Children's Home run by Pelican Care Group Limited in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 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 home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is not in work. A manager is in place who is applying to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 3

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improvement to be good

This is the home’s first inspection. The experiences for all children are not yet consistently good. For example, when one child moved into the home, managers and staff did not have sufficient information about the child before they moved in. This is despite the managers making requests for this information from the local authority before the child arrived. As a result, the child moved out of the home after a short time as their needs could not be met. The acting manager and the responsible individual have learned from this experience. Seeking additional information is now part of the assessment process for new children moving into the home. The impact of this new process could not be assessed at this inspection.

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improvement to be good

The staff are building relationships with the children. They find out what the children like and dislike. The staff use this information to help plan weekly activities for the children. The staff listen to the children’s wishes. This helps to ensure that the children feel valued. The staff make sure that the children have opportunities to contribute towards the daily running of the home and their care planning.

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improvement to be good

One child’s plans are not up to date or regularly reviewed. For one child, the plan from the placing authority does not fully reflect their current care needs. Efforts are being made to escalate concerns around this care plan. These efforts are not yet successful. Without robust care plans, expectations for the staff are not always clear. This may result in the child receiving mixed messages. Receiving different messages is confusing for the child, and affects their ability to make consistent progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the importance of education. When new children come into the home, staff are quick to source suitable education placements. Children who have been out of education for a long time now have places at schools. The staff are supporting children to improve their attendance. When children are not in school or are waiting for placements to start, there are limited opportunities for informal learning.

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improvement to be good

The staff help the children to attend all routine health appointments. They support the children to learn the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Staff promote physical activities, such as going to the gym, playing golf and trampolining.

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improvement to be good

The children’s emotional well-being is a priority. One child has recently started bespoke work with mental health professionals. This is a positive development. For other children, there is suitable provision in place to support them emotionally when they are ready to make use of these services. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 4

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improvement to be good

Staff complete one-to-one work with children to help them to learn how to stay safe. This work covers topics such as the dangers of going missing from the home, self- harm and vaping. However, other topics, such as mobile phone use, social media and online safety, are not fully covered. This is a missed opportunity to help children to recognise other risks to their safety.

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improvement to be good

There has been no use of physical restraint. The staff use their positive relationships with the children to de-escalate potential incidents and support them if they are upset. The staff use other methods to support the children in crisis, such as talking to them or suggesting different things to do.

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improvement to be good

Individual risk assessments and behaviour support plans are in place. One child’s risk assessment and behaviour support plan do not cover all the issues that affect them, particularly in respect of mobile phone use. Consequently, staff are left without a plan to follow, leaving expectations unclear, which is confusing for the child.

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improvement to be good

Children do not regularly go missing from the home. When children do go missing, the staff follow internal procedures and search for them. The stability of living here is helping children to feel safe and secure. As a result, missing-from-home incidents, especially for one child, have reduced significantly. One social worker said, ‘Since [name of child] has been here, they are settled and are not going missing. I think they know they are safe here. They have not had this kind of care before.’

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good

The registered manager is not in work. The deputy manager is acting in her place. He is currently in the process of applying to register with Ofsted. The deputy manager is motivated and enthusiastic about his role. The staff follow this positive approach. There have also been some recent unforeseen absences within the staff team. To provide stability for the children, managers only use other staff from across the organisation who the children know well.

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good

The service is not yet consistently meeting the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. The acting manager and the responsible individual understand the strengths of this service and the areas for development. The shortfalls identified at this inspection are recognised. The acting manager already has some plans in place to improve monitoring systems to oversee the running of the home.

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good

The acting manager and responsible individual balance their management roles. They get to know the children well while overseeing the running of the home. They advocate on behalf of the children to make sure services are in place when the children need them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 5 The staff feel supported by the acting manager. New staff follow an induction process, which helps them prepare for their role. The staff participate in regular supervision sessions. In the sessions they talk about the children and their progress and reflect on their own practice, learning and development.

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good

The staff receive a range of training that helps them to understand how to meet the children’s needs. In addition, the staff have other opportunities to learn and improve their practice, such as in team meetings. These meetings also provide an additional chance to refresh staff knowledge on specific topics. Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 10 April 2023

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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)) 10 April 2023

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 10 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 7 (Regulation 13 (2)(h)) The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 10 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 10 April 2023

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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: 2686658 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: C/O Holden Associates, V12 Suite, Merlin Park, Ringtail Road, Burscough, Lancashire L40 8JY

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Inspectors

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2686658 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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