Children's Home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 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 run by a privately owned company. It is registered to care for one child who has had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since August 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection after registration.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 2

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improvement to be good

Since the home opened, two children have lived at the home. One child lived at the home until June 2023. The child living at the home at the time of the inspection has lived there since July 2023.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences and progress are mixed. Although children have planned moves to the home, they have struggled to settle. One child left the home sooner than anticipated due to concerns that their individual needs could not be met safely. The current child is also due to move on because of increasing risks to their safety that staff are unable to manage.

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improvement to be good

Children do not have access to education. The manager has not challenged local authorities when there have been delays in securing appropriate education. A school place was identified for one child two months after they moved in to the home. Following an increase in missing-from-care episodes, the school staff did not feel that they could meet the child’s needs. The child left the home shortly after tutoring had been secured. One child has had no education provision. Staff’s efforts to engage the child in informal educational activities have had limited success. This has led to a lack of routines and boundaries for the child and contributed to their placement being unstable.

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improvement to be good

One child who lived in the home when it first opened enjoyed a good, clean and safe home environment. For the child who moved in after, the manager and staff have kept the home environment safe for them. However, there has been damage following incidents in the home, such as stains on the walls and holes in the child’s bedroom wall. This detracts from the homely feel that staff have tried to create. In addition, t he rear garden is not safely maintained so that the child can benefit from using it. They do have access to a rear yard.

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in children’s care planning. The manager has not worked effectively with professionals to understand and progress children’s care plans. There have not been robust reviews when children move in and out of the home or when there have been escalating concerns. This has resulted in staff not being able to meet children’s evolving needs and keep them safe, resulting in children having to move. This has created instability and insecurity for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed and offer the child empathetic and nurturing care. While this is not always received well by the child, staff remain patient and understanding. As a result, children build some positive and trusting relationships with staff. One child wrote in a letter to the staff and manager that they would remember them even when they get older. Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 3 Children have enjoyed positive activities that they have chosen. One child’s interest in joining the police has been supported by staff who have taken them to activities based around this. An application for the child to join the police cadets has also been completed.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported the child to attend routine health appointments and seek medical attention when necessary. Staff manage the storage, recording and administration of medication appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Children have enjoyed spending time with their friends and family. This helps to ensure that children’s identity is promoted. Family members feel that staff keep them updated about the care of their children.

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improvement to be good

The approach by the manager and staff to managing risk is varied. Assessments of risk and risk management plans offer relevant guidance for staff. This helps them to understand the child’s behaviours and how to minimise risk. However, staff do not consistently follow the guidance. Daily window checks have not been undertaken to make sure that the child’s bedroom remains safe and to prevent incidents. The child moved in to the home but was then temporarily moved in to another placement for a short period. When the child moved back in to the home, the manager did not update the risk assessments. This was a missed opportunity to understand whether staff could continue to care for and keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager’s decisions around safeguarding children are not always well considered. When one child’s bedroom was unsafe, the child was supported to move in to another room. However, staff did not ensure that the child had appropriate furniture and the child slept on a mattress for a short time. Further to this, the manager moved fire safety equipment from the designated locations into the staff office. This has been to prevent it from being damaged during incidents. However, the manager has not sought updated advice from relevant professionals. This means that they have not fully understood whether the child’s and staff’s safety would be compromised in the event of a fire in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have managed some challenging behaviours from the child well. The child’s support plans are clear and contain information about their triggers, which have helped staff to remain focused on the child’s safety and de-escalate situations. When staff have needed to physically intervene, this has been carried out appropriately and recorded in a timely manner. There has been regular management oversight of these incidents to support staff’s ongoing practice.

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improvement to be good

When the child goes missing from home, staff follow the child’s individualised missing-from-care protocol. Staff work with professionals to locate and return the child home safely. This has kept the child safe until another home is secured for them. The child’s social worker told the inspector that staff have been curious and flexible in their care of the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 4 The manager has increased staffing levels for one child following an increase in incidents. The extra staff have been secured from within the organisation and the use of agency staff has been limited. This, along with safer recruitment processes, has led to children having familiar staff caring for them.

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good

The previous registered manager has been managing this home and another home. Their ability to provide consistent oversight has been affected. This has led to some inconsistent risk management and care planning. An interim manager from within the organisation is in the process of taking over until a new manager is appointed.

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good

The interim manager is committed and has a clear vision for the home and the improvements required. They understand that the home's location and good transport links have made it difficult for the staff to prevent the child from going missing from home easily. Further to this, there have been complaints by local residents regarding one child’s behaviour in the community. Managers have dealt with these complaints well. However, this has led to the interim manager considering the home’s statement of purpose, particularly around the range of children’s needs that the home can provide care for.

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good

Managers are not yet delivering the therapeutic care that is set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have not been trained in this therapeutic approach and so it has not been embedded into staff practice. Managers acknowledge this and have plans in place to address this issue.

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good

Staff benefit from a wide range of mandatory training courses. Most of the core staff have completed this training. This means that staff are equipped with the knowledge to understand children’s specific needs. This is further bolstered by the introduction of a psychologist, who has been attending team meetings to offer support and guidance to staff.

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good

Managers have worked to build a cohesive team who support each other. Staff told the inspector that they feel supported by the managers. This is underpinned by regular supervision and managers being approachable and available. Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 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 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 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

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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans clearly identify all risks for children and action is taken to reduce the risk of harm. 6 November 2023

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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 promotes their welfare. 6 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should receive training to support their understanding of the model of care outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children are provided with education that meets their needs. 6 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 6 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 7 This specifically relates to ensuring that staff’s experience and skills are taken into account when considering new children coming to live at the home, and that children receive well-planned care throughout, with reviews of plans undertaken as necessary.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home, particularly children’s bedrooms and the rear garden, are kept clean and well maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2671228 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2671228 9 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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