Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 1 SC065313 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 home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is overseen by a qualified manager, who registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 October 2022

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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: SC065313 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 18/07/2019 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home where staff know them well. Staff spend time with children to support them to build positive and trusting relationships. A professional said, ‘They are spot on and care about [name of child] and his well-being. [Name of child] is happy, he smiles when staff come to collect him, it’s lovely to see the change in him.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a homely environment. The home is warm and welcoming, and children personalise their bedrooms. This allows children to take pride in their bedroom and helps them to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are ambitious for children. They promote education and ensure that education plans are progressed effectively. An educational professional said, ‘They have been instrumental in supporting the progression of the EHCP, they have 110% been a massive help with the whole process.’ As a result, children are being supported to access appropriate education provisions and are making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their individual health needs. Children are registered with all relevant health services. The company therapist supports the staff to monitor children’s emotional well-being. Staff work closely with the company therapist to address the impact of children’s trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with opportunities to access a range of activities inside and outside of the home. Children are encouraged to join local clubs and they have been away on holiday. For one child, memories are captured in a life-story book. This helps this child to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. For example, children are learning how to cook, do their laundry, iron their clothes and save money. This is supporting them to develop new skills ready for their adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with their friends and families. Staff are proactive in helping children to maintain close relationships with the people who are most important to them. For example, activities are arranged with siblings outside of arranged family visits. This promotes children’s identity and shows children that staff care about them.

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

Staff understand how to keep children safe. They recognise their roles and responsibilities and what they should do if they are concerned about a child’s safety. Risk assessments are clear and easy for staff to follow. They are updated on a regular basis and show the progress that children are making. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 4 Staff help children to stay safe. For example, they help children to understand the risks associated with misusing drugs.

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

When children go missing from home, staff know what to do. During the inspection, a child went missing from home. Inspectors were able to observe staff practice, which demonstrated that they understand the procedures. This led to the swift return of the child.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced for one child. Staff spend time talking to the child and educate them about the potential risks when they are missing from their home. This has resulted in a significant decrease in missing-from-home incidents, which minimises the risk of harm to the child.

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

Effective behaviour management plans are in place. Staff use de-escalation techniques to avoid crisis. Children are provided with consistent and clear boundaries. As a result, children understand the rules and are treated fairly.

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

When an incident takes place, the manager is proactive in ensuring that appropriate support is implemented. Staff talk to children during key-work sessions and request specialised external support when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced registered manager. The manager knows the children well and has high expectations for them. The manager has developed a nurturing culture and staff are ambitious for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes action to address any shortfalls with the local authority. This is in relation to ensuring that the local authority shares all information and plans regarding children. However, when a suitable response is not received, this is not escalated effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have not had specific training to meet children’s individual needs. The manager acknowledged this and addressed this shortfall during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care is reviewed by the manager, although this does not include feedback from relevant stakeholders. This information would enhance the report and help the manager to review children’s progress and the development of the home effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place, which provides continuity of care for children. Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported by managers. New members of staff feel welcomed and have benefited from a good induction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have frequent supervision. They describe supervision as helpful and supportive. Staff also benefit from child-focused team meetings which often include support and advice from the company’s therapist. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 5 The manager and staff carefully plan for children when they move into the home. When a child was not settling into living at the home, the manager was proactive in addressing the issues with the placing authority. This allowed appropriate steps to be taken to support the child moving in and the other child already living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has addressed the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 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 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

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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

This relates to the registered person making sure that staff are suitably trained to meet children’s needs. 19 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of 19 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 7 care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should include feedback from key stakeholders and include an action plan.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should take appropriate action to ensure that the local authority is working in partnership with the home. This specifically relates to evidencing what steps have been taken to request required documentation and escalating concerns when this has not been received. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)

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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: SC065313 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: Sandcastle Care Limited, 49 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9DG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Penelope Rafferty

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Inspectors

Kayleigh Treanor, Social Care Inspector Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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