Children's Home run by Beacon Residential Homes Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 1 Registered provider: Beacon Residential Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager position for this home has been vacant since 19 August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first full inspection since the home was registered with Ofsted on 17 May 2024.

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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 Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since registration: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived in the home since it was registered. Children benefit from emotionally warm and nurturing care provided by staff who have a good understanding of their needs. Staff are guided by plans that are relevant and child-centred. The care provided by staff has helped children make progress from their own individual starting points, such as being able to share their feelings or meeting with a therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home said that they feel safe and well cared for. They know how to make a complaint should they need to. Professionals who know the child well comment positively on how they have settled into the home despite only being there a short time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are valued. Skilled staff take the time to talk to children about things they need help with and to understand their wishes and feelings. Support around a range of issues, such as internet safety and managing emotions, is well evidenced and sensitively recorded. This helps to support children to approach difficulties in their lives and to feel supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to take part in activities and have positive experiences based on their interests. This helps to nurture children’s enthusiasm and create positive memories. For example, the child currently living in the home enjoys visiting a range of sites from a particular set of films that they have a keen interest in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s education and learning. Although neither of the children who have lived in the home has had an educational placement, staff and managers work closely with education colleagues and children to explore options, progress plans and arrange constructive interim opportunities for children. This helps to create a culture that encourages children to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children come to live in the home, managers consider a range of information and complete assessments that consider the children’s needs. The views of staff and children are also considered. Managers and staff work well with other professionals to help children make a positive move into the home. However, written assessments do not fully capture managers’ thinking about the compatibility of children nor explicitly consider staff training needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s placement was immediately ended following an escalation of safety concerns. Managers had shared their worries with the placing authority promptly and agreed steps to try and address risks before this decision was taken. Leaders are conscious of the impact of this on the child and continue to work at making this ending as positive as possible. Managers are actively supporting the team to reflect on the learning from these events. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 3 Children are supported to see and keep in touch with family members in line with their care plans. Staff and managers work well with placing authorities and family members to support this. This helps children’s sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable and appropriately furnished. Staff support children to personalise their rooms. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and ownership of their space.

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

Managers and staff understand that children’s behaviour is a form of communication. When children show behaviours of distress, staff work hard to support them to remain calm and express difficult feelings. Staff appreciate and understand the impact that children’s life experiences can have on them. Following difficult incidents, staff consistently talk to children to help them reflect on their behaviour and to explore the support they need.

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

There have been times when children have gone missing from the home. When this happens, staff respond quickly to try and find them, and they follow the protocols that are in place. They work with other agencies, such as the police, to locate them as quickly as possible. Children are supported to have return home interviews, and action is taken to try and reduce the risk of children going missing from home in future.

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

There have been several recent incidents of significant safeguarding concerns in the home. During these incidents, staff worked hard to de-escalate situations and encourage children to make safe choices. Staff sought support from managers and the police when needed. Managers have taken prompt action to try to reduce risks, and safety plans have been updated appropriately.

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

The quality of written records and recorded management oversight of significant incidents is not consistent. Some records do not accurately capture events, the work of staff and the decisions around risk management. This does not support clear communication, information-sharing and learning across the service. In relation to a recurrent concern, this has led to a missed opportunity to support staff robustly with managing challenging situations.

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

Managers ensure that a range of health and safety checks are carried out and that required assessments are up to date. They have taken action to address an identified shortfall in implementing actions identified in the fire risk assessment. This has helped to ensure that children live in a safe home environment.

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

Safer recruitment checks are carried out before new staff start working in the home. However, it is not clearly recorded that original copies of identity documents and qualifications have been seen. Therefore, it is not always possible for the manager to verify that these checks have been completed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager post is currently vacant. An interim manager has been in place since October 2024 and has applied to register with Ofsted. The interim manager is enthusiastic about their role, has a good understanding of children and is open to learning and reflection. This makes her a good role model for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about their roles and the support they receive from managers and colleagues. They describe the manager as very supportive and available. Staff receive regular one-to-one supervision and appraisals in line with company policy, and there is a clear focus on staff welfare in these discussions. Managers use regular team meetings to constructively support team dynamics and reflection. This is supported by input from the in-house therapist. This helps children to receive care from resilient staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a variety of appropriate training, including bespoke events in response to arising need. This helps to ensure that children receive care from well-informed staff. Managers have effective systems in place to maintain oversight of the company training programme and address any delays. However, there is not clear evidence of how some staff are assessed as having qualifications that are equivalent to those required in the regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers understand the importance of good working relationships with family members and other professionals involved in the care of children. Social care professionals provided positive feedback about the progress children have made, day-to- day care and safeguarding. Constructive feedback about communication was received from one social care professional and a parent. This was shared with managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 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, 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(f)(g)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that written records of incidents in the home are thorough and accurate and that there is consistent management oversight of incidents to identify any required actions, learning and support needs of staff. 1 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that assessments completed to inform decisions about children coming to live in the home capture how their needs, the impact of children on each other and the training needs of staff have been considered. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that, as part of safer recruitment checks, original copies of identity documents and qualifications are seen and a clear record is kept of this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that there is careful consideration to establish whether staff have equivalent qualifications to those required in the regulations and that a record is kept of the information considered to establish equivalence. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 68, Annex A, paragraph 1.3)

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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: 2781318 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Beacon Residential Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: First Floor, 8-12 London Street, Southport, Merseyside PR9 0UE

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Inspector

Jacob Robson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2781318 8 regulates 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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