Children's home run by Pelican Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 1 SC2510737 Pelican Care Group Limited

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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 and offers care for up to two children who may experience 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 the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection took place on 18 and 19 March 2024. On 20 March 2024, the provider notified Ofsted that a serious allegation had been made. In response, Ofsted revisited on 27 March 2024, in line with the ‘Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence’ policy.

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This monitoring visit

Inspectors identified significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice, the leadership and management of the home and the quality of care provided to children. As a result, the home was judged to be providing inadequate care.

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This monitoring visit

The allegation remains under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, inspectors have considered a range of available evidence, including actions taken by the home in response to the incidents.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out to monitor the action taken in response to the requirements raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 2 Leaders and managers have taken some action to improve safeguarding arrangements for children. This includes updating children’s risk management plans to reflect significant incidents, implementing a risk management plan to support staff when lone working at night and ensuring that rotas clearly detail the hours worked by the manager and staff.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have not made changes to their processes of oversight and audit of the home. The manager’s position is that their procedures are already sufficient to protect children and adults. This is a missed opportunity for important reflection and learning, especially to prevent serious incidents from reoccurring.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have started to support staff to improve the language they use in written records. Staff have been provided with some information on positive and appropriate language in team meetings and via supervision. Further reporting and recording training is planned. This learning is yet to bring about meaningful change, as children’s plans still contain some language which is not helpful to the child.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have devised a policy to support the use of an exterior surveillance doorbell. The policy outlines how the recordings will be safely stored and accessed. The manager has now included this in the home’s statement of purpose. However, the statement of purpose has not been shared with Ofsted. The provider has also not yet sought permission to use this device from the children’s placing authorities, as required by regulation.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s health and well-being are now being supported. Staff have followed-up on the referral made for one child to receive an immunisation which had previously been missed.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or on from the home. Consequently, inspectors were unable to measure the impact of care planning. The manager stated that organisational procedures would be followed in future, even in an emergency. There are processes in place to adequately plan for children moving into the home.

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This monitoring visit

The quality of reporting by the independent visitor remains inconsistent. On one occasion, they visited the home at a time when the children were in education, which meant that their views could not be gathered. On another occasion, the manager identified that the report was not representative of the care being provided in the home. Leaders and managers have not addressed this shortfall effectively.

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This monitoring visit

Continued progress will be monitored at the next inspection through a review of the unmet requirements. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2024 Full Inadequate 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 - monitoring visit: 2510737 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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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)(a)(b) (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 aspects of work done in the home. In particular, they must ensure that staff practice, incidents and care provided to children are evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements to care. 28 June 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”) 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 5 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) (3)(a)(b) (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.

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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

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 6

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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 Regulatory Inspector Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2510737 7 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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