Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 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

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is currently one child living at the home. He has lived in the home for a few months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some recent improvements in the home’s decor. New soft furnishings and wall art provide the child with a home which is warm and well presented. Work has begun on adapting the outer buildings for a home gym.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is settling in well and benefits from living in a caring environment. He is building good relationships with the staff. As a result, the child is trying a wider range of healthy foods and going out with staff on activities, such as bike riding and skateboarding. This is keeping him active and healthy. These activities are captured in memory books that help strengthen experiences that the child can look back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good-quality direct work taking place with the child. This is helping him understand the dangers of smoking and the risks associated with going missing from home. Furthermore, the child has recently completed some online training to help him have an increased awareness of knife crime and substance misuse. As a result, risk-taking behaviours have significantly reduced and the child is making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted in the home and staff are aware of the local offer. When education placements are not available, the manager has liaised with professionals, but the child is still not attending any formal education or learning. This is limiting his educational opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child engages in children’s meetings and a range of pertinent topics are discussed. However, the manager should ensure that any actions from these discussions are fed into the monthly team meetings and shared among the staff to give the child the opportunity to have his voice heard.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is good. Staff are clear on their responsibilities and what action they must take if a child protection concern arises.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the child’s risks. Managers ensure that risk assessments and behaviour support plans are detailed and provide staff with clear guidance and strategies to support the child. Staff understand these plans and leaders and managers regularly review the plans to ensure that any new and emerging risks are considered.

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

Staff are all suitably trained in administration of medication. There are robust checks in place for the safe storage and recording of all the child’s medicines. Recently, the Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 4 child was able to discuss changes to his prescription with a health professional to ensure that his health needs are suitably met.

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

Recruitment checks are robust. All new staff are suitably vetted following safer recruitment guidelines prior to starting work in the home. This promotes safe working practices.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home. Staff make good use of de-escalation techniques. As a result, restraints are minimal and used only as a last resort. However, the manager must ensure that when a child receives a consequence that this is proportionate and is restorative in nature.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new manager in post since the last full inspection. She is suitably experienced, qualified and committed in her role. Staff say that she has brought clear direction and she is supportive and approachable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place whose members have placed a positive emphasis on developing a therapeutic approach. As a result, the staff are working well together to strive to understand the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made improvements in her monitoring systems and has introduced changes to paperwork. Staff say that this is more organised. External monitoring by an independent visitor is ongoing and is helpful in providing a good overview of the development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Comprehensive training is offered to staff to help them understand the needs of child they care for. This includes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and exploitation. This ensures that all staff are skilled to meet the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective and clear communication with professionals is positive. There are good working relationships with health professionals, the in-house therapist and the youth offending team. The social worker was complimentary about the progress the child is making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision which is structured and reflective. Regular team meetings take place, and this gives staff the opportunity to share information about the child’s care. This means that team members are consistent in their approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Every effort is made to help promote family relationships. This is a strength of the team. A family member spoke positively about the home and said: ‘The staff go above and beyond to facilitate family time, and the staff work together.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 5

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of 3 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 6 exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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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

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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)) 3 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2595112 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that any consequence used is proportionate and is restorative in nature.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the child is consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care and ensure that these discussions are fed into staff meetings to look at any actions required in order to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: 2595112 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: 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 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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