and these individuals have both settled and progressed far beyond expectation. This is due to the highly positive relationships that have developed between young people and the staff team, which are based on respect, trust and care. Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 4 Young people feel that staff genuinely care about them and believe that they can succeed. Progress is tracked through progress and aspiration documents, which clearly set out the positive changes young people have achieved from the start of their placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people invest in their relationships and all aspects of the placement due to the longevity of their placements. Since the last full inspection, there have been no admissions or discharges, allowing young people to fully engage with staff and everything that is on offer to them in the home. The staff team is also stable, similarly with no changes since the last inspection, which ensures continuity and stability for the young people placed. Relationships are genuinely warm and nurturing, and care is delivered in a relaxed way, which is in line with the young people’s needs. The current permanent staff team is entirely male, which does not provide young people with opportunities to develop relationships with staff of both genders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Attendance at education is greatly improved for some young people, and their progress is significant. Some young people have been supported to try a number of different education and work placements in order to find what works best for them. This has resulted in a work placement where a young person is developing skills and confidence in practical repair skills. Another young person received a certificate at school for the most improved student, which is an excellent achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s health needs are fully met. One young person has been supported to attend several dental appointments following previous neglect of his oral health. Although he was reluctant to attend initially, he has now engaged well and made great progress in this area. His overall appearance has also significantly improved due to improvements in health, lifestyle and personal care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive therapeutic care is available through the company. When young people elect not to participate in more formal therapeutic relationships, the therapist is creative about ways to engage them, which results in positive, supportive relationships being developed. The therapist also provides training and support to staff, to help them deliver care in a way that meets the young people’s therapeutic needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are a wide range of activities on offer, which keep young people busy and active. Young people make suggestions for activities at their weekly meeting and these are then inputted to their weekly planners. They enjoy activities such as going to watch football matches, fishing, laser quest, trampolining, bowling and snooker. They also enjoy free time in the community and while on contact. Their friends are made welcome in the home and observation of the young people evidences that they are happy to bring their friends into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people said that they feel listened to. They are confident about expressing their wishes and views and believe that staff will act to support and advocate for them when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence skills are promoted in the home in line with young people’s plans and Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 5 their ages. They are supported to learn how to cook, clean, wash their clothes, manage their money and use public transport. Young people have their own bank accounts. Young people spoken to proudly listed meals they were capable of preparing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placement plans are of a high quality. Young people have a ‘My placement plan’ document, which is written in the first person in age-appropriate language, which enables young people to have some ownership of the record. When young people do not yet have a pathway plan, staff at the home make contact with placing authorities to request this important document.

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

Risk-taking behaviours reduce significantly for young people at the home. From their point of placement, they make remarkable progress in areas where they were considered to be high risk prior to the placement commencing. Young people reported feeling safe and they understand that the home’s rules and boundaries are in place to help and protect them. Social workers, staff and young people themselves all recognise the progression they have made in relation to keeping themselves safe.

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

Young people who had high levels of missing from home episodes have reduced these to a very small number. Records of missing episodes evidence that staff make every effort to locate and return young people when they are missing or absent. Police reported one young person’s progress to be ‘amazing’ in this area because he has not triggered a missing from home strategy meeting since being in the home, when previously he had been the subject of several meetings. The missing from home coordinator also reported a very good working relationship with the home, which evidences a coordinated response to missing incidents. Key worker sessions follow any missing incidents to explore reasons for young people going missing and support them in making the right choice in the future. Young people have missing from care profiles to share with police when missing episodes are reported. The home has compiled extensive lists of young

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

people’s friends and associates to contact when young people go missing, which shows a proactive approach to managing missing incidents.

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

Key worker sessions cover many aspects of young people’s safety, including risks associated with internet use and social networking sites. Young people have completed sessions on cyber-bullying, child exploitation online protection (CEOP) and child sexual exploitation, which ensures that they are aware of the associated risks. When there may be a risk of sexual exploitation for young people, staff complete the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s risk assessment tool to assess their level of risk. This means that risk assessments clearly identify young people’s risks. They are succinct, which allows the reader to easily identify areas of concern for young people.

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

The young people in the home have never had any physical restraints, which is positive and evidences staff’s abilities to de-escalate aggression and challenging behaviour. Staff attribute the young people’s positive behaviour to the close relationships that they have formed with the entire staff team. Young people spoken to reported that they Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 6 understand the rules and boundaries. Sanctions are rarely used; on the occasions when they have been implemented, young people believe them to be reasonable and fair. Young people have incentive targets which, when achieved, result in either a monetary or activity reward, which encourages positive behaviour.

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

Young people who had previously engaged in criminal activity have completed work with youth offending teams, during which they participated well. They have not engaged in criminal activity since living at the home, which is significant progress.

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

Young people do not complete direct work regarding radicalisation and extremism. Staff have completed some online training in this area but educating young people about the risk of radicalisation and extremism is not yet embedded into practice.

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

The home has a safe recruitment policy in place and usually completes full checks on staff before they begin working with young people. On one occasion, full checks were not returned regarding a staff member, and a risk assessment completed to safeguard young people when the staff member started working did not provide sufficient details about how young people would be protected from any risk he may pose. This has been raised as a requirement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager has the appropriate qualifications and experience for the role. He leads the staff team in a supportive manner, while clearly communicating his high expectation of the level of care to be provided to the young people placed. Staff speak highly of the positive ethos shown by the manager and the support they receive through supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a clear staff structure in place, which allows the manager to delegate tasks as appropriate. This serves to promote staff’s professional development. Additionally, staff who have completed the diploma level 3 course can progress to the level 5 course to advance their skills, knowledge and competencies. The morale of the staff team is high, and there is good communication, which results in consistency in the delivery of care. The home is fully staffed, and no staff members have left since the last full inspection, which provides stability to the young people placed and allows them to develop long- lasting relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has very good knowledge of the home and of the individual young people. Comprehensive monitoring systems allow him to have good oversight of all aspects of care. He has good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and takes action to address any issues arising. External monitoring is also of a high standard, highlighting areas of strength and areas for development, which the manager finds helpful in advancing the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager includes the views of young people in the home’s development plan and in the staff’s yearly appraisals, which ensures that they are contributing and that their Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 7 voices are heard. There are plans in place to involve young people in the recruitment process as soon as recruitment takes place, which will further involve them in shaping their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Research-informed practice is not yet fully embedded into the delivery of care to young people. The manager is compiling relevant research and will disseminate and embed this over the forthcoming months, which shows his aspiration for continued service development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers act as strong advocates for young people when they feel that placing authorities are not acting on young people’s expressed views about their placement. One young person was supported to access children’s rights to further advocate on his behalf, which resulted in the extension of his placement at the home, in line with his wishes. Senior managers continue to advocate on this young person’s behalf; his placing authority has made placement decisions which the young person believes will have a negative impact on his future outcomes and life chances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong relationships are in place with a wide multi-agency team in the locality, which was evidenced at inspection by the local police missing from home coordinator dropping in for a discussion about a young person who had been missing. Other external agencies are regularly communicated with, and are kept informed of any issues relating to the young person they are involved with. Independent reviewing officers and social workers spoken to as part of the inspection spoke highly of the home’s delivery of young people’s care plans and their participation in, and reports for, child looked after reviews. Detailed case records are kept that reflect young people’s lives, progression and future aspirations. The manager has enabled one young person to create his own files, which record his progress and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people are treated as individuals; their equality and diversity needs are met. The group participates in visits that develop the understanding of equality and diversity and join in traditional celebrations and festivals of the young peoples’ choice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home cares for young people in line with its aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 8 Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC065313 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 9DG

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Inspector

Charlie Bamber, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065313 10 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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