Children's Home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 1 Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. The home offers medium- to long-term care for up to three children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022, and he holds the required level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Good 06/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use children’s individual communication methods to engage with them. Staff are well trained, and there are resources around the home to help the children express their feelings and choices. This helps children to express themselves even though they are non-verbal.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in education. The manager has been a strong advocate for one child who had been out of education for several months. The child is now attending a new school on a part-time basis, and the manager is working with the school on a plan to increase attendance when the child is ready.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy new experiences and have lots of opportunities for fun. Staff support children to engage in a wide range of activities, both inside the home and in the wider community. Children and staff eat out at local restaurants and go on days out at the zoo, the seaside or the local park. One child who had never been on holiday has now enjoyed a short break in a caravan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to complete independence tasks that are appropriate for their level of understanding and ability. Children help to tidy their bedrooms, learn about self-care and take the bins out with staff. This helps to ensure that children can be as independent as possible when they reach adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children attend regular health appointments and seek medical advice as and when required. When one child had a serious medical issue, staff responded quickly with emergency first aid and called an ambulance right away. The manager stayed at the hospital with the child so that he was supported by someone who he trusted and who could communicate with him.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families. They are prepared for family time beforehand and then supported to discuss their feelings afterwards. This helps children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them and helps staff understand how they feel about seeing their families.

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

Staff are trained in behaviour management and are able to de-escalate situations well. One child became distressed during the inspection, and the manager was observed responding in a very calm, caring manner, which helped the child to calm quickly. There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection.

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

Children receive one to one care from staff, and this helps to keep them safe. They enjoy supervised access to the internet, and there have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 4 Staff recruitment is safe. Appropriate checks are completed, including when staff come from abroad. This helps to ensure that children are cared for by staff who are safe to do so.

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

Incidents are generally well managed; however, risk assessments are not always fully updated with new strategies, and staff are not always aware of what risk assessments contain. This means that staff may not understand current risks and how to manage them.

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

The home provides a spacious, welcoming environment. The home is generally well maintained. However, not all the actions from the most recent fire risk assessment had been completed after six months. This means that safety advice had not been acted on which could pose a risk to children and staff.

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good

The home is managed by an experienced, qualified manager who has a very good understanding of the children’s needs.

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good

Staffing sufficiency has been a concern. There has been a high use of agency staff, and staff have also been working excessive hours. This has recently started to improve; however, feedback suggests that the inconsistent staffing has impacted on children’s behaviour.

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good

The staff team is still developing following recent recruitment. There are tensions within the team, and some staff have raised concerns about communication, teamwork and how concerns are managed. Poor relationships within the team have the potential to impact on children’s quality of care and the atmosphere within the home.

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good

The manager uses a range of monitoring systems to assess the home’s performance. On the whole, these work well; however, the monitoring of medication administration is not always effective in identifying shortfalls. On one occasion, the weekly audit of medication did not pick up an error in the recording of medication, although the child had received the correct medication so had not been impacted.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and appraisal; however, the workforce plan does not accurately reflect how often supervision should take place.

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good

Staff at the home are well trained. They complete extensive training about learning disability, which helps them to meet the needs of the children living at the home. However, the workforce plan does not provide accurate information about training expectations or how often training should be renewed.

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good

The manager works very well with external professionals, and feedback about his practice is very positive. Families and professionals recognise his commitment and dedication. One professional stated that, ‘He is the best manager that I work with.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 5

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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 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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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)(b)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children receive care from a consistent team of staff who work effectively together and that there are sufficient staff to care for children.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, monitoring systems should be effective in identifying shortfalls in recording medication administered to children. 30 August 2023

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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— 30 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 6 that staff—

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans provide all staff with current information about managing risks.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, ensure that actions identified in fire risk assessments are completed without delay.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan that includes the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve supervision of practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2533064 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 28 Phoenix Business Park, Avenue Close, Birmingham B7 4NU

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Depriye Stanley Goodluck

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2533064 8 and inspects 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 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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