Children's Home run by PALS Residential Services in Liverpool

Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 1 Registered provider: PALS Residential Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. All 3 children were spoken with.

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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: 9 December 2025

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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: 2741726 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/09/2024 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 3

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Summary of findings

Children benefit from positive and nurturing care that promotes their wellbeing and supports good progress. Managers are strong advocates for children and work effectively with services to improve outcomes and address barriers when they arise. However, shortfalls in safeguarding arrangements and weaknesses in management oversight mean that some systems and practices are not sufficiently robust to consistently demonstrate the quality and effectiveness of care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a warm, well-maintained and highly personalised home environment that promotes comfort and a sense of belonging. Children’s achievements and interests are celebrated throughout the home, helping to build confidence and self- esteem. Personalised bedrooms, visible achievements, learning resources and shared play spaces support children’s emotional wellbeing, encourage positive engagement, and help them feel valued and proud of their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met through proactive and individualised support. Staff ensure attendance at routine and specialist health appointments, respond promptly to health concerns and follow professional advice. Staff maintain accurate medication records, promote healthy routines and emotional wellbeing. Effective partnership working with services such as CAMHS and therapeutic teams ensures children receive support tailored to their assessed needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education and are encouraged to understand the value of learning. They have good attendance and engage positively in their education. When education plans do not meet a child's needs, the manager effectively challenges schools and local authorities to secure better outcomes. As a result, a more suitable school was identified, leading to a well-planned transition and access to education that better meets the child's needs

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to overcome barriers to family time and maintain meaningful relationships with those who are important to them. Managers and staff work closely with specialist services to understand the impact of contact on children's wellbeing and plan arrangements that best meet their needs. Alternative contact arrangements are considered and explained in a way children can understand, encouraging their engagement. As a result, children maintain safe, positive family relationships while promoting their emotional wellbeing

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's bedroom doors are monitored at all times. This measure was implemented more than 12 months ago and remains in place for all children. However, the risks, necessity, and proportionality of this monitoring are not regularly reviewed. As a result, Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 4 there is insufficient oversight to ensure that the measure is appropriate for each child, which may lead to children being subject to unnecessary surveillance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The records maintained by staff do not provide a meaningful reflection of children's experiences, the care they receive, or the relationships they have with those caring for them. Recording is largely factual and event-based, with little evidence of children's views, participation, or lived experiences. The language used lacks warmth, nurture, and an understanding of children's individual personalities and daily experiences. Should children choose to access their records, these records are unlikely to make sense of their time living in the home.

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

Children are supported to understand their emotions and reflect on their behaviour. Staff take time to speak with children when they are ready to engage in meaningful discussions. Tools such as emotion cards are used to help children identify and explore their feelings and reflect on incidents. This approach enables children to engage positively with staff, develop a better understanding of their emotions, and consider alternative ways to respond in the future.

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

Children are supported to recognise bullying and understand how to keep themselves safe. They learn about the complexities of peer relationships, the reasons why bullying can occur, and how to identify and avoid situations that may place them at risk. Staff help children to explore the impact of unkind behaviour, including teasing and bullying, and encourage them to reflect on how their actions can affect others. This work helps children to develop positive relationships, improve their understanding of respectful behaviour, and reduces the likelihood of experiences that may negatively affect their emotional well-being.

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

New employees are subject to appropriate checks and vetting before employment begins. Recruitment processes include reviewing application information to identify any discrepancies or gaps in employment history. These are followed up by managers and discussed with prospective employees to ensure the information provided is accurate. Staff receive the necessary pre-employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks and verified references. This supports safer recruitment practices and helps ensure that staff caring for children are suitable for their roles.

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

The allegations management policy does not adequately reflect the potential risks within the home. A close family relative of the responsible individual is employed at the home; however, there is no specific policy or procedure to address the management of potential conflicts of interest arising from this arrangement. Furthermore, no amendments have been made to the allegations management procedure to account for this risk. The policy also refers staff to a flowchart displayed in the office, but this is not available, and staff are unaware of any alternative process to follow. This lack of clear guidance does not demonstrate robust safeguarding practice and could compromise the effective management of allegations. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager actively escalates concerns and challenges partner agencies to secure better outcomes for children. This includes formally raising concerns with placing authorities about repeated cancellations of children's reviews, poor oversight, and ineffective communication. The manager also challenges education providers and local authorities to understand decision-making and advocate for children's emotional wellbeing. As a result, agencies have acknowledged shortfalls and taken action to improve the timeliness of reviews, strengthen communication and case oversight, and progress plans to meet a child's educational needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers hold regular monthly and quarterly consultations with a clinical therapist to help staff understand children's behaviours, emotions, and progress. These discussions promote consistent care that reflects the home's model of care and inform changes to care planning as children's needs evolve. This supports greater emotional well-being, placement stability, and the development of enduring relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes an inclusive and respectful culture and responds promptly to discriminatory attitudes or behaviours. Managers demonstrate a strong understanding of how children's experiences and trauma can influence their views and ensure incidents involving racist language or behaviour are appropriately explored. Staff work with children to challenge stereotypes, improve understanding, and build positive relationships, helping to promote inclusivity, strengthen communication, and reduce fears linked to past experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not consistently provide regular supervision and support to all staff. Some staff have not received supervision for several months. Where supervision does take place, it provides valuable opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice, discuss concerns, and receive support to carry out their role effectively. Practice issues are identified and addressed appropriately. However, the lack of consistent supervision across the staff team limits opportunities for development and reflection, which may impact the consistency of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not have effective systems in place to review and analyse information to improve the quality of care provided to children. While the manager relies on a range of records and discussions to monitor emerging issues, information is not collated in a single, accessible system. As a result, incidents are not always recorded or reported appropriately, and opportunities to identify and analyse trends, patterns, and recurring concerns are missed. This limits effective oversight and makes it difficult to readily access information needed to evaluate practice, identify risks, and drive improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 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

that the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the homes allegations management policy should have a clear procedure for staff to follow when a conflict of interest arises. 7 October 2026

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically that the registered person must implement effective and evaluative monitoring and reviewing systems to support effective oversight of the home's practice and recording in the home. This Requirement is restated. 7 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected; 7 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 7 children can access all appropriate areas of the children's home's premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must keep under review any use of bedroom door alarms.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ paragraph 13.2 Page 61)  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ paragraph 14.4 page 62)

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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: 2741726 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PALS Residential Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 64 Mill Lane, West Derby, Liverpool L12 7JB

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Regulatory Inspection Manager, Social Care Inspection report for children’s home: 2741726 9 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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