Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 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

This home is one of a number operated by a large private organisation. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that they provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The children were all spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in May 2019. There is a registered manager in post.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last visit to the home, six children have moved out. Children speak highly of their home and the care that they receive. Children who live in the home have developed a sense of belonging, and they trust the adults who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is friendly and homely. The home is personalised with children’s photographs, awards, certificates, and belongings throughout. The vision imbedded in the running of the home is child centred. This supports children to feel important and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their education because learning is central to the culture in the home. Staff have high aspirations for each child and advocate for them in education meetings. Staff challenge where it is necessary to ensure that children have the educational support they need to reflect their individual needs. As a result, children are making progress, and opportunities for their futures are enhanced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in various activities that promote their talents, hobbies and interests. Children are encouraged sensitively to try new activities out of their comfort zone safely, and this has increased their self-esteem and supported them to manage new situations. Children have enjoyed work experience at a local animal sanctuary and have raised money for a local charity in their community. Staff provide consistent care and have remained committed despite the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are promoted by staff. Staff ensure that healthcare plans identify children’s individual health needs. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and children are supported to attend required medical appointments. One child requires complex surgery in the future due to a pre-existing medical condition. Staff have been proactive in the plans to adapt the home to accommodate the child’s recovery, and they are preparing the child in a sensitive and caring way.

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

Children are safe and well cared for. Individual risk assessments are followed by all staff, and strategies are effective in ensuring that children are safe. Appropriate safety and monitoring measures are in place to ensure that children are safe, including when they are online.

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

Staff are trained in de-escalation techniques, and the interventions are effective in preventing incidents from escalating. Incident reports are appropriately detailed, and physical intervention is only used as a last resort to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 4 Staff communicate well with other agencies and share information when necessary to ensure children are safeguarded. Social workers and independent reviewing officers told the inspector that the communication from the home was ‘excellent’. One social worker told the inspector that, ‘[The child] has made massive progress since moving in – in lots of ways. [The child] has developed more trusting relationships than I have seen previously and, in general, looks happier and more settled.’

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

Staff respond proactively when children go missing from their home. Staff work closely with other agencies in order to locate children and ensure that they are safe. Strategies for staff to follow are clearly recorded and easy to understand. Staff support children to understand risks in their lives, and they help them to develop strategies to keep themselves safe. This helps children to make good decisions, form trusting relationships with staff and manage risks in their lives.

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

Before a child moves into the home, the assessment process to ensure that their needs can be met is not always robust enough. The process does not always consider the location of the home or the compatibility of children already living at the home. Since the last inspection, children have moved into the home when the staff could not keep them safe due to known risks escalating. This also had a detrimental impact on children already living at the home, and it subsequently resulted in children moving on in an unplanned way. This lack of clear risk identification and matching is detrimental to children .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager knows each of the children well, and he has created a warm and nurturing environment and a positive ethos among the team. Staff are child centred in their approach. Staff feel supported and speak positively about the manager as being a strong, supportive and caring leader.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with professionals. The inspector saw evidence of proactive challenge to external agencies when decisions were not felt to be in children’s best interests. This shows persistence from the manager in the best interests of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions are completed in line with the provider’s statement of purpose and are valued by the staff team. Staff are suitably trained to meet the children’s individual needs. They have engaged in a wide range of training that supports them to develop their knowledge of current issues affecting children in society. This has enabled staff to educate and empower children through developing their knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and children come together to review plans and goals as well as responding to any requests or ‘grumbles’. The manager has been instrumental in plans to make full use of the grounds and landscape the garden to give children more space. This means that children are actively included in the decisions made in their home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 5 Staff use incentives and consequences in order to support children with their behaviour. However, the manager has not always adequately reviewed all documentation in line with children’s plans, to ensure that measures used are proportionate. At the time of the inspection, a child had been given a consequence for a behaviour, but there was no timeframe given. Despite the child making good progress, they had not been told what was expected before the sanction could be lifted or reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

In particular the provider needs to ensure that children’s plans are reviewed regularly and reflect positive progress that children are making. 2 April 2022

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 2 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 7

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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 for children’s home: 2511662 8

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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 Ltd, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Inspector

Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2511662 9 regulates and inspects 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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