Children's Home run by Aspris Care North West Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 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 one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural needs. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2019.

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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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/a Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 2

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Recommendations

 Children’s care plans should reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2) Specifically, care plans should contain greater detail on how identified outcomes will be achieved.  Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, 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

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Recommendations

confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9) Specifically, focused direct work should be completed with young people to help them develop strategies to keep themselves safe.  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the

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Recommendations

arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Specifically, individual risk assessments should detail the control measures and strategies in place to safeguard the young person. Risk assessments should inform the care provided to the young person through their care plan.  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a comfortable home and are well cared for. The home opened in September 2019 and most young people have only recently been admitted. In the short period of time that they have been there, young people are making good progress from their individual starting points. Staff are gaining a good understanding of the young people’s needs and provide individualised care that supports their engagement and progression. One social worker said, ‘I have seen a totally different lad to when he first went there. He is very settled and he is responding well to staff. I am very impressed with them.’ Young people are cared for by a consistent staff team. This is helping young people to form positive and trusting relationships. Some young people have shown an initial reluctance to engage with the placement. However, staff are persistent and creative in their attempts to establish relationships and encourage participation. One social worker

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

said, ‘My experience of working with the home has been a really positive one. The team is very proactive in trying to identify activities to engage [young person’s name] and increase their participation.’ Staff understand the importance of education and encourage young people to attend school regularly. One parent said, ‘The staff have gone to great lengths to ensure continuity with his education and this has been really important to [young person’s name].’ However, all young people are currently on reduced timetables and there are insufficient structured activities in place at home to support an effective reintroduction to full-time education. A recommendation has been made to address this. Staff are encouraging young people to participate in activities both in the home and the local community. For example, one young person is being supported to use the local gym. Young people are being encouraged to personalise their bedrooms to promote a

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

sense of ownership and belonging. Contact with family and friends is actively facilitated by staff. One parent said, ‘Staff bend over backwards to ensure that he can see his friends and his family. This has really helped us to maintain important family links.’

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

Young people feel safe and know that staff care about them. The home has provided them with a stable and safe environment at a time of disruption and uncertainty in their lives. One parent said, ‘I feel he is 100% safe there and well cared for. I can’t think of a better place for him to be other than at home with me.’ Since their admission, some young people have reduced their risk-taking behaviours such as going missing from home. Staff are educating young people about the consequences of their behaviour to help them make safer choices. However, direct work with young people is not routinely recorded and does not capture the young person’s engagement. This makes it difficult to evidence the impact and the progress that the young people are making. A recommendation has been made to address this. Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 4 Staff use incentives and praise to reinforce positive behaviours. This is successful and

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

young people enjoy choosing rewards that are meaningful to them such as clothes and milkshakes. A restorative approach is adopted towards the use of sanctions and the young person is involved in identifying the most effective sanction for them. This promotes a sense of responsibility for the behaviour and ownership of the consequence. Staff are gaining an understanding of young people’s behaviours and are identifying how best to respond to them. Staff are learning to anticipate potential triggers and are able to de-escalate situations quickly and effectively. As a result, there have been no incidents where staff have had to use physical interventions to manage young people’s behaviours. All young people have care plans and risk assessments which are updated on a regular basis. However, these documents do not always contain sufficient detail about how young people’s needs will be met and what control measures are in place to manage

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

risks safely. Recommendations have been made to improve practice in these areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2019 and is suitably qualified to undertake the role. He is well supported by a deputy manager and together they form an effective management team. The manager understands the importance of multi-agency collaboration in achieving good outcomes for young people. Social workers receive regular reports about the progress that young people are making. One social worker said, ‘The level of communication is exceptional. Staff liaise with me frequently to discuss and review [young person’s name] progress and how he is engaging within the placement.’ The manager has a good oversight of the daily care provided to young people. He uses reflection and learning from significant events to shape approaches. However, internal monitoring systems are not sufficiently robust to enable him to analyse emerging patterns and trends effectively. A more comprehensive internal monitoring system has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

just been implemented but it is too soon to assess the impact of this on practice. Staff benefit from a comprehensive induction programme that equips them with the knowledge and skills that they need to care for vulnerable young people. Staff had the opportunity to train together prior to the home opening. This has contributed to the development of a shared understanding and approach amongst the team. The organisation prioritises ongoing professional development, and additional training and refresher opportunities are available to staff. Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. Discussions focus on the needs of young people and the progress they are making. The in-house therapist attends team meetings, affording the staff team regular opportunities for informal learning, advice and guidance. One member of staff said, ‘I use the therapist as a sounding board to check my practice and approaches. This gives me confidence and helps me understand the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

motivations behind young people’s behaviour.’ Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 5 Staff receive regular supervision which gives them the opportunity for reflection on their practice. Staff feel supported by the management team. One member of staff said, ‘The managers are approachable and supportive. They are open to suggestions about new ways of working. Morale is really good here and I enjoy coming into work.’

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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: 2537058 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: Sandcastle Care Ltd, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, Lancashire FY3 9DG

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2537058 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 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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