Children's home run by Pelican Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 1 SC2510737 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 operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children lived in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

An inspector visited on 18 and 19 March 2024. After the inspection concluded, the Provider became aware of an allegation against a staff member and duly notified Ofsted as required. In light of this allegation, Ofsted re-visited on 27 March 2024, in line with the ”Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy”.

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Information about this children’s home

On 20 March 2024, the Provider notified Ofsted of a serious allegation that had been made. This allegation remains under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incidents were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 2 Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2023 Full Good 02/03/2022 Full Good 13/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 4

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inadequate

Children’s experiences of living in the home are varied. There are serious shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home, which have failed to prioritise children’s safety and welfare. This impacts on children’s experience and progress.

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inadequate

Children’s needs are not thoroughly assessed before they move into the home. Assessments fail to consider if staff have the skills to ensure that children can safely live together. Children’s emerging risks and vulnerabilities have not been adequately managed. This shows ineffective care planning and poor risk management. This has led to unplanned endings for children leaving the home.

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inadequate

Staff support children with their emotional and physical health. However, health needs are not consistently met. The manager failed to ensure that one child received an immunisation that was overdue.

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inadequate

Staff ensure that children attend education. This has led to children making educational progress and one child achieving 100% attendance. Children engage in activities such as bowling, bike riding and going to local clubs. Staff support children to spend time with people who are important to them. This helps children to understand their identities.

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inadequate

Both children have bedrooms which suit their individual tastes. The previous inspection found that the windows did not have sufficient cover to ensure children's privacy. The manager had still not taken action to address this concern.

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inadequate

There have been some improvements to the home’s interior since the last inspection. However, repairs and upgrades are still required to ensure that children are provided with a homely and well-maintained environment.

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

There are significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice. Managers have not ensured that there are clear expectations about waking night staff arrangements. There is no clear guidance for staff to follow when lone working in the home or processes to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. This has compromised children’s safety and left both staff and children vulnerable.

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

Children’s risk assessments lack detail. They are not updated following significant incidents or concerns. Plans fail to identify appropriate strategies to keep children and others safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 5 Guidance for staff on managing safeguarding disclosures is not child focused. The guidance relates to children telling the truth, as opposed to identifying the action needed to keep children safe.

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

Behaviour management is not effective. Staff do not always have the skills to manage children. Staff have called the police to manage children’s behaviour. This has the potential to criminalise children and is upsetting for them.

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

Allegations are not reported in line with safeguarding procedures. Leaders and managers failed to notify Ofsted of an allegation made against the manager. This does not support the regulator’s oversight of the home.

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

The manager is not rigorous in her safeguarding practice. Following an allegation from a child, the manager has not taken effective safeguarding action. This was following an incident where a child and staff member were alone.

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

The home has an exterior surveillance doorbell. This method of surveillance is not detailed in the statement of purpose. The provider does not have a policy on the safe storage and access of recordings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant shortfalls were identified in relation to the management oversight of practice in the home. Management oversight fails to identify shortfalls in staff practice or learning for the team. These shortfalls have negatively impacted on children’s experiences and the quality of the care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managerial oversight of practice in the home is not effective and does not identify areas for improvement. The manager does not show professional curiosity in relation to indicators of potential harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not identified how staff practice contributed to an escalation of children’s behaviour which resulted in significant incidents. This does not safeguard children or support the improvement of behaviour management and the quality of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervision meetings are not always effective and probationary reviews lack detail. Staff do not routinely reflect on their learning or show how they will put their learning into practice to meet children’s needs. As a result, there are missed opportunities to support staff to understand and meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Records of staff working hours are inaccurate. This compromises children’s safety, as there is a lack of transparency about who is working in the home. Inaccurate rotas also limit management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The independent visitor does not provide sufficient scrutiny of staff practice. Their reports lack an overall analysis of the care being provided to children and fail to identify several of the shortfalls highlighted during the inspection. The information Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 6 contained in the reports does not help to support the ongoing development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose has been updated and shared with Ofsted in a timely manner, as required by regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 7

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are updated following significant incidents and the actions for staff to take are individual to the child and do not use blaming language. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to experience a positive move from the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the child already living in the home. The registered person must also ensure that consultation with social workers of children already living in the home is recorded in detail.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work done in the home and ensure that work is evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 9 the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the children’s immunisations are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that windows in children’s bedrooms have sufficient covering to ensure children’s privacy at all times. And ensure that the home is presented to a good standard, with clean furnishings, and that repairs in the home are made without delay. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 10 In particular, the registered person must ensure the rota is accurate, up to date and details the hours of the manager and staff working in the home. The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have a policy in regard to surveillance measures and the access and storage of images of children. Consent must also be in place from children’s placing authorities acknowledging the use of surveillance. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1)(a) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the statement of purpose is shared with Ofsted following any changes and that information details the use and purpose of surveillance at the home. 30 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 30 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 11 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the independent visitor is skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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 12

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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

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Zillah Brooks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2510737 13 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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