Children's home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Wyre

Inspection report children's home: SC061803 1 SC061803 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

This is one of a number of children’s homes owned and operated by a private organisation. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 December 2017

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people enjoy stability in the home and they make good progress in building self-esteem, empowering them to make sense of past life experiences. Inspection report children's home: SC061803 2  Young people develop warm, trusting relationships with the staff, which gives them a sense of safety. They know that they can talk to the staff and that the staff will listen and respond to them. The staff know the young people well and they demonstrate genuine warmth, fondness and affection towards them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Consultation arrangements enable the young people to take an influential role in individual and collective decision-making.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress with their health and well-being, education and social skills development. This is because they receive nurturing, therapeutic and individualised support from the management team and staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff team works to a therapeutic model that is understood, simple to deliver and effective. All of the staff have received training in how to operate this model, and this training is ongoing. The staff team is fully supported by the organisation’s therapeutic services, and in particular by the clinical psychologist assigned to the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 All of the young people are in education or employment. They attend regularly and are benefiting from learning.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people thoroughly enjoy the activities that they take part in. They are encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests, and enjoy new experiences and opportunities.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people feel safe in the home. Staff follow all behaviour and risk management plans carefully to protect the young people’s welfare. The staff understand and follow child protection procedures. They challenge each other’s practice when they believe it falls short of the high standards that are central to the running of the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager is highly aspirational and leads a diverse and skilled staff team. She is a confident and able leader, with considerable experience and compassion.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The management team is continually striving to improve practice and introduce new ways of working based on research. Initiatives are embedded into practice, although further improvements are needed to clearly evidence the young people’s progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The management team regularly monitors the administration systems and the work the staff carryout. The review of quality of care analyses the young people’s journey in the home. However, this report fails to identify future development areas. Inspection report children's home: SC061803 3 The children's home's areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff, when gathering the evidence of the progress the young people make, should clearly record this in the records kept in the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The reviewing process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/11/2016 Full Good 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC061803 4

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Recommendations

 The relevant plan may include a strategy for a particular type of care, treatment or intervention (for example therapy relating to neglect or abuse). The care staff will need to understand the purpose of any such care and the way in which the past experiences of abuse or neglect may manifest itself in the day to day life of the child. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.15). This is particularly relevant to the staff in the gathering of evidence to show the progress the young people make in the home.

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Recommendations

 The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home's care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 65, paragraph 15.4). This is particularly relevant to the review of the quality of care report.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are provided with a high standard of individualised care and support. Care planning is very detailed, and is underpinned by a strong multi-agency approach. This contributes to good holistic care that ensures that the best interests of the young people are at the forefront of staff care practices. A number of elements of outstanding practice can be seen within the care planning approaches, such as careful monitoring and consideration of worrying behaviours, including clear strategies for the staff to support the young people through difficult times. All of the young people living at the home are enjoying stability and making positive progress from the time they came to live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no new young people have moved into the home, and no young people have moved. The registered manager has confidence in her compatibility assessment and the backing of senior leaders in the organisation to ensure that only young people whose needs she feels staff can meet are considered for a placement. These arrangements contribute significantly to ensuring that the home is settled, that young people’s behaviour is managed well and that they have a sense of belonging. The young people do engage and enjoy their independence work in preparation for adulthood. Inspection report children's home: SC061803 5 The staff develop warm and trusting relationships with the young people. The quality of relationships between the young people and the staff team is a real strength of the home. These excellent relationships play an important role in supporting the young people to understand and manage their attachment and loss issues. Young people enjoy

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the nurturing environment and respond positively to the staff’s genuine warmth, fondness and affection towards them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have a strong voice in the home. Young people know that they will be listened to, and that their views, wishes and opinions are taken seriously. Individual key- working sessions help the young people to focus on their behaviours and express and manage their feelings. Young people collectively contribute to group gatherings and are individually consulted before their reviews. This ensures that the young people are collectively and individually involved in decision making. For example, they contribute to their day-to-day routines and care, and understand their plans and arrangements for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are healthy, and a healthy lifestyle is encouraged. They contribute to the development of menus, and say that they like the food. They have access to the local healthcare centre, and specialist support is provided if required. Medication is checked twice each day during staff handovers. Consequently, the young people’s physical health needs are met, and their medication is stored securely, administered safely and is accountable in the records kept in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic approach with the young people is successful. The model is based on unconditional regard, attachment and support. The young people who receive and engage in therapy are highly supported through the whole process by the organisations clinical psychologist assigned to the home. Staff are trained, and are supported by the psychologist. The results of the therapeutic work clearly demonstrate the importance of young people developing emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff’s commitment to each young person is unconditional, and has a focus of moving forward and identifying the young people’s strengths. As a result, the outcomes for the young people are positive, and they are proud of their achievements, no matter how small. These achievements are recognised and celebrated by the staff in the home. A visiting social worker said, ‘The staff are brilliant and committed to meeting and supporting the young people’s needs. They do this in a careful and considered way and this results in a happy home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the young people are regularly attending suitable educational establishments, which include apprenticeships and colleges. The young people have access to computers, books and magazines, and they engage in purposeful daily conversations with the staff around current and social affairs. This further enhances the young people’s knowledge.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where the young people have contact with family members, in line with their care plans, they receive full support including agreed overnight stays. The staff clearly recognise the importance of maintaining and, in some cases, assisting the young people to successfully Inspection report children's home: SC061803 6 rebuild, those important familial relationships. This maintains social links as well as providing avenues of support in the young people’s future adult lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Journals are completed which capture young people’s positive memories, unforgettable times and achievements. Such memories would be lost if they were not recorded. There are pictures and memorabilia around the home which captures an atmosphere of homeliness and inclusivity, and that remind the young people of their fun times and provide them with special memories. Festivities are celebrated, and the young people are accepted for who they are. Young people have personalised their bedrooms with family photos, and certificates of achievements are on display. The young people told the inspector:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

 ‘This is a good home. I was unsure at first, but the staff made me feel welcome and we all get on well with each other.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

 ‘The staff understand me and support me through difficult times, which helps me a lot. I really appreciate the care I am getting in the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

 ‘I have no issues or complaints I like living in this home.’

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

The young people told the inspector that they are kept safe and protected. They said that they trust the staff who look after them, and are confident in expressing their views and emotions, in the knowledge that they are believed and taken seriously, and that any concerns or worries are acted on. Interactions between the young people, staff and the manager are relaxed, with lots of fun in the home.

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

The management team ensures that safeguarding and child protection practice is central to the well-being of the young people. Safeguarding and child protection are fully embedded into practice, and trained staff know how to recognise, respond to and report any signs of abuse. This enables them to keep the young people safe. Young people are protected when using social media or participating in online gaming with others over the internet. There are clear arrangements in place, agreed and accepted by the young people, to ensure that their time online is not excessive. Since the last inspection, there have been no significant incidents or safeguarding concerns with any of the young people living in the home. Young people told the inspector that bullying is not an issue, and none of them feel intimidated in the home.

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

The effective implementation of individual young people’s missing-from-home information sheets, which comply with the home’s policies and locally agreed protocols, assists staff and the police when incidents of young people missing from home take place. When these incidents happen, the staff proactively maintain contact with young people when they are away from the home, and will look for them if they are late, as any responsible parent would. As a result, the young people feel safe and secure and do not want to be away from the home, incidents are extremely rare, and are not a major concern of the staff in relation to the young people living in the home. Inspection report children's home: SC061803 7 Staff are skilled and confident in what they do within an environment of support and openness. This is testament to the quality of the relationships that have been established with the young people. Staff are able to predict behaviours and pre-empt a

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

change in the young people’s mood, taking swift measures to minimise incidents of, for example, young people’s verbal aggression. As a result, physical intervention has not been used for some time. Consequences are rare with incentives and rewards featuring more in the behaviour records kept in the home. The young people fully engage with the staff and use reflection time well when incidents do occur.

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

Detailed care and behaviour management plans include therapeutic overviews of the young people’s needs, with clear, specific strategies to guide the staff in encouraging the young people’s development. These, and comprehensive risk assessments, demonstrate that the staff fully understand the individual needs of the young people. The risk assessments are up to date and provide clear information for the staff regarding protective interventions to keep the young people safe. The management team regularly reviews the care plans and the risk assessments to ensure that they remain relevant to the young people’s developing needs.

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

The staff engage in a great deal of in-depth personal work to help all the young people to understand their past difficulties and traumas, and to understand what has happened to them. This undoubtedly helps them come to terms with the past, and build resilience for the future. This comprehensive work contributes significantly to the reduction of risk because it successfully tackles underlying issues and provides the young people with individual strategies to manage their traumatic experiences.

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

Regular health and safety checks ensure that the home is a safe environment. Fire evacuation information and drills protect the young people, staff and visitors, and ensure that everyone knows what action to take in the event of a fire. Staff recruitment procedures are thorough, and all appropriate measures are taken to ensure that new and existing staff who are employed at the home are suitable, and continue to be suitable to work with the young people. The home’s location risk assessment is of a good standard. It identifies all local area risks that may reasonably arise, and sets out how staff will reduce these risks in order to further protect the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the management of the home. The previous registered manager has progressed in her career and is now the responsible individual for the home, and the previous senior practitioner has moved from the home to be a registered manager in a new home operated by this organisation. These changes were carefully considered in order to reduce any negative impact on the young people living in the home. For example, young people were fully informed of the changes, and a lengthy handover between the previous and current management team took place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new registered manager joined the home in July 2017. She is confident, and able to lead the staff team with considerable experience and compassion. She holds the level 5 Inspection report children's home: SC061803 8 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She is also undertaking a degree in therapeutic interventions with young people. The registered manager is supported by a senior practitioner in the home who progressed to this position having been a lead practitioner in the home. He is qualified, and has a social work degree. The senior practitioner is the link between the home and the organisations clinical psychologist. This maintains the consistency of the therapeutic work the staff carryout with the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Together, the registered manager and senior practitioner are continually striving to improve practice and have introduced new ways of working based on research. Initiatives are embedded into practice, and they are supporting the staff team to understand the importance of capturing evidence in the records kept by the home, to clearly show the young people’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the new management team, and that they regularly receive supervision and good quality training. The staff feel that the organisation is supportive in developing their practices, and the management team is open and supportive of their roles. These include delegated areas of responsibility, where the staff take charge of specific areas in the daily operation of the home in line with the children’s homes regulations. These arrangements ensure that the young people receive a high level of care from a consistent and competent workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of the staff team are qualified to level 3 or above, with new staff expecting to complete this qualification within the timescales set by regulation. All members of the staff team know the young people extremely well, and they support the young people to make progress and enjoy their experiences in the home. The staff report that team meetings are productive, and reflective, and contribute to their learning. These meetings along with daily handovers, always have the young people’s interests at their centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The strengths and areas of improvement are known by the management team and supported by the responsible individual, who visits the home regularly. The monitoring of the daily operation of the home is thorough and quickly picks up any shortfalls in the records completed by the staff in the home. The review of the quality of care report is evaluative and captures the individual progress the young people have made in the home. However, the report does not highlight any actions required for improvement over the next six months and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There continues to be regular external scrutiny of the quality of care by an independent person. Her report is used to evaluate, influence and review the effectiveness of the home and the quality of care provided and how the young people are safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations were made at the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children's home: SC061803 9 Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences 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: SC061803 10

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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

Mark Kersh, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC061803 11 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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