Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2590726 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

A private company owns this home. The home provides care for up to two children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and always place the well-being of individual children at the centre of their practice. The children said that they are happy living at the home and that if they have a problem they can talk to staff and they will always help.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child has individualised plans which are detailed and give clear guidance to staff. Staff have demonstrated a good understanding of what the plans are.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported in line with relevant plans, ensuring it meets the individual needs of the children so that they can maintain relationships which are important to them. Children are also encouraged to take part in activities and hobbies that they enjoy. This means that children can build skills and strategies to form and maintain relationships and gain a sense of their own identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home are always welcomed sensitively and with the best possible planning. There is a robust referral process, which is used to assess the needs of children who already live at the home and the impact for children who may be new to the home. This ensures that there is a child-centred approach when making decisions about whether children live together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have left the home have left in a positive way in line with their individual plans. One child was supported and encouraged to develop their independent living skills. This targeted work helped prepare them for adulthood, which meant they were able to move into a semi-independent placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with their education. When children have faced difficulties with attending, the manager and staff have advocated on their behalf and have challenged the virtual school to ensure that their educational needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in seeking health advice when needed. They work in partnership with health professionals to ensure that the children’s health needs are met and that the children have access to necessary health services.

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

Each child’s individual risks are detailed in their risk-management plans. These are robust documents which are frequently updated and give staff clear guidance to ensure consistent responses to children’s behaviours. Staff understand these documents and put them into practice. However, the manager and staff should ensure that plans contain current information and do not refer to accompanying documents which are no longer in use. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 4 Staff respond with clear boundaries about what is acceptable behaviour. They seek to understand the children’s individual needs and to support the children to manage their own behaviours and emotions appropriately.

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

Incidents of holding children are reasonable and proportionate. They are recorded appropriately, and all relevant professionals are notified. The manager has evaluated each incident, and children are given the opportunity for a debrief after a hold has taken place. However, these debriefs focus on the child’s behaviour and do not ensure that the child understands the reason why a hold was necessary. In addition, staff are not always spoken to when they have held a child.

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

There are some shortfalls in recruitment processes. Gaps in staff’s employment history are not always explored. The provider needs to ensure that recruitment of staff is consistently robust and in line with regulation, to ensure that all staff are safe to work with children.

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

Direct work takes place around relevant topics, such as e-safety, emotional well- being and education. This helps the children to learn how to keep themselves safe. These sessions are proactive but are also delivered in response to new risks that arise.

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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 go missing from the home. Staff have been proactive in ensuring that children’s well-being remains a priority while they are away from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager in post who has high expectations for what all children can achieve. The staff are positive about the manager and describe a supportive environment. Staff spoken to describe the manager as a ‘good role model’ who is readily available to provide advice and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands each child’s individual needs and encourages the achievement of important milestones and goals. The manager monitors the progress that individual children make and can demonstrate the positive impact that living at the home has had on children’s progress and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are systems in place for effective monitoring of the home. These ensure that the manager has good oversight of the home and is able to identify and address any issues.

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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 at the home. The meetings are used as a development opportunity for the team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 5 Staffing is consistent. There is a core team of staff in place who are suitably trained in mandatory subjects and to meet the children’s individual needs. Staff are provided with regular supervisions which are supportive and 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

The manager notifies Ofsted of significant events which occur at the home. However, these notifications are not always sent in a satisfactory timescale. This affects external monitoring of children’s safety and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work positively with external professionals, such as social workers and the virtual school, to build effective partnership working. This promotes positive outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically ensure that any gaps in employment are fully explored and recorded. 13 March 2023

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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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(b)(i)(c)) 13 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording, specifically ensuring that risk management plans include current information and do not include incorrect children’s names. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 2590726 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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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2590726 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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