Children's home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 1 Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have suffered early childhood trauma and have associated emotional and behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in November 2019. A permanent manager was appointed in February 2021 and has applied to register with Ofsted. She is experienced and is undertaking the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. A new responsible individual took over this month.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, Ofsted suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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good

Ofsted last visited this home on 23 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted undertook an assurance visit on 2 and 3 December 2020 and serious and widespread concerns were identified in relation to the care and protection of children. Five requirements were raised, three of which were the subject of compliance notices. A notice restricting accommodation was also served.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At a monitoring visit on 13 January 2021, two of the three compliance notices were deemed by Ofsted not to have been met, and so two further compliance notices were raised. Two additional requirements were also raised.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Progress had been made at a further monitoring visit on 23 February 2021. The two compliance notices and two requirements were found to have been met. The restriction on accommodation was lifted.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive nurturing care and support. This helps them to have positive day- to-day experiences of living at the home. Staff understand the children’s individual needs well. They make sure that internal care plans reflect the aims and objectives of the placing authority and they ensure that they provide care in line with these plans. As a result, children receive coordinated and effective support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respond sensitively to children’s emotional health needs, and work in partnership with health professionals to ensure that children receive the right support. When children have specific needs, staff are compassionate and supportive. For example, when a child self-harms, staff work well with health professionals and the child to promote the child’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before moving to the home, one child was in hospital with health issues. The move to this home was well planned and gave the child an opportunity to meet the staff and manager, and prepare for moving day. Another child recently left the home in line with their care plan. Staff supported the child to visit their new home and were involved in transition planning and preparing the child to move on. Children have a positive experience of arriving at and moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain those relationships which matter to them. Time with family is promoted and facilitated well, both in and out of the home. Maintaining friendships is also encouraged. This helps children to maintain contact with people who are important in their lives, which also supports their understanding of their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use well-planned key-work sessions to talk through identified topics that are relevant to the care of the children. Staff discuss topics with the children that are important, for example the need to wear face masks during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and regularly wash hands. These discussions help to reiterate to the children how important it is to maintain good health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been supported to find a local school placement after a period out of full-time education. Good communication between staff and the local authority is helping to ensure that effective support is in place to promote her learning. The supportive home environment has helped another child thrive at school. As a result, children make progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children get involved in the running of their home. They choose meals for the weekly menu, as well as activities they want to do, and have input into how the home is decorated. Children have personalised their bedrooms, and have use of games consoles, toys and board games. The recent improvements mean that children now live in a comfortable and homely environment. Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 4 Children make good use of the garden, particularly for playing football. So much so that the garden is looking tired and worn. Children and staff told the inspector that they would like work to be done in the back garden to make it a more attractive and usable space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to explore their culture, identity and heritage. When a child is exploring their sexuality, the staff help them to find a local lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) youth club. One child is of dual heritage and staff ensure that they receive the right care for their hair and skin. However, the details of this support are not well recorded to ensure that records reflect this good work.

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

Children say that they feel happy, well supported and safe living at the home. Children’s views about the home and their care are listened to and acted on. This helps children to feel valued, and to feel that their views are taken seriously. This contributes to them feeling safe and well looked after.

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

Staff give rewards and praise to the children to acknowledge their positive achievements. One child had recently received a reward for teaching the children and staff Spanish. They chose this in discussion with staff. Another child had been praised for learning how to fix their bike with the maintenance worker. Staff also implement consequences to help the children to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and other people. These consequences are fair and proportionate.

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

Staff receive training to raise their knowledge and awareness of how best to safeguard children. They implement this learning in their day-to-day practice. This promotes children’s safety. Staff have received specialised training to help them to know how to respond to incidents of self-harm, including ligatures. Staff were able to talk confidently about how to implement this training should the need arise.

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

During the inspection, the manager acted promptly when a potential ligature point in a child’s bedroom was noted by the inspector. Although the risk was mitigated by the level of support the child receives, the manager liaised with the maintenance worker to address this issue.

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

Staff are appropriately trained in the safe administration of medication and the arrangements for the receipt, storage and administration of medication are clear. Children receive medication from appropriately trained staff.

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

For the most part, children’s individual plans and risk assessments are reviewed and updated regularly by managers and staff. This ensures that staff are aware of the risks posed to and by children, and the measures needed to reduce risk. They implement these measures effectively. However, one child has known allergies. Information regarding these is included in their placement and health plans, but the potential risk has not been fully assessed. Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 5

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good

The home was registered in November 2019. Since registration, there has been a high turnover of leaders and managers, and all but one of the original team of staff have left. This has led to some instability and a lack of consistency at times for some children. Children, family members and professionals raised this as a concern with the inspector.

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good

The situation is improving. For example, there is a permanent manager now in post who has applied to register with Ofsted. A permanent staff team has been recruited. Leaders and managers are planning for a sustained period of consistency to develop the team before new children come to live at the home.

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good

Potential employees are the subject of some assessment of their suitability to work with children, prior to commencing work. This includes references and criminal records checks. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that all staff have had their employment history explored and gaps in employment explained. This means that unsuitable people may be employed to care for children.

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good

Staff are well supported by the manager, who shows that she has a real vision for, and commitment to, the professional development of her team. Staff now benefit from having regular team meetings and supervision. Supervision records are reflective, detailed and show that staff receive clear direction and support to progress their practice.

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good

The new manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of the service. She monitors and reviews what needs to improve, and implements actions in a workforce plan to ensure that targets are met. The manager oversees children’s plans and their implementation to make sure that children receive care that is tailored to their needs. These largely effective quality-monitoring systems support good care. Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers making sure that all staff are safely recruited and gaps in employment are explained as per schedule 2. 25 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides care which meets each child’s needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account of the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. This relates to ensuring that children’s placement and care plans reflect their cultural identity and any associated additional support. Additionally, this also relates to ensuring that any additional health needs are appropriately risk assessed and included on children’s plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that the home provides a safe and stimulating environment in high-quality buildings, with spaces that support nurture and allow privacy as well as common spaces and spaces to be active. This

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Recommendations

relates to the refurbishment of the back garden. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 6, Residential child care – key principles) Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 7

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hazlewoods, Windsor House, Bayshill Road, Cheltenham GL50 3AT

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Inspector

James Tallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2546172 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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