Children's home run by Aspris Care North West Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 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 one of a number of homes owned and operated by a private organisation. This home provides care for up to two children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there are two children living in the home.

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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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build relationships with the adults who care for them. They have a range of positive experiences and activities, which includes a recent holiday to London.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children understand how to make a complaint. When children have complained or raised concerns, their issues are addressed and responded to. This positive response ensures that children feel listened to and their views valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are lots of direct-work sessions completed with the children. These are relevant to their current risks and follow up from any incidents. Direct-work sessions show that children’s views and wishes are considered, and when these were not judged to be in their best interest, the reasons for the decision taken were clearly explained to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are attending school and making good progress with their education. When the children face difficulties at school, the manager and staff work proactively with school staff to address any issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home, which has recently been redecorated, is a warm and welcoming environment. It is a nice space for children to spend time in. However, the garden needs some attention, for example to repair or replace broken furniture and clear away debris.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They have access to local health services when they need them. Children are provided with therapeutic care and support. However, medication records need to be clearer. There are some medications without prescription labels, and records do not fully explain the reason why medication is prescribed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work with placing authorities and families to promote positive and meaningful family time in line with agreed plans. Children are also supported to spend time with friends. This means that children have age-appropriate social interactions and can build skills and strategies to form and maintain relationships and gain a sense of their own identity.

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

Incidents are managed well and are recorded appropriately. Direct work is completed with the children following incidents. The manager has good oversight and has added her evaluation onto each report. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 4 Risk assessments are robust. They include clear strategies for staff to follow, which staff understand and put into practice. However, not all staff have read the most up- to-date plans.

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

When children go missing from care, there are clear and comprehensive plans in place for staff to follow. The manager and staff work collaboratively with external professionals, such as the local police and missing from home team, to ensure well- coordinated responses when children do go missing from the home.

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

Imposed consequences are not evaluated for effectiveness. The manager should ensure that all incidents of control and discipline have regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and effective.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development. The children don’t always agree with restrictions in place. However, these are appropriate and direct work is completed with the children to explain these restrictions.

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

Staff are suitably trained in restraint. There have been no restraints, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this training alongside the positive relationships that staff have with the children.

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

There are some shortfalls in recruitment processes. There is not sufficient information in regard to staff employment history and the reasons for leaving previous care roles. This does not adhere to safer recruitment processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in post who has an ambitious vision for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff gave positive feedback about the support they receive from leaders and managers. They receive regular supervisions, which give them the opportunity to reflect on how their practice affects the care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and occur monthly. They cover topics which are relevant to the current matters arising in the home. The meetings are attended by the home’s therapist, who uses these meetings to deliver training to the staff team on matters such as attachment styles and therapeutic language.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing is consistent. There is a core team in place which is suitably trained in mandatory subjects alongside training to meet the children’s individual needs, such as child exploitation and trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and take action when needed. They have positive professional relationships with relevant external professionals. When a child was not settling in the home, the manager ensured that plans were reviewed promptly with the placing authority to consider Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 5 the best steps to take next and to identify any additional support that may be necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Plans for individual children are comprehensive and identify their needs. The plans take into account the local authority care plan for each child. There are some external plans, such as an individual health assessment, which are not available to staff. This means staff are not able to accurately implement these plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. She has effective systems in place to monitor and review the home and the quality of care provided to the children. However, internal and external monitoring does not include regular feedback from children and stakeholders. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that 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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that children’s plans are available for staff to read and understand. 31 December

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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

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the effectiveness of consequences is evaluated. 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that— 31 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 7 medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that medication is administered as directed by the prescriber and that this is clearly identified on medication records.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 31 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulation 44 ) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2582337 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Suzanne Grocott-Waters

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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