Children's Home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Sandwell

Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 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 provides care for one child who has experienced early childhood trauma and has emotional and behavioural needs as a result of these experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in May 2023 and is managed by an experienced manager who holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection since registration.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered with Ofsted, two children have moved in and one child has moved out. One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive relationships with staff. Staff have shown a good understanding of each child’s needs and have been sensitive to their journey through care and how their experiences may impact on their ability to settle into the home. Each child has a named key worker who is focused on their needs, which helps children to build trust with someone who knows them well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about their care and are listened to. They have the opportunity to choose meals and activities and are involved in choosing decorative items for the home. When children’s wishes cannot be supported, staff explain the reasons why, so that children can understand how decisions have been made and why.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational progress varies. One child had not attended school for eight years before moving to the home, however, with staff support they completed regular online learning and made good progress. The child who has recently moved to the home is currently waiting for education to be arranged. Staff are proactive in providing informal activities to keep them engaged and help them to develop skills for the future. This has included work around independence and career aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home benefits from links to a psychology service which provides training, support and resources to help staff manage children’s complex needs. Staff from the psychology service attend team meetings to review children’s progress. They have also delivered training to all staff on therapeutic care, and this has helped staff to feel confident to care for children using a therapeutic approach.

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

The child currently living in the home said they feel happy and safe. He said staff have helped him to understand why his freedom is restricted by a deprivation of liberty order. This has helped him to recognise that the restrictions in place help promote his safety and well-being.

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

There have been a high number of episodes of children going missing since the home opened. Staff show a very good understanding of the actions to take when this happens, and their response is robust. When incidents have occurred, the manager has been quick to make changes to keep children safe. The child now living in the home is subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards order, which is managed well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 3 Staff show a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. They understand the importance of reporting concerns and the responsibility they have to keep children safe. One member of staff said the staff are close, but that their duty of care to safeguard a child would always come first and they would not hesitate to report any poor practice from colleagues.

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

Staff are proactive in supporting children to understand risk. For example, they complete comprehensive work with children to help them understand the risks of taking drugs and the impact on their body and other longer-term impacts.

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

Staff show a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and how to manage risks, however, children’s plans do not contain sufficient detail. For example, one child had used their games console to contact people online that they should not have had contact with. The home had taken action to prevent this happening again, but this was not reflected in the child’s plans. Similarly, staff were very clear on the actions to take when a child goes missing, but the missing-from-care protocol lacked clear instructions about action to take.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced manager who has worked at the home since it opened. The manager is well respected by staff and they value the support that the manager provides through supervision and team meetings. One staff member said the manager is ‘the best manager I have ever had’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has sufficient staff. Comprehensive checks are completed before employment, including for staff who are coming from abroad. This helps to ensure that staff working in the home are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a range of training, including courses linked to children’s individual needs. All staff have completed behaviour management training and have the skills to intervene safely when physical interventions are required. This means that physical interventions are only used when absolutely necessary and are carried out safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When new children move into the home, it is not always clear how managers have assessed how the staff can meet their needs. On one occasion, discussions had taken place with relevant professionals before the child moved in, however, this information was not shown in the child’s plans and it was unclear how known risks had been considered. The manager was able to relate the conversations that had taken place but this information had not been included in the child’s records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered for two homes. The home’s statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the staff working in the home and includes staff working across the two homes run by the manager. It also lacks detail about the qualifications that staff hold. As a result, it does not provide the clear and comprehensive information that is required about who is providing care for the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 4

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans include all relevant information about their needs and provide details of strategies required to manage risks. 18 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the statement of purpose only includes details of those staff actually working in the home, and also that it includes the qualifications that staff hold. 18 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and when they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have. This specifically relates to ensuring that there is a clear record of the assessments carried out before agreeing to admit a Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 5 child, and that the record includes all relevant information that was taken into account when deciding whether the home could meet the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2695206 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2695206 7 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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