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

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in December 2016 and is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager commenced working at the home in February 2024. He has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. The inspector spoke with two of the children.

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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: 12 December 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2023 Full Inadequate 21/03/2023 Full Good 15/06/2021 Full Good 23/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a stable and committed team of staff who know them well. Children make good progress from their starting points. They are provided with individualised care and a nurturing home environment. As a result, children have developed a sense of belonging, formed trusting, positive relationships and receive consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are meeting their educational targets. They have aspirations for their future. They look at ways to achieve their goals and discuss these with the staff. For example, one child has expressed an interest in attending college to study a certain course. Managers and staff have helped them to understand what qualifications are required and how to achieve these. This demonstrates that staff support children to reach their educational potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health and well-being and encourage them to attend routine health appointments. Children have a good relationship with the company therapist and engage with them regularly. One child is supported to access mental health services externally. This supports the children to remain healthy and ensures that their emotional health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy taking part in activities with the staff and each other. They enjoy snooker, playing board games, consoles, visiting museums and playing football in the garden. This helps to develop the children’s social skills and relationships. However, the children have not had adequate opportunities provided by the staff for informal learning to help develop their independence skills and support them to learn about equality, diversity or inclusion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their family and friends. Staff have good relationships with family members. This means that the children can maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard and children are encouraged to have a choice in the decoration of their bedrooms to personalise their own space. The home is clean, tidy and free of hazards.

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

Children are supported by managers and staff who understand their risks and vulnerabilities. Risk management and positive behaviour support plans provide strategies for staff to follow to help children reduce and minimise risk-taking behaviours. As a result, no serious incidents have occurred, and children are happy and settled living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 4 Relationships between staff and children are based on mutual respect and understanding. Children say that they are safe, and staff help them to stay safe. Children’s positive behaviour is rewarded, and individual incentives are in place. This promotes and encourages positive behaviour and relationship building.

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

A child’s independent reviewing officer shared that a child told them, ‘This is the best place I have ever been.’ They also said that the child has had difficulties where they lived in the past. They feel that the manager and staff understand what works for the child and how to approach them. They talk to them with respect and know how to alleviate the child’s anxieties.

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

Staff receive a variety of training in safeguarding practices, such as physical intervention strategies and de-escalation techniques, online safety, harmful sexualised behaviours and child exploitation. This supports staff to understand children’s vulnerabilities and meet their needs.

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

Children’s safety and welfare are at the centre of staff’s practice. As a result, children have not gone missing from home, required to be held by staff for their safety or made any complaints. Staff are confident and understand what action to take in the event of this happening to ensure that the children are safeguarded.

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

Leaders and managers carry out the necessary safer recruitment checks to ensure that staff are suitable and remain safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new experienced manager in post, who has a relevant childcare qualification. The manager is committed, passionate and has high aspirations for the children in his care and for the development of the staff team. One child said that they get on well with the new manager and described him as ‘sound’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new staff member and the manager have benefited from a thorough induction to the home. They have been provided with opportunities to undertake training and shadow shifts. This helps to ensure that children are cared for by staff who can meet their needs and that safeguarding practices and policies are understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from reflective supervision sessions. Team meetings are also helpful for staff as they provide opportunities for them to reflect on their practice and identify any areas to improve the quality of care they provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Before the new manager joined the team, staff received an annual appraisal of their performance by the previous manager. However, the appraisal does not include feedback from professionals who have worked alongside the member of staff or from the children living in the home. This is a missed opportunity for staff to further reflect on their practice to ensure that they continue to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have effective monitoring and review systems in place. This helps the manager to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the service, Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 5 evaluate the care that staff provide to the children and take swift action to address any shortfalls as they arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement and recommendation raised at the monitoring visit in February 2024 have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings. This includes informal learning opportunities around equality, diversity and inclusion and to support the children in developing independence skills. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals include the views of other professionals who have worked with staff over the year, and the views of children who have been cared for at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 1240573 7

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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

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1240573 8 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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