Children's Home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report children's home: 2722944 1 Registered provider: Beacon Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to 4 children with learning disabilities. The home registered with Ofsted in August 2024 when the children and staff all moved together following the planned closure of another home within the organisation. The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has been in post since the home was registered.

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Information about this children’s home

3 children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. All were seen and spoken with.

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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: 18 November 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: On 21 November 2025, a compliance notice was issued relating to Regulation 13. A monitoring visit was completed on 8 January 2026 to review the actions taken to meet the compliance notice. Insufficient action had been taken, and the compliance notice was not met. The compliance notice was reissued on 12 January 2026 and the actions taken were reviewed as part on this full inspection. Inspection report children's home: 2722944 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Inadequate 11/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2722944 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from stable homes where they have positive relationships with the adults who care for them. There are currently 3 children living in the home and there have been no moves in or out of the home since the previous inspection. One young person has been able to remain in the home while a suitable adult placement is being sought. Children are very happy and comfortable with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s communication is understood by staff. They are all pre-verbal, but staff are able to interpret their body language and actions. Children use communication books and are encouraged to use them to share their views. All children take part in interactive children’s meetings where alternative communication methods assist children to contribute to decisions about meals and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. Good partnership working with schools includes daily updates and meetings when any issues arise. Feedback from children’s schools is very positive, with one teacher sharing that the home is one of the best they work with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are consistently met. They attend routine appointments and specialist support is sought where needed. Staff are also committed to assisting children to lead a healthy lifestyle with lots of healthy meals and physical activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support to develop their independence in line with their individual capabilities. Children help with cleaning their bedrooms and doing their laundry. One young person has been travelling on public transport more regularly to help prepare them for the wider world when they move to their adult placement.

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

Improvements to safety measures are helping to keep all children safe from harm. Staff now have a better understanding of children's plans and the safety measures that are permitted. These are now consistently implemented in the home, and no significant incidents have occurred.

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

Children’s plans have been improved and now provide clear guidance to staff. Staff understand how to reduce the risks of children going missing and know what action to take if it does happen.

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

Children's behaviour is well managed and there have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. Staff have the skills to de-escalate situations and use known strategies in line with children's plans, which help to maintain positive behaviour. Inspection report children's home: 2722944 4 Complaints and allegations are rare. One concern has been received since the last inspection. Leaders took action and completed an investigation; however, the initial investigation was of poor quality. This has now been addressed with a more robust review and areas for improvement have been identified and acted upon.

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

The home environment is safe and has been well maintained. Decorating has freshened up the home and children's bedrooms are now more personalised. Bedrooms have been painted with large name murals added along with decorative lighting, which make the rooms more inviting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective action has been taken to address previous shortfalls identified at the last inspection and monitoring visit. A new responsible individual has been appointed, and they have provided targeted support to the manager and the home with a focus on improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has received support to improve their oversight of the home. They have now attended several management training courses which has improved their understanding of their role. The training has helped the manager to reflect on the previous shortfalls and start to make positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring of the home has improved. New monitoring tools have been developed, which give managers a much better understanding of the care that children are receiving. Although the new processes are still being embedded, they have already highlighted where staff practice still needs to be improved. On a limited number of occasions, the monitoring has not identified where records have not been completed in line with new policies designed to ensure that all incidents are clearly identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have been supported to engage in additional training to upskill them in areas where practice was previously weak. All staff have now refreshed training in recording and reporting, risk management and language that cares. Staff have engaged well with the training and are now putting what they have learned into practice which is improving the care that children receive. There is an ongoing commitment to maintain high levels of practice, through targeted team meetings and further development opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels have improved. New staff have been recruited and there will shortly be a full staff team in place. This has allowed the manager to stop working shifts and focus on management responsibilities. The manager has recognised the importance of stepping back to allow staff to provide most of the direct care for the children so that he can focus on his management responsibilities. Inspection report children's home: 2722944 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that all staff consistently follow the home's policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home's care. This specifically relates to using monitoring systems effectively to identify when staff have not correctly followed the home's recording and reporting policies when incidents occur. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report children's home: 2722944 6

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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 children's home: 2722944 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: 155 Bromford Lane, Erdington, Birmingham, B24 8DJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Carrie-Ann McGurk

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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2722944 8 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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