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

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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 owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/01/2025 Full Good 22/06/2023 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from a caring, stable and well-managed home that promotes positive outcomes. The environment is welcoming and personalised, helping children feel safe, valued and settled, while consistent staffing supports strong, trusting relationships. Children are making good progress from their starting points, with improvements in health, education and emotional wellbeing supported by individualised care, effective multi-agency working and regular engagement in meaningful activities.

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Summary of findings

Staff demonstrate a clear commitment to promoting independence, identity and family connections, contributing to children’s strong sense of belonging. Safeguarding practice is generally effective, with children reporting that they feel safe and staff confidently manage risks. However, weaknesses in incident recording and adherence to specific procedures highlight areas for improvement. Leadership is a key strength, providing clear oversight, staff support and a positive culture, although minor recruitment record- keeping issues require attention.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, welcoming and homely, following significant renovations and improvements to the decor. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes, which helps them feel valued. The small and inviting environment provides a comfortable living space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use individualised support plans that clearly outline each child’s needs and risks. Children are making significant progress from their starting points, which external professionals recognise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met well. Since moving into the home, one child has achieved a stable medication routine that has improved their wellbeing and reduced behavioural incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaged in education. For one child, staff have implemented a daily activity plan while alternative education provision is identified. This has developed the child’s attitude to learning and continues to improve their routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage in activities with children, show a genuine interest in their care and involve them in planning their daily experiences. Children build positive relationships with staff, who create a family-like environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people who are most important to them. Staff work closely with the local authority to navigate any challenges, including long- distance travel and fragile relationships, to help maintain family relationships for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 4 Staff help children to develop a sense of belonging and stability. They have advocated and sought external support for one child who is navigating their personal identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop independence, by offering choices and involving them in daily household tasks. This support helps children to build confidence in their decision-making and problem-solving skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to actively contribute to their plans and daily experiences, through regular consultation. Staff hold regular individual sessions with children to explore their aspirations and choices, although the quality of the records of these sessions varies. The registered manager is working closely with staff to improve the consistency and quality of these written records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to continue their engagement with specialist services, ensuring that support is delivered through a strong multi-agency approach. This promotes consistency in care and ensures that each child’s individual needs are understood and responded to effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving in and out of the home are supported through robust transition plans. These are detailed and include a profile for each child to aid staff to understand their needs.

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

Children have individual risk assessments that reflect their individual needs and include clear guidance for the staff to follow. These assessments are updated regularly to include any emerging risks. As a result, children receive consistent support when incidents occur.

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

When one child went missing from home, staff supported their safe return. However, staff did not follow the established missing-from-home protocol, which resulted in a delay in reporting the child missing to relevant agencies. In addition, records of other incidents lack a clear chronology and sometimes omit the specific dates and times of the actions taken. These recording deficiencies make it difficult to verify that staff respond to all incidents in line with agreed plans.

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

Despite some challenging incidents, staff have demonstrated an ability to de-escalate situations and avoid the need to use physical intervention.

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

Children say that they feel safe in the home. Staff have undertaken additional training that enhances their ability to protect children and teach them how to stay safe. Through regular individual sessions, staff help children understand personal risks and identify where to find help if they have concerns.

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

Children develop problem-solving skills by taking age-appropriate risks during activities and free time. When staff need to apply boundaries, they use consequences sparingly Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 5 and ensure that they are proportionate. This approach successfully encourages children to learn from their actions.

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

Staff protect children from discrimination and support individual identity and gender development. When one child experienced prejudice, staff underwent specialist training and worked with external agencies to rebuild the child’s confidence.

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

When a child made an allegation, it was appropriately investigated. Both the child and staff involved received support throughout the process.This approach helped to foster a culture of trust, openness, and supportive relationships.

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

Leaders and staff are confident in advocating for children’s safety and welfare with external agencies. They challenge other professionals effectively and raise formal complaints when external decisions do not reflect the best interests of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and manages the home effectively and efficiently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established a stable and consistent staff team. This stability allows children to develop secure relationships and feel confident in the care they receive. Staff report that leadership changes have strengthened the home and improved the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates effective oversight by ensuring that staff read and fully understand all documentation relating to the children. Individual care plans identify each child’s individual needs and incorporate local authority plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel listened to and value the support they receive from the manager. One staff member reported that the managers go above and beyond to help the team, ensuring that staff feel supported rather than overwhelmed. This strong level of support has contributed to the high staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported by the manager to address practice shortfalls and to strengthen relationships with external professionals. This is reflected in the guidance provided to improve the quality of recording and enhance work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that covers a wide range of topics and focuses on developing relationships with the children. A particular strength is the inclusion of staff reflection, which allows the team to evaluate how their training supports their daily work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are up to date with their training and additional courses specifically reflect the current needs of the children. Staff appreciate the opportunities to develop their careers and achieve professional qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children speak highly of the leadership team and express confidence in approaching staff for support. They specifically identify the manager as approachable and reliable when Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 6 they need assistance or want to talk. These positive relationships reinforce the open and supportive culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safe recruitment practices are followed when new staff members are recruited. However, some proof of address documents in staff files do not include relevant dates. This administrative omission creates unnecessary confusion in the personnel records. Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff respond to missing-from-home incidents in accordance with the plans and protocols for each child.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that incident records include a chronology of the actions taken, with the dates and times. 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 8

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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 9

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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: Pelican Care Group Ltd, 2a Swordfish Business Park Swordfish Close, Higgins Lane, Burscough, Lancashire L40 8JW

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Inspector

Paul McKay-Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2686658 10 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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Inspector

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