Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 1

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Sandcastle Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. The home provides care and support for up to four children who can no longer live at home.

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This monitoring visit

Routine inspection activity is currently suspended because of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. This visit was carried out in line with Ofsted’s procedures for monitoring services during such periods of suspended routine inspection activity, due to concerns about the safety of children.

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This monitoring visit

The home registered in August 2020. Since that time, the registered manager no longer works at the setting and left the organisation in September 2020. Another manager took over in the interim period but made the decision to return to a previous position. A new interim manager is in post and has submitted documentation to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

Inspectors found that since the home registered, the quality of care has been variable and children have not been cared for by a consistent, stable staff team. A child said, ‘Sometimes I don’t know who is coming to look after me, I just wait and see who turns up.’

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This monitoring visit

Contrary to the admissions procedure, children have not benefited from a thorough assessment of their needs. Children have moved into the home without a clear plan for work to be undertaken or an assessment of their compatibility with other children living in the home. Consequently, one child moved in and out of the home as staff were unable to meet his needs or keep him safe. Furthermore, there was no evidence of the skills, training or experience of the staff team or how children will be Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 2 safely supported. This does not ensure that children are appropriately placed or that the staff team understands and is fully aware of children’s needs.

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This monitoring visit

Care planning documents and risk assessments do not include all known information about children, and documentation is not kept up to date as new events occur. Assessments do not identify or include the action staff should take to minimise and reduce risks. The lack of clear risk identification and planning to address concerns fails to ensure that the safety of the children is paramount.

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This monitoring visit

Children do not always benefit from clear and consistent boundaries or effective behaviour management strategies, including physical restraint. Staff have not consistently recorded the disciplinary measures used to manage children’s behaviours. Additionally, such records do not provide a clear overview of the behaviour that led to such measures and the child’s views. Neither had the registered manager consistently evaluated the appropriateness or effectiveness of the measures used. Consequently, staff continue to use ineffective behaviour management strategies and children are not learning to reflect on and improve their behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

The internal monitoring of the home and the independent visits are not effective and have failed to identify the weaknesses in practice found during this visit. For example, the information included in the risk management plan and behaviour management plan maintained on the child’s file is in relation to a previous placement and does not identify the child’s current needs. More robust systems are needed to ensure that the safety and well-being of the child are promoted at all times.

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This monitoring visit

The home environment is restricted in parts to children. Internal locks have been placed on the doors downstairs and bathrooms are identified as ‘staff only’. This detracts from the nurturing family environment that is identified in the home’s statement of purpose.

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This monitoring visit

Direct work and debriefs with children to establish their views following incidents have not been robust. The home has not completed work with children to address their feelings following a restraint, nor has it been evidenced in key-work sessions in relation to discussing children’s specific needs.

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This monitoring visit

Staff say that they are fully supported and receive regular supervision, which enables them to reflect on their practice and develop their skills. This, moving forward, should provide further continuity of care and support to the children.

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This monitoring visit

Education is an area which the home supports well. Children have been able to remain at their educational placements during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been supported by the home and was at the request of children. The home communicates effectively with schools, and children complete education that is appropriate to their needs and wishes. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 3 Allegations made against staff have been acted on with appropriate safeguards in place to protect children. There are records in place which demonstrate a clear audit trail of events, including actions taken in response to allegations against staff. However, the provider has not notified the regulator of all serious incidents and allegations.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual and interim manager acknowledge the shortfalls identified during this visit and have already started to review the documentation in the home and work with the staff to improve their skills and knowledge to care for children.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 4

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each child’s risk assessment, and their role in keeping children safe. 18 April 2021

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 18 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 5 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff training, sufficiency of staffing to reflect the needs of the children and monitoring of the home’s practice by the manager.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all necessary information is captured on the impact risk assessments, including relevant background histories, in order to make an accurate assessment of the risk factors associated with any new children moving into the home and also the potential risk on other children in placement. 18 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and 18 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 6 allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the needs to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; 18 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 7 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")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 18 April 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 18 April 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 8 (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (5)) 18 April 2021

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Social Care Regulatory Inspection Manager Claire Deary, Social Care Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2595112 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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