Children's home run by Pelican Care Group Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2510737 1 Registered provider: Pelican Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home is registered to provide care for up to two children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 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: 13 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care from a nurturing and consistent staff team. Inspectors observed warm relationships between staff and children. One child told inspectors that staff are easy to talk to and help him to ‘do things I wouldn’t be able to do on my own’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a stable home. Both children have lived in the home for over 12 months. The registered manager and staff are supporting children to develop the skills they will need when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a warm, family home. Pictures of children are on display in the dining area. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own tastes. Children undertake activities they enjoy with staff, both individually and together. Both children are taking driving lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress from their individual starting points. The registered manager and staff have sought to engage children in education and employment that they enjoy, which means that they sustain these placements. One child is now employed doing building work and attends college part time. The other child is attending a vocational course at a local college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote children’s health and well-being. Staff support children to attend routine health appointments and promote the importance of children’s physical health. Staff encourage children to access services to support their emotional well-being, and external agencies to address issues such as substance misuse.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with their families have improved during their time living at the home. Staff communicate well with children’s families to ensure that time spent away from the home is safe and appropriate. Inspectors spoke to one parent, who was positive about the support the registered manager and staff provide to their child, saying, ‘They [staff] genuinely care.’

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

Individual risk-management plans assess the presenting risks children face. The plans are regularly updated and reviewed by the registered manager. However, some strategies staff use to manage and minimise risks to children require clarity, for example how frequently staff are to undertake checks on children if they appear to be under the influence of any substance.

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

The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and risks. They respond appropriately to safeguarding incidents by involving the relevant professionals. This means that there is a multi-agency approach to Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 4 address the issues and keep children safe. Key-work sessions are used to help children understand these risks. Staff also make effective use of online resources to support children to engage in learning around particular areas of concern.

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

When searches of children’s bedrooms are carried out, records show that staff remove any items that pose a risk to children. The rationale for these decisions is clear and children understand the actions staff take.

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

Plans are in place with actions for staff to follow if children go missing from the home. The registered manager reviews these plans to try to reduce the number of incidents of children going missing and to understand the reasons why children go missing. When children return home from being missing, the staff ensure that they can meet with someone independent. However, some records do not demonstrate all the actions staff have taken to ensure children’s safety when they are missing.

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

Staff’s approach to behaviour management is positive. Children receive proportionate consequences in relation to some behaviours, although the use of consequences has reduced over the children’s time in the home. Children’s behaviour-management plans are detailed and child-centred. They reflect the staff’s in-depth knowledge of children’s needs and their strong relationships with children. As a result, no physical interventions have been used.

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

Staff spoken to have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and who to contact should they have any concerns. However, not all safeguarding concerns have been sent to Ofsted as required by regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child-centred and knows the children well. She is working towards achieving the relevant qualification to underpin her knowledge of the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the staff team was complimentary about the support they receive from the registered manager. Staff receive regular supervision. Staff performance appraisals are carried out annually and identify areas for development. However, appraisals do not include feedback from children or other professionals. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to include the positive feedback the home has received from other agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team working at the home is stable. However, when new staff join the home, probation reviews are not formally recorded, as identified in the home’s workforce development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff team. Records show a detailed reflection on any incidents of concern, which promotes learning and improvement of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring supports the registered manager to identify areas for improvement. The registered manager uses the quality-of-care review to assess the Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 5 strengths and areas for development in the home in order to improve the care children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The review of the home’s premises has been reviewed by the registered manager. However, some of the information in the review is outdated and it does not demonstrate that the registered manager has consulted with relevant agencies in order to assess any risks to children in the local area. This does not ensure children’s safety in the community in which the home is located. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 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 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

The registered person must ensure that risk-management plans include clear strategies for staff to use to manage and reduce risk. 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that notifications are sent without delay. 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 15 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 7 The registered person must ensure that consultation is undertaken with relevant stakeholders when reviewing the location of the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records detailing all individual incidents when children are absent from the home include all the steps taken by staff to ensure their safety and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that staff probation reviews are recorded in line with the home’s workforce development plan and that staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of children and other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year. (‘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: 2510737 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pelican Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: V12 Suite, Merlin Park, Ringtail Road, Burscough, Lancashire L40 8JY

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Inspectors

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Marina Tully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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