Children's Home run by Sandcastle Care Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 1 SC065313

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Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in 2005 and is overseen by a qualified manager, who registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: SC065313 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/05/2023 Full Good 18/10/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good 18/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at a pace which meets their individual needs. Children have developed trusting relationships with staff, which helps them to explore their feelings and identity in a supportive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child recently moved into the home quickly because of their circumstances. They met staff and visited the home before moving in, which helped the child understand what to expect. The child explained that staff look out for them, and they appreciate what staff do as ‘it takes a lot of heart to do the job’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education needs are well met. One child, who had not been in education for some time, is now attending school on a part-time basis. The manager ensures that plans for the child are achievable by supporting a gradual increase in their engagement. There have been delays for another child getting a completed education, health and care plan to enable a more suitable education placement to be identified. The manager continues to advocate for an education provision that is better suited to the child’s specific needs. Children are encouraged and supported by staff to explore options for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are prioritised. Staff work well with health services to make appropriate referrals and to ensure that children’s health needs are regularly reviewed. One child feels that staff supported them with a sensitive health issue in a non-judgmental way, which helped them to talk openly about their worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported a child who is being assessed for autism to consider their sensory needs. This has enabled the child to go on a camping trip with their peers, which is a significant achievement for them. Children are supported to build their confidence and to develop their independence in a measured way that is not overwhelming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their wishes and feelings, and these are well known by staff, which helps children to feel involved in their own care planning. The staff team provides feedback to children in response to their wishes in a timely way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to take the lead in considering how they wish to explore and develop relationships in a safe way with the people who are important to them. One family member, who frequently visits the child at the home, acknowledges how staff are supporting the child to visit them independently. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 4

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

Staff are aware of the risks to children and the actions needed to help keep them safe. The trusting relationships that children have with staff help them to engage well in discussions about how to keep themselves safe.

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

The quality of relationships and support offered by staff means that children are settled in the home. There are rarely any occasions where measures such as physical restraint are used or where children go missing from the home.

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

The manager and staff know and understand the risks for one child who recently moved into the home. However, the child’s risk assessments do not include details of all known risks and vulnerabilities. The manager acknowledged this and took action to address it during the inspection.

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

One child left the home when the manager recognised that the staff team was unable to keep the child safe. The manager worked with the professionals involved with the child to manage the transition. However, some serious incidents were not notified to Ofsted.

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

There are clear routines and boundaries in place for children, which they understand and follow. Staff are consistent in their approach to managing behaviour. In particular, they are consistent in managing children’s access to devices to ensure that key routines around meals and bedtimes are prioritised.

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

Children’s views about their care are consistently sought and acted on. Children understand why decisions are made and why measures are put in place to help to keep them safe.

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

Consequences and rewards are used to manage children’s behaviours. These are used proportionately and appropriately and are kept under review by the manager to ensure that they are effective. The manager recognises the need to increase incentives for children and has worked with the staff team to increase these over recent months. Therefore, children see that their progress is recognised and rewarded.

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

The house is a homely environment, and children feel that this is their home. Professionals and family members gave positive feedback about how the staff team keeps children safe and how it considers children’s individual needs and backgrounds.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is one of two homes that the manager currently has oversight of. She has an application in progress to be registered as the manager for the other home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 5 The manager has high expectations for children and for the staff team. She is supportive and sets a good example, with a clear focus on maintaining consistent standards of practice for the benefit of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported in their roles, and there is a good team spirit. One member of staff feels their strengths are recognised by the manager and they are given opportunities to progress. Consequently, there is a stable and dedicated staff team in place, which benefits the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed effective relationships with professionals. She is proactive and challenges professionals appropriately to advocate for the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are fully trained in all mandatory training as well as specific training to support the individual needs of the children in their care, such as on autism and substance misuse.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Ofsted was not notified in a timely manner of a serious incident when a medication error occurred during the manager’s absence. However, the manager addressed the error appropriately and recognises that further development is needed to build staff’s confidence in notifying Ofsted, in line with regulation, in her absence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings do not consistently take place. Although child-focused discussions take place in team meetings, there is no evidence to demonstrate their reflection in team meeting notes. Supervision sessions are supportive and help staff to consider their practice while also ensuring that positive outcomes for children are achieved and their progress is monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home and works well with the independent person to consider what improvements are required. The manager acknowledges that the quality of care review is not evaluative and does not consistently include feedback from stakeholders. 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, 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 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 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 evaluate the care provided using feedback from key stakeholders and consider actions to improve care.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 31 May 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted in a timely way.

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments consider all known risks to children and set out the arrangements to reduce harm. 31 May 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice in regular team meetings and that these discussions are recorded, to Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 8 provide a culture of learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sandcastle Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Penelope Rafferty

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Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065313 10 regulates and inspects 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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