Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 1 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

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 or behavioural needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who has applied to Ofsted for registration.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There was only one young person living in the home at the time of this inspection. This young person was not present during the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2019

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 3

p.2

improvement to be good

Outcomes for young people have been mixed. They have made good progress in some areas but have not progressed well in others. Similarly, young people have had varied experiences, with some enjoying some positive experiences but living through some negative events due to the behaviours of their fellow residents.

p.3

improvement to be good

Two young people have moved on from the home in planned transitions, which have been well supported. However, another two young people’s placements have broken down following their admissions, as they have not made good progress.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s needs and how to support them. They work closely with in-house therapists to develop their understanding and enhance their therapeutic practice. This supports positive relationships between staff and young people and promotes young people’s emotional well-being.

p.3

improvement to be good

Young people are encouraged to learn about, and follow, the principles of a healthy lifestyle. Staff ensure that young people are supported to access healthcare when necessary. There are appropriate arrangements in place to manage young people’s medication. However, shortfalls were identified in some medication administration records during the inspection.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage young people to engage in their learning programmes. Some young people have engaged well in education and made progress. However, other young people’s attendance and progress have declined.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff work positively with families and carers and facilitate contact arrangements safely. As a result, young people benefit from improved relationships with people who are important to them.

p.3

improvement to be good

There are concerns about the increasing risks to the safety and well-being of the young person who currently lives in the home. The manager and staff are working closely with external professionals to safeguard the young person and to support him in reducing high-risk behaviours.

p.3

improvement to be good

A requirement was made at the last inspection of the home in relation to the quality of risk assessments and risk management plans. During this inspection, it was found that sufficient action had not been taken to meet the requirement. Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 4 The quality of risk assessment remains variable. In some cases, risks are not clearly identified. In other examples, risks are identified but the guidance for staff about how to manage the risks is not clear. This means that staff may not be aware of the steps they need to take to protect young people from harm.

p.3

improvement to be good

The young person who lives in the home has been missing on a number of occasions. Records demonstrate that staff are proactive in attempting to contact and locate the young person during these periods. Staff have a range of information to help them locate the young person when he is missing. However, all this information, including addresses where the young person may be, should be held in his missing from care protocol. This will enable staff to access it quickly.

p.4

improvement to be good

All staff are trained in recognised behaviour support techniques. Any incidents requiring staff to physically intervene are recorded and monitored by the manager. Following such incidents, de-briefs take place with young people and staff. However, records of de-briefs do not demonstrate that staff or young people have been encouraged to reflect on the incidents in a meaningful way.

p.4

good

There is a manager in post who has applied to Ofsted for registration. She has developed positive relationships with staff and demonstrates commitment to improving outcomes for young people.

p.4

good

The manager works positively with external professionals to support young people’s progress. She has been proactive in requesting support for the young person who currently lives in the home.

p.4

good

During this inspection, concerns were identified regarding the admission of a young person whose placement was not successful and ultimately broke down. There was no evidence that the manager had made effective use of an impact risk assessment to determine whether the young person’s needs could be met. Admissions that are not appropriate lead to disruption and negative experiences for young people.

p.4

good

Staff are carefully recruited and benefit from comprehensive training. This helps to equip them with skills and knowledge pertinent to their role. Regular supervision takes place with staff, giving them the opportunity to discuss areas such as work performance and personal development. However, this process could be used more effectively to explore and reflect on practice.

p.4

good

Internal monitoring could be improved to ensure that shortfalls and areas for development are identified. Shortfalls in several areas were identified during this inspection that had not been previously identified. Furthermore, a requirement in relation to risk management was raised in the last inspection of the home and has not been met. This demonstrates that the home has failed to take necessary steps to ensure that young people benefit from an improving service. Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 24/04/2020

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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)) 24/04/2020

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 24/04/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 6

p.5

Recommendations

 Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it

p.6

Recommendations

meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  Please see regulation 23. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person must specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the

p.6

Recommendations

home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page

p.6

Recommendations

50, paragraph 9.60)  Staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 7

p.6

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: 1271375 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1271375 9 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.8

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 http://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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9