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 home is privately run. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 8 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be 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

08/11/2022 Full good 13/04/2021 Full good Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 3

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improvement to be good

Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. One child told the inspector that that they have raised concerns about the care they receive from staff. These concerns have not been acknowledged as complaints and have therefore not been formally investigated or responded to. Children do not always feel able to share their views, as they say they do not think that they will be listened to or that their concerns will be acted on.

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improvement to be good

Staff are inconsistent in their responses to children. This does not provide stability of care for children or support children to develop positive relationships with staff. One social worker said that every time she visits the home, one child asks to move out because of fractured relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff restrict children’s privacy and access by limiting the children’s access to communal areas of the home at night. Restrictions and rules that are in place do not consider each child’s individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Both children are engaged in education and are making progress. Staff work closely with education staff to help the children to reach their potential, which supports the children to make academic progress.

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improvement to be good

Children are in good health. Staff support children to attend routine health appointments. Children access activities in the community to support them to pursue their own interests and develop confidence.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to learn life skills. This includes supporting the children to become more independent and take manageable risks in line with their abilities, for example using public transport.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and spacious. Staff have supported children to personalise their own bedrooms. There are outstanding repairs which detract from the otherwise homely environment. Health and safety checks are routinely carried out to ensure that the home is safe. However, the manager has not taken action to address a delay in the children leaving the home during fire drills. This does not support children to be safe in the event of a fire.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not provide staff with clear strategies to keep children safe. Children’s plans are not always updated to reflect changes in known risks. For example, one child was assaulted by a group of teenagers, which is not reflected in Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 4 the child’s plan. This does not support staff to understand how to keep each child safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out some direct work sessions with children. However, in some instances, required work has not been carried out to address children’s presenting needs. For one child, this has meant that risks to her health have not been addressed. Records of direct work with children do not always evidence the child’s views or how they are supported to understand their own needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff take action to locate children when they are missing from home. This supports children to return safely. When children return home, they are consistently offered a return home interview. This means that reasons why children go missing are understood.

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good

Internal monitoring and review systems are inconsistent. This means that the manager does not have a detailed understanding of the care that the children receive. The manager has identified some shortfalls in staff practice. For example, the manager identified a medication error and sourced additional training to resolve this. In contrast, management oversight of children’s plans and incidents is inconsistent. Therefore, the manager has not identified gaps in recording and inconsistencies in staff practice. This means that staff are not given clear actions to improve the care they provide to children.

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good

The manager has not identified that some language in children’s records is blameful and derogatory. This does not support a child-led approach or clearly distinguish between fact and opinion.

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good

Since the last inspection, there have been no changes to the staff working in the home. This means that children are cared for by an established staff team. The manager ensures that enough staff work in the home to meet the needs of the children. However, one member of staff told the inspector that staff morale is low and that staff do not always work together as a team.

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good

Staff have received supervision. However, this has been inconsistent in quality. Similarly, team meetings have not provided a space to reflect on practice. This is a missed opportunity to develop and guide staff practice.

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good

The manager nurtures relationships with other agencies and shares relevant information. The manager contributes to multi-agency discussions which inform decisions made about children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 5

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff meet each child’s emotional needs, support children to understand how to make a complaint and ensure that children know how their views have been considered. 21 November

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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. 21 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 6 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff understanding their responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to having management arrangements in place which ensure that the staff are meeting the needs of each child and that the staff team provides consistency of care for each child. 21 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2582337 7 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any limitations of children’s access to any communal area of the home are intended to keep them safe and are kept under review. 21 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact and opinion. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that repairs needed in the home are carried out to maintain the otherwise welcoming environment of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should take action to address any delay in the children leaving the home during fire drills. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Sally Griffiths, 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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