Children's home run by Aspris Care North West Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 1 Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a large organisation. The home provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/06/2021 Full Good 23/07/2019 Full Good 23/10/2018 Full Good 30/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children live at the home. The home is nicely decorated and has a homely feel to it. The children have personalised their bedrooms, giving them a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children were spoken to as part of the inspection. All said that they like living in the home and one said that there is a ‘good vibe’ in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care. They have very detailed and individualised care plans which describe their complex needs. The plans show the overall aims and objectives for the children and help to track the impact the care is having on their outcomes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress for children in education is mixed. Two children are in full-time education and are making progress. One child’s attendance has recently reduced; however, the manager is being proactive and working with education professionals to try to increase this. One child who has recently moved into the home does not have an identified school. Although the manager is working towards finding an education provision for the child, they have missed several weeks of education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and met by staff. Children are supported with both their physical and emotional health needs. The home’s therapist provides support to the children and the staff team.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being prepared well for independence. Staff are teaching them skills in budgeting, cleaning and cooking. This will ensure that they are ready for the next stage in their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of moving into and out of the home are positive. One child has moved on to live independently and two children returned home to live with their families.

p.3

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

Children said they feel safe. Direct work is carried out with the children so they can learn to develop the skills needed to keep themselves safe.

p.3

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

Risk assessments are detailed and give staff clear strategies to manage the children’s individualised risks. However, risk assessments have not always been updated after incidents, which means staff may not have all the up-to-date information about how to keep children safe.

p.3

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff follow clear protocols and all the relevant information is shared with other agencies to try to get children home quickly. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 4 Children have clear and consistent boundaries. Staff support children well by using de-escalation strategies. This means physical intervention is rarely used and only as a last resort. Staff and children are given the opportunity to reflect and debrief after an incident.

p.3

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

Children live in a home that is physically safe. Staff complete regular checks in line with health and safety policies, including regular fire drills.

p.4

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

Managers recruit new staff safely. These safe recruitment procedures make sure that children are protected by preventing unsuitable adults from working in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has a child-focused ethos and is led by an experienced and passionate manager. The manager is committed to the children and is well respected by staff. He is available for the children and this has helped him to build positive relationships with them. Staff said that they feel well supported and that the manager is approachable.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place. This provides continuity of care for the children and helps them build positive and long-lasting relationships. Children have good relationships with staff and the manager. The inspector observed these positive relationships during the inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are experienced and suitably qualified or currently completing suitable qualifications. Staff receive training to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children in their care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision, which is purposeful and reflective. Regular team meetings give staff the opportunity to discuss any issues in the home and ensure that everyone is kept up to date with the children’s progress and any changes to children’s plans.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team have created good relationships with external professionals. The inspector gained positive feedback from two social workers. The manager and staff team work hard with children’s families. One child’s mother said, ‘It feels like [child’s name] has gained an extra family.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s case records do not include all the information from the local authority that staff should have about each child, to ensure that they are providing care in line with local authority plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

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))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that risk assessments include all known risks. 23 April 2023

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that local authority care plans are requested from the local authority. 23 April 2023

p.5

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: 1240573 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sandcastle Care Ltd, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

p.6

Inspector

Rachael Crook, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7