Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 1 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated and provides care for two children who may have social, emotional or mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 4 February 2022.

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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

The inspector discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 3

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improvement to be good

Children live in a bright, welcoming home with modern furnishing throughout. There was a leak in the bathroom during the inspection. This was addressed immediately with a plan to remedy the electrical fault in the kitchen ceiling. Staff appropriately purchased substitute lighting downstairs in the interim. Plans to develop a therapy room within the converted garage have not been implemented since the home opened. However, this is part of the home’s planned development which will provide children with a space to engage in support provided by the in-house therapist.

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improvement to be good

Staff are provided with detailed support plans for each child which the in-house therapist helps to develop. Staff have a sound understanding of the home’s therapeutic approach which is specifically tailored to children’s needs. Children are supported through regular individual sessions with staff which focus on their emerging support needs. Children’s needs and vulnerabilities are therefore well understood by staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to talk through their feelings which has, at times, been a struggle for both children. However, staff are nurturing and help children to understand what is behind their difficult feelings. One child chose not to meet with the inspector, and another child told the inspector he ‘liked’ living in the home. The child also kindly shared the lovely cake they had baked as part of their education.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to engage in their education, which is currently mainly virtual. However, children do not benefit from an individual structured timetable. Staff appropriately advocate for children’s learning needs. One child is now awaiting an assessment of his education, health and care needs following this advocacy support. Feedback from one educational placement reflected concerns about the home’s approach to supporting one child. There are now regular professional meetings in place which enable collaborative work between the home and the school.

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improvement to be good

Social care professionals shared positive feedback about the support that staff provide. Children are encouraged to take part in a range of activities which are available in the local area. Staff ensure that children are helped to maintain positive relationships with family and friends through supporting them to spend time together.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of the identified risks for each child. Risk management plans provide appropriate strategies to mitigate these risks. However, not all known risks for one child are included in their individual plan. Staff, therefore, did not have knowledge of one potential risk when meeting with the inspector. There Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 4 is no suitable reason for the information not being provided to the staff team at the point the child moved to the home. The inspector discussed this with the registered manager, who updated relevant plans and shared these with staff. This is important for the safety of the child who has been missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff effectively follow the detailed guidance provided on how to respond to children when they go missing from the home. Children have had several missing episodes since the home has opened. One child appropriately moved on to a new placement soon after moving to the home due to significant emerging concerns around their increasing missing episodes.

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improvement to be good

Collaborative work between the team and statutory agencies has helped to safeguard children. This has included when children have been missing from the home and when there have been concerns for a child’s emotional well-being. The home’s therapeutic approach helps to keep the use of physical interventions to a minimum. Following a physical intervention, staff spend time to help the child to reflect on their feelings and find different ways to manage these more safely.

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improvement to be good

There has been one allegation, made by a child, in respect of a member of staff. The internal investigation, undertaken following consultation with the designated officer, concluded this to be unsubstantiated. However, the previous responsible individual responded to subsequent concerns raised by staff which followed shortly after the allegation. Internal investigations were appropriately instigated to address these allegations.

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improvement to be good

The whistle-blowing policy which provides guidance on reporting concerns is well understood by staff. However, this does not provide information on all relevant external organisations staff can report concerns to. There have been no further allegations made by children or staff.

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improvement to be good

The gate leading from the side garden to the road was padlocked. This does not reflect the home’s emergency evacuation plan in the event of a fire. The registered manager addressed this by removing the padlock. There is now a clear second escape route in accordance with the home’s fire risk assessment.

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good

The registered manager knows the children well. They spend individual quality time with each child, which helps them to develop positive relationships with the children. The registered manager advocates well for children. They are focused on ensuring that each child receives the support they need. The needs of one child are not in accordance with the conditions of registration of the home. However, the statement of purpose does, in part, reflect these needs. The new responsible individual will be submitting a variation of registration following this inspection to address this.

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good

The registered manager is new to this role and is focused on continuing to develop professionally. They have successfully completed their level 5 diploma since starting Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 5 in post. The registered manager has also ensured that staff have been provided with further training to meet the specific needs of the children they care for. However, the monitoring of the quality of care does not help inform the development plan for the home. This includes the areas identified for improvement during the inspection.

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good

New staff are provided with an appropriate induction and training which equips them with the relevant knowledge to undertake their role. Although there have been considerable changes within the staff team since the home opened, there is now a stable staff team. Staff feel well supported by the new registered manager, with one staff member commenting they ‘love their job’. This is important, as some staff experienced difficulties in working in the home prior to their appointment. Staff feel able to speak with the new responsible individual should they wish to raise any concerns.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. However, the recordings of individual supervision for two staff members did not sufficiently demonstrate reflective discussions on their own individual practice. There was no specific point of discussion focused on safeguarding, which is important in respect of children’s identified risks. There was also some repetition in these recordings. Overall, the supervision recordings do not appropriately reflect the home’s therapeutic approach. Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 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 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 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. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(v)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that each child has an individual timetable for education when this is provided through formal and informal learning. 30 April 2022

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in 30 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 7 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, expand the current supervision records to reflect discussions about child-related practice and managing children’s risks. 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 30 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 8

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should review the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures, and update them to include information of relevant external organisations that staff can contact to report any concerns. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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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: 2604877 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd

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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

Maria Lonergan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2604877 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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