Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 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 children’s home is operated by a private company. The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in June 2021. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 2634800 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff always place the well-being of the child at the centre of their practice and are advocates for the child, which ensures that the child’s views are heard. There are 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

The manager and staff are working collaboratively with the child’s school and placing authority to support the child’s needs. They have challenged the school when they have felt the child’s needs have not been met. The personal education plan has not been updated and the manager has not requested it. This means that staff do not have access to up-to-date education plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health and well-being needs are met. They have access to health professionals when needed. In addition, specialist external help is sourced when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child has access to a wide range of activities both in the home and in the community. However, the child often chooses to spend time away from the home with friends rather than take part in activities with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family time in line with relevant plans, ensuring it meets the individual needs of the child. This ensures that children can maintain relationships that are important to them. The manager and staff work with the family and placing authority to promote meaningful and safe time together for the child and their family, and they share any concerns about family time with the relevant professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment which is maintained to a high standard and has recently been decorated throughout. It is a nice space for the child to spend time in.

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

The staff have supported the child through a number of complex safeguarding risks. Due to their resilience and perseverance, the child has been kept safe throughout. When it has been necessary, the manager has challenged professionals to make sure that the child’s best interests are advocated for.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are detailed, and staff understand the individual risks for the child. The manager and staff work collaboratively with external professionals to support the child’s needs.

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

The manager and staff work together with other professionals, such as the local police and missing-from-home team, to ensure well-coordinated responses when the Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 4 child goes missing from the home. There are clear and comprehensive plans in place for staff to follow when the child goes missing. The staff are proactive in their responses, which has meant that the child is often quickly located. At the time of the inspection, the child had been missing for a considerable time. During this time, staff were travelling several hours each day to where the child’s family live to search for the child. However, on one occasion, after receiving information of a sighting in the evening, staff did not return to the area until the following morning.

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

When consequences have been issued, they are reasonable and proportionate. The manager has oversight of reports of those used and evaluates them. This means that there is regular scrutiny to ensure that staff use consequences fairly and that they are effective.

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

Direct-work sessions take place with the child to support their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. These are carried out both proactively and reactively. Following an incident in the community, the manager involved external professionals to carry out educational work with the child around knife crime. However, there was no follow-up work by staff in the home to complement the work carried out by other professionals.

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

Careful recruitment and regular monitoring of staff has ensured there is a suitable team of staff supporting the child. When there have been concerns about the conduct of one staff member, the manager has carried out investigations and taken appropriate action. He also ensured that the relevant authorities and professional bodies were informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager in post who has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager has high aspirations for what the child can achieve. He has a good understanding of the child’s progress and needs and instigates appropriate action when needed. When external professionals have not provided appropriate support to the child, the manager has challenged them to meet the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been several changes to the management team and staff since the last inspection which have caused some unrest. There is now a stable team in place and the manager has an ambitious vision for the development of the team. However, it will take some time for this vision to be embedded in the home’s ethos. Staff spoken to describe the manager as supportive and readily available to provide advice and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably qualified and have completed all mandatory training. However, staff have not received specific training to meet the child’s individual needs, such as missing-from-home and substance misuse training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions and appraisals take place regularly. These are practice based and give staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice and discuss the needs of the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 5 Team meetings are held monthly and are well attended. Staff cover topics which are relevant to the current matters arising in the home. Meetings are used as a forum to share information and for staff to reflect on their experiences, providing an opportunity for developing the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are systems in place for effective monitoring and review of the home. These ensure that the manager has good oversight of the home, which means he can identify and address any issues. However, the quality of care review is not evaluative and does not include a clear action plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 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, the 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff take prompt action in response to information received when children are missing from home. 1 April 2023

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must ensure the children are supported to engage in sessions which address relevant risks. Specifically, 1 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 7 those risks which relate to incidents the children are involved in, such as knife crime.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have completed training to meet the children’s individual needs. This specifically relates to missing-from-home and substance misuse training. 17 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed; (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the child’s current personal education plan is available. 1 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should generate a report which reviews the quality of care provided by the home and meets the requirements in regulation 45. The report should be evaluative and should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 8

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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: 2634800 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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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2634800 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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