Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Kirklees

Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 1 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation and provides care and accommodation for up to two children or young people. The children and young people require care to support their emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since the home opened in September 2019. He has the relevant experience of working with children and young people and has commenced undertaking a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection following registration.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 February 2020

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have begun to blossom. This is due to the strong and trusting relationships that they have built with the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people make good progress across most aspects of their welfare. This includes their physical, social, emotional and behavioural development, taking into account their individual starting points. There is evidence of change and improvement in the lives of children and young people; they clearly benefit from living in a caring, highly supportive and nurturing environment.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff get to know the children and young people quickly, which helps to develop strong connections. The staff can explain each child and young person’s individual care and support needs. This allows the children and young people to confidently engage and listen to the advice given. As a result, the children and young people have more positive daily life experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people access routine health checks and, where needed, access professionals to support their emotional well-being. The in-house therapist attends the home at least once weekly. A young person said, ‘I’m trying to eat more healthily. I do a lot of walking now and enjoy it. We are planning to walk the three peaks.’ The staff support the children and young people well to plan menus that provide a balanced diet. This promotes a healthy lifestyle for the children and young people.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people know that their education is important. The staff help them to understand this. Education, health and care plans are in place. The staff provide guidance, support and help to enable the young people to manage new situations, manage their emotions and adhere to rules and boundaries within school or other placements. Because of this, the children and young people have begun to make improvements in their school attendance and learning.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have daily discussions and a weekly gathering to give their views and make choices that affect their daily life. This ensures that they can give their views about the care they receive and the plans for their future.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people learn a range of independence skills. These include how to plan and cook simple meals and carry out house chores, such as keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy. Because of this, the children and young people gain a good level of life-skills appropriate to their age.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work with the children and young people to rebuild and maintain family relationships, provide ongoing support and facilitate visits. This provides the children and young people with a strong sense of identity and an ongoing support network. A young person said, ‘The best thing for me living here is that I see my family regularly. I didn’t before. This is the most important thing to me.’ Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 4 There is a strong focus on building positive life experiences for the children and young people. These include their leisure interests and community activities. They enjoy going to the cinema, walks in the countryside, trampolining, bowling and going to the gym. As a result, children and young people have increased self-esteem and confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is maintained, decorated and furnished to a very good standard throughout. Each young person has their own bedroom that they have personalised. There is an array of games, books and electronic devices for the children and young people to use. These facilities enable the children and young people to enjoy the living space and have fun.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people’s care plan clearly set out how they are cared for by staff. These plans are routinely reviewed and updated and note the child’s progress and the areas for continued support. However, there has been a delay in the completion of one young person’s care plan. This is because information collated by the local authority is not available for staff to review. As a result, there is a lack of clarity in relation to the future plan for this young person.

p.4

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

The children and young people respond well to the calm, nurturing and positive role- modelling they receive from the staff.

p.4

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

There is a strong emphasis given to the children and young people’s positive behaviour. They respond well to praise and incentives. The children and young people have grown in confidence, self-esteem and note their own progress and successes. The work staff have undertaken with the children and young people to recognise the dangers to themselves has resulted in no missing-from-home events.

p.4

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

There have been no physical interventions and the use of sanctions are rare. When these do happen, the sanction used is appropriate for the behaviour presented.

p.4

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

Children and young people respond well to the clear and consistent expectations, rules and boundaries implemented by the staff. This assists children and young people to feel safe and secure. However, not all sanction records include sufficient detail. For example, the time, what led up to the event and the recording of speaking to the child after the incident are not always included. This is a breach in regulation and a requirement has been raised to address this.

p.4

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

A young person said: ‘There has been some bullying. We do fall out. Staff do stop it and things are alright now.’ These incidents have been taken very seriously by the staff. The children and young people have been spoken to about this behaviour. Close supervision from the staff and specific strategies to prevent further occurrences happening are in place. Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 5 The staff are aware of the vulnerabilities and risks relating to each child and young person. These are recorded clearly in written risk assessments, with clear strategies to follow that the staff implement on a day-to-day basis.

p.4

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

The children and young people have responded extremely well to the guidance provided by staff to reduce these risks. Consequently, risk-taking behaviour has reduced.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff report that the manager provides good support, is enthusiastic and committed. This approach has created a positive and child-focused staff team. The manager has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. There is a strong commitment to improve further the quality of care provided to children and young people.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children and young people greatly benefit from good staffing levels. Both children have a staff member working with them on each shift. This provides the children and young people with constant support, supervision and care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work very well with other agencies and professionals. This includes social workers, independent reviewing officers, education staff and health professionals. This close partnership working helps the staff to meet the needs of the children and young people in their care and supports their progress. A professional said, ‘The staff keep me well informed about [name of child]. This is helpful.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings are held regularly, along with formal supervision and daily shift handovers. This provides the staff with up-to-date information about the children and young people. This is a strong foundation to deliver good consistent care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of supervision records falls short of meeting the regulations. In some instances, the care of the children and young people is not recorded. The records are not always practice-related.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the home opened, all the staff received induction training for a two-week period. This included policies and procedures, health and safety, safeguarding, first aid, behaviour management and two days on the therapeutic approach used by the home. Nevertheless, specialist training has not yet been provided on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder. This would ensure that the staff are fully aware of the needs of children and young people with this condition.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are sound monitoring systems, internally and externally, through the monthly regulation 44 visits. These processes do detect areas for improvement. However, the auditing systems have consistently identified recording shortfalls. Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 28/04/2020

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’)—

p.6

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and 28/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 7 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)( i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all sanction records include the time, the detail leading up to the event and that the manager has spoken to the child within five days. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, use the monitoring systems to support improvement in the quality of recordings about the care provided to the children and young people. 28/04/2020

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

p.7

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that the staff receive specialist training relating to the children’s needs, including Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder.

p.7

Recommendations

 If the child raises concerns about the content of any of their plans, their implementation or the process of review, staff should advocate for the child and seek to ensure that their concerns are addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.11) Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 8 In particular, ensure that staff advocate to ensure that essential assessment work is completed in a prompt manner and support the child to give their views to influence decisions about future placements.

p.7

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 children’s home: 2526992 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspector

Debbie Foster: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2526992 10 to 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10