Children's home run by Aspris Care North West Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 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 is a privately owned children’s home. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that they provide care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has left and another child has moved in. Children’s moves in and out of the home are well planned and records demonstrate that outcomes for children who have left are positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spent time throughout the inspection with inspectors, sharing their views and experiences of living in the home. Children said, ‘I like my home and the staff’, and ‘It’s better than other places I have lived.’ Children said that they felt cared for, safe and happy. Children know how to make a complaint and identified staff that they could talk to if they were upset or unhappy. The relationships observed between children and staff were strong, positive and caring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children living at the home. They act as strong advocates to ensure that children’s voices are heard. Consequently, children have been able to spend time with family members, which has reduced their anxieties. The team strives to work in partnership with professionals. However, this is not consistently recorded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational achievement is variable. Not all children are attending full- time education, and this has impacted on their learning. The manager has escalated concerns to the education authority when this is not actioned. However, this challenge has not been sufficient in bringing about effective changes

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is promoted by the staff team. Staff ensure that healthcare plans identify children’s individual needs. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and children are supported to attend required medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage well with the provider’s therapist. Handovers between the therapist and the staff team ensure that children’s emotional needs are understood and supported well. The staff request referrals to specialist services, including substance misuse services, for assessments to support children’s well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that supports children’s individual needs. Children attend events that celebrate diversity and inclusion. Staff encourage children to try foods from a variety of cultures. This promotes children’s understanding and awareness of equality and diversity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff proactively challenge placing authorities when there are shortfalls in services to support children. They have supported children to make a complaint when the level of support falls below an acceptable standard. This ensures that children’s voices are heard in the plans around their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 4

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

Children told inspectors they feel safe and are well cared for. Children are kept safe by the staff team when safeguarding issues arise. However, risk management plans do not provide enough detailed guidance to respond to risks. Despite being reviewed regularly, strategies are not updated when there has been an increase in incidents where children are at risk. This means that new staff and bank workers are not fully aware of the actions that they are required to take to keep children safe.

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

Clear procedures are followed by staff to ensure that children are safely returned to the home when they have been missing. Relevant authorities are notified without delay. However, a child has twice left the home without the knowledge of staff. Although the child has returned safely, records do not show the actions the registered manager has taken to ensure that this does not occur again.

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

There have been several physical restraints involving children. These are recorded and monitored by the registered manager, with appropriate challenges to practice when required. However, sanctions are not always proportionate and at times enforce a restriction of children’s liberties or impose inappropriate financial penalties. Although there is reported to be a culture of restorative practice promoted in the home, this is inconsistent. As a result, not all children are given clear guidance to help them manage their emotions and behaviour.

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

Safer recruitment practices for new staff working at the home are robust. The registered manager has ensured that all appropriate checks have been completed before staff work at the home. This ensures that all staff have been thoroughly checked to keep children safe.

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

The recording of medication is confusing, as staff do not consistently include the actual dose provided. This means that is not always clear if children have been given their correct medication.

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good

The registered manager is experienced in children’s residential care and appropriately qualified for his role. He demonstrates genuine commitment and high aspirations for the children in his care. Feedback from staff and external professionals on the leadership of the home is, without exception, positive. Staff said the manager is ‘supportive’ and ‘readily available to help’, and ‘provides daily feedback on what we do well’.

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good

There have been several changes in staff since the last inspection. However, core team members have worked alongside new staff to ensure consistency. Most of the staff are working towards a suitable residential childcare qualification.

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good

All staff receive supervision sessions in accordance with the company’s policy and team meetings are held regularly. Records reflect on practice and support Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 5 professional development to improve practice. However, actions identified are not allocated with timescales and some remain outstanding. This need to be strengthened to demonstrate all work being completed.

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good

There is a lack of management evaluation to identify whether staff need to change their practice in response to incidents. The registered manager does not consistently consider whether sanctions are effective or if care plans and risk management plans are clear and accurate. This means that improvements to practice are not always identified and the agreed strategies implemented. This was evident in a missing- from-home incident record viewed at this inspection. Although this did not impact directly on the child, it has the potential to do so.

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good

The independent person visiting the home has provided feedback on improvements required. However, the registered manager does not consistently use this information to improve identified areas of practice. Furthermore, the internal monitoring of the home requires improvement to demonstrate the progress and experiences of children from their starting points.

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good

The registered manager reported that he has been supporting the new staff team by directly caring for children at times, and this has had an impact on his ability to regularly monitor standards, including managing paperwork in the home. Despite the additional hours reported to have been worked, rotas do not show the actual hours the manager has worked. A requirement is made to address this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 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 achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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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

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(x)) 18 August 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk management plans are updated, reviewed when not effective 18 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 7 and provide the staff with clear strategies to keep children safe, taking into account children’s individual needs.

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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

This specifically relates to ensuring the manager oversees and monitors the quality of recording in the home. 18 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(f)) 18 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The provider needs to show on rotas all hours that all staff, including the registered manager, have worked. 18 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement, in relation to making an effective evaluation and critique of the home’s practice and how this may impact on outcomes for children from their starting points. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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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: 2596541 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 Ltd, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspection Manager Amie Anders, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2596541 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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