Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Bury

Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 1 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: 2582248 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live at this home and are settled. Children say that they like the staff and find them very supportive. One child said, ‘The staff here are great. I do not class them as staff because we are all like one big family. We all get along very well and have a great bond.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with friends in the local community. However, routine ‘coming in’ and ‘going to bed’ times are overly restrictive and lack full consideration to children’s age and rights for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make exceptional progress in their education from their starting points. Staff establish good routines for children, which supports their attendance and enthusiasm for learning. One child managed to achieve positive GCSE grades beyond expectations and has secured a place at a sports college. This is a great success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s complex needs are understood well by the staff, who follow individualised plans. Social workers spoken to were complimentary and positive about how well children are supported. One social worker said, ‘Staff know the child’s needs very well and they meet these accordingly.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthy eating and exercise are fully encouraged by staff. Children particularly value the enjoyable and exciting activities that staff offer. These activities include trips out to the cinema, going to the seaside, riding their bicycles, swimming, trampolining and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing good independence skills, such as showering at regular intervals, washing their clothes and keeping their bedrooms in a clean condition. Children can earn rewards as part of the home’s incentive scheme. This is boosting their overall confidence and self-esteem. Consequences are used occasionally. When they are put in place, they are effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children by ensuring that they spend time with their friends and family. This helps children to feel valued and develop a secure sense of belonging to people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints by children are handled sensitively. For example, children benefit from advocacy support, which ensures that their voices are heard. Children move on from the home in a planned way and experience well-coordinated transitions.

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

Children say that they feel safe at the home and can talk to trusting adults if they have any issues or concerns. Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 4 Risk management strategies include carrying out room checks and spot checks of mobile phones, but these are not recorded. This does not demonstrate that the practice is robust. However, the risk assessments are of good quality and capture known concerns, such as the risk of online social media. Children respond well to handing their mobile phones in at night and allowing checks to be undertaken by staff. This is helping children to stay safe.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. This is a particular achievement for one of the children from her starting point. Effective matching processes and established routines have resulted in the child settling in exceptionally well. This has led to a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

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

Staff spend dedicated time talking to children about any emerging issues or concerns. Through key-work support, staff educate children about the importance of forming positive relationships with their peers. Staff quickly address indicators of bullying and support children in completing online bullying courses to raise their awareness of the risks. However, opportunities for children to learn about discrimination in the wider context are limited.

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

Children have the support of the in-house therapist. Successful engagement with the children has resulted in a reduction in challenging behaviours as they learn to self- regulate and manage their emotions better.

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

There are safe recruitment processes to ensure that any person employed to work at the home does not present any known safeguarding risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate and child centred. The manager is very knowledgeable about each child, their respective needs and plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced, settled staff team cares for the children. There is little reliance on using agency staff. The continuity of staffing is helping children to secure positive attachments. Staff are enthusiastic and highly committed to the children they care for. They demonstrate a good insight into children’s needs but are not all secure in their understanding of the documents relied on to best support children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of record-keeping is good overall. Case records are up to date and reflect children’s lived experiences and related plans. There are also good mechanisms for tracking children’s progress. This includes the positive input of the in-house therapist.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s internal monitoring and reports about the quality of care are overly descriptive. They do not clearly evaluate how the work being completed is impacting on outcomes for children. However, this does not deflect from the good progress that children are making. Staff have access to a wide range of training to support Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 5 them in their roles. However, it is unclear from the records that all staff have been trained in self-harm and ligatures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that gives them the opportunity to reflect on their practice and discuss various aspects of children’s care. Staff report that they are well supported and find the manager approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly team meetings and daily handovers take place. These are good avenues for sharing relevant information, including any incidents or emerging concerns affecting the children. Staff work well with social workers and families by providing weekly updates, which keeps them informed of events and progress. A family member was very complimentary about the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are signs of wear and tear outside which have not been quickly repaired and could lead to potential hazards. However, the home has a welcoming family feel with photos of children displayed in the lounge. The indoor areas, including the children’s bedrooms, are personalised and maintained to a good standard. Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 6

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to putting in place age-appropriate ‘coming in’ times which are in line with children’s expressed wishes and feelings and are balanced in terms of what is in the child’s best interests. The reasons for reaching any decision will need to be carefully explained to and understood by the child concerned. 17 September

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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— 17 September Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 7 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that hazards outdoors, including the garden area and loose flags, are attended to and made safe.

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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

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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is robust management oversight and monitoring of: staff’s training needs; staff’s understanding of documents to support children’s care, including risk assessments; behaviour support plans; and staff’s recording of key-work sessions with children. 17 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff take every step to make sure that individual children and young people are educated in the wider context about discrimination, marginalisation or bullying from their peers by virtue of their gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, disability or for any other reason. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.12)  The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement, in relation to demonstrating from an evaluative perspective how staff practice is impacting on outcomes for children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 8

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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: 2582248 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sandcastle Care Limited, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Titterington

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Inspector

Michael Charnley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2582248 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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