Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 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 children’s home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to two children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide therapeutic support for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At this inspection, the home was operating without a registered manager.

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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 SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 22 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 2

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Recent inspection history

Not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is planned in partnership with the company psychologist. Detailed therapeutic pathways provide the child, and the staff caring for them, with strategies to support their emotional health and the tools to enable them to begin to understand their past childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In accordance with the home’s statement of purpose, the children are offered individual therapy sessions. The children have developed strong and trusting relationships with the therapist and engage in sessions on a regular basis. One child said: ‘I feel cared for here. Everyone listens and always tries to help me. I want to work here when I am older.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite a number of changes in the management and staff of the home, most children’s routines have been maintained. For example, children consistently attend a suitable educational placement and make good progress. Each child has an up-to- date education, health and care plan that clearly details the help and support they require. One child said: ‘I am really enjoying my course. The staff help me with my course work. I am planning to go to university and eventually I would like a job in social care.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive the appropriate support required to maintain contact with the important people in their lives. Contact plans are in place and provide clear information and guidance regarding where contact is permitted or restricted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to try out new activities and develop hobbies in accordance with their individual interests. When children find it difficult to engage in outdoor recreational activities, staff provide a range of in-house activities such as board and card games, baking and pamper nights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with children takes place on a regular basis through children’s meetings, key-work sessions and day-to-day discussions with the staff team. Furthermore, children are provided with opportunities to provide formal feedback and suggestions via the in-house survey which is completed each month. However, children do not routinely review the work undertaken with them or are provided with opportunities to comment on this work. As a result, children are not fully engaged in the planning and review of their placement targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are designed and decorated to reflect their personalities. However, when items such as a wardrobe or mattress are damaged, there is a delay in replacing them. Likewise, steps are not taken to address the graffiti in once child’s bedroom. The failure to address these matters within a suitable time frame is contrary to the nurturing ethos as depicted in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 4

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

Behaviour management strategies are developed in partnership with the company psychologist. Strategies provide for a nurturing and supportive response to children’s escalation in behaviours. From their initial starting points, disruptive or challenging incidents have decreased. This is because of the clear guidance that enables the staff to help children express their emotions in a positive and safe environment.

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

Risk assessments are updated to include all pertinent risks. However, although there are some risk-reduction strategies in place, they do not provide the staff with a clear response to mitigate potential risks or identify where additional support is required. Consequently, there are inconsistencies in the management of some risk-taking behaviours.

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

The staff are trained in de-escalation techniques and the use of physical intervention. Records demonstrate that staff are effective in de-escalating challenging behaviours. As a result, there have been no instances when a physical intervention has been required.

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

Children rarely go missing or absent themselves from the home. Since the last monitoring visit in March 2021, there have been five brief occasions when children have been absent or missing from the home. On each occasion, records demonstrate that staff take swift and effective action to locate the children and return them safely to the home.

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good

The children’s home is currently managed by an acting manager who has made an application for registration to Ofsted. The home has operated without a permanent registered manager since June 2021.

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good

The home has experienced a significant number of challenges and change since the monitoring visit in March 2021. Since the departure of the registered manager, the home has been managed by two interim managers. Furthermore, because of a number of staff leaving the organisation, there has been a reliance on agency staff and staff from the organisation’s other children’s homes to cover this shortfall. This impacts on the consistency of children’s care within the home.

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good

The interim manager is being supported by senior managers to develop the skills required to effectively monitor and review the quality of the work undertaken in the home. However, shortfalls found at this inspection, have not been identified and therefore steps to improve the quality of the work in these areas has not yet been devised.

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good

Notifications in accordance with regulation are routinely provided to Ofsted. This means that incidents are independently reviewed against the steps taken to manage and reduce risks or for emerging patterns and trends. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 5 The independent visitor’s reports provide a suitable overview of the progress children make in this home. Overall, the visitor seeks feedback from the relevant professionals, children and their parents to develop a view of the care being provided in the home.

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good

The staff receive ongoing training, including mandatory training and relevant online focused training. A staff member said: ‘The training is good. We also have regular training with the therapists, and this is very helpful.’ Furthermore, staff receive regular supervision. However, further development is required to incorporate the review of the content and quality of records, including risk assessments and key- work sessions for children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 4 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1)) 4 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 4 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 7 understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

uses this understanding deliver care the meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risk on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that checks are regularly undertaken to ensure that children have appropriate bedroom furniture including a suitable mattress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the responsible person leads and manages a team which provides high quality care for all the children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. They should play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home through developing a culture of high aspiration for children which is demonstrated through the care, resources and opportunities offered to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. This is with specific regard to key-work sessions and risk assessment and risk review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19) Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 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 for children’s home: 2582247 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: 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Penelope Rafferty

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2582247 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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