Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 1 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 home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 3

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Recommendations

 Staff need to understand the specialist support children may need to be able to engage positively and achieve in education. Staff must be aware of whether a child has an EHC plan and the information in it. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.4)  Where children placed in a home are not participating in education, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic

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Recommendations

environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.). (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This applies specifically to ensuring effective fire risk assessment that incorporates all known risk factors.  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been modernised and is decorated and furnished to a high standard. It is large and spacious, and the environment is welcoming and homely. The outdoor space is limited but staff support young people to access a wide variety of activities in the local community. One young person has made good progress in terms of his social and educational development. He has started to engage in conversations more, where previously he used single words to communicate. He has started to be more physically active and, with staff support, he now attends his health appointments. He is attending school full-time and is on track to gain GCSEs. He has yet to decide on what he would like to do when he leaves school and staff need a greater understanding of the future educational options available to him to support him with this. Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 4 Another young person is currently on a reduced timetable at school as he is struggling to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

manage his behaviours when at school. Staff at the home and school are working collaboratively to try to increase his engagement and attendance levels in a planned way. The staff understand the importance of education and encourage the young person to participate. However, a more structured plan of activities may help to support the young person with an effective reintroduction to full-time education. Staff understand young people’s needs well. Care plans are child-centred and very detailed. Photographs and symbols are used to make the document person-centred and the young person’s voice is evident in the care-planning process. Young people’s views are listened to and responded to. One young person has recently requested more contact with a family member and staff are supporting him to safely achieve this. An in-house therapist supplements the staff team. This means that young people can have access to individual sessions to support their well-being. As they are still settling

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

into the home, the therapist is working on building relationships and developing the children’s trust.

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

Young people have displayed some behaviours that can be challenging. Staff have managed these well and rarely use restrictive practices. Staff are gaining a better understanding of potential triggers and are skilled in diffusing situations. Sanctions are also rarely used. There is more emphasis on using praise and rewards to reinforce positive behaviours and this is effective. Staff use regular key-work sessions as opportunities to address important issues for young people, such as staying safe, managing relationships and smoking cessation. There have been a few incidents of young people going missing from home. This has reduced since one of the young people has moved to a new placement. Clear protocols are in place for staff to follow when children are missing from home and this has helped to keep young people safe. At times young people have struggled to manage their relationships with each other and

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

there have been some issues with bullying. However, staff have been proactive in responding to these behaviours and managed them well. Comprehensive risk assessments and behaviour support plans are in place. These are kept under review and updated after incidents occur so that practice can be improved. However, impact risk assessments that inform decisions about admissions to the home are not sufficiently robust. This means that the risks that young people pose to each other are not comprehensively assessed or documented and one young person’s placement was short-lived as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and dedicated registered manager competently leads the service. He demonstrates a strong understanding of the young people’s needs and the support they require to succeed and thrive. Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 5 The registered manager has introduced effective recording and monitoring systems to ensure that the service provides a high standard of care. These systems enable the manager to analyse trends, identify strengths and address weaknesses. The staff team is very stable, and this has provided the young people with consistency of care. Staff report that they feel well supported by the management and have access to regular training opportunities. They receive regular supervision and have all undergone a thorough induction prior to starting in post. Staff also benefit from specialist training in response to young people’s specific needs, for example attention deficit hyperactivity

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

disorder (ADHD). Reflective practice is recognised as important and time is set aside in supervision for this. One member of staff stated that the therapist attached to the home has been instrumental in helping him to understand young people’s behaviour and that his individual practice had changed as a direct result. The therapist attends team meetings, affording the staff team regular opportunities for informal learning, advice and guidance.

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Information about this inspection

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: 2495513 6

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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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Inspectors

Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2495513 7 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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