Children's Home run by Beacon Childcare Ltd in Birmingham

Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 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

A private provider operates this home. This home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has submitted their application to Ofsted. He is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this visit, one child was living in the home. The child spent time talking to the inspector.

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2025 Full Good 27/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/06/2024 Full Inadequate 10/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 3

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Summary of findings

Children have made some progress since the last inspection. However, there are shortfalls in some areas of practice, including behaviour management, de-escalation and the quality of recording. As a result, children do not yet consistently benefit from skilled and informed care that meets their needs and promotes positive experiences and outcomes.

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Summary of findings

The manager has a good understanding of the areas requiring improvement and has identified clear actions to address these. Plans are in place to strengthen staff practice, oversight and training. However, these changes are not yet fully embedded in day-to-day practice and their impact is not yet consistently evident.

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improvement to be good

Children have made some progress since the last inspection. However, staff have not always had the skills to safely and appropriately manage children's behaviours. This has resulted in the provider making decisions to end some children's time at the home. The resulting uncertainty and disruption has, at times, adversely affected children's overall experiences, stability and progress.

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improvement to be good

Children's views about living in the home are mixed. This indicates that children's experiences are not consistently positive and that the home is not yet meeting the needs of all children in a way that enables them to feel fully settled, supported and satisfied with the care they receive.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always maintain records that are respectful, child centred and reflective of children's individual circumstances. Records occasionally lack sensitivity and do not consistently promote a clear and compassionate understanding. As a result, recording does not always support a child-focused approach to care or provide an accurate reflection of children's needs and progress.

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improvement to be good

Leaders have identified these shortfalls and have undertaken reflective learning with staff to improve recording practices. However, recent records continue to contain examples of language and recording that do not fully reflect a trauma-informed or child- centred approach. This indicates that further training, support and oversight are required to embed consistent improvements in practice.

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improvement to be good

Two children have moved on from the home since the last inspection. Despite the provider making the decision to end their time at the home, both children were supported to experience a well-supported move. One child moved to alternative accommodation and one child returned to live with their family. Staff worked with Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 4 relevant professionals to help ensure that these moves were planned and managed sensitively.

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improvement to be good

One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. The move was arranged on an emergency basis; however, staff supported the child to settle into their new surroundings. As a result, the child was helped to feel safe and supported during a period of significant change. The child was able to identify some trusted adults in the home, demonstrating that they are beginning to develop positive relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and decorated and maintained to a good standard, with personal touches throughout. The child has ample areas to play both in the home and outside. The child's' bedroom is painted in their favourite colours and is personalised with their treasured possessions. This promotes a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to improve their physical health. They have access to healthy snacks and are encouraged to make positive lifestyle choices. The child also participates in regular physical activities that reflect their interests and preferences. As a result, the child is developing healthier habits, which are contributing to improvements in their overall health and wellbeing in line with their care plan.

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improvement to be good

Staff actively promote relationships with people who are important to the child, including supporting and transporting the child to family time arrangements. This child-focused approach helps the child to maintain important family connections, contributing to their emotional wellbeing, sense of identity and understanding of their personal history.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently recognise or respond to early signs of distress when children become upset. As a result, children do not always receive timely support to manage their emotions and behaviours, leading to some incidents escalating and requiring physical intervention. This can affect children's sense of safety, their relationships with staff and their ability to develop positive coping strategies.

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improvement to be good

Allegations made by children against adults working in the home have resulted in some staff being unable to work in the home while concerns are investigated. This has had a significant impact on staffing arrangements, reducing staff sufficiency and requiring existing staff to work additional shifts, as well as increasing the home's reliance on agency staff. As a result, children have not always benefited from care provided by a consistent team, which has the potential to affect the continuity of care and the development of positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children's allegations are generally responded to appropriately. When children raise concerns about adults working in the home, staff listen to them, provide reassurance and ensure that their views are heard. Leaders take action to reduce risk, notify relevant professionals and keep children informed of outcomes, helping them to feel listened to and valued. However, on one occasion, the manager did not respond to a child's Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 5 allegation; once identified, appropriate action was taken to manage the concern in line with safeguarding procedures.

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improvement to be good

Staff implement consistent boundaries for the child and provide clear expectations around behaviour and safety. This consistent approach has helped the child to better understand expectations and make progress in managing their feelings and behaviours more positively.

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improvement to be good

Consequences are no longer used in the home. Instead, staff have adopted a positive, relationship-based approach that focuses on praise and encouragement. This approach helps to build children's confidence and self-esteem, encourages positive behaviour and contributes to their emotional wellbeing and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager and responsible individual have been in post for around 6 months. They demonstrate an understanding of the home's strengths and the areas requiring further improvement. They have taken action to address identified shortfalls and implement plans aimed at improving staff practice. However, these changes are not yet fully embedded. As a result, the intended impact of these improvements is not yet consistently evident in children's experiences, progress or outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are inconsistencies in staff training. Some staff are not up to date with essential mandatory courses. While leaders have implemented additional training to address identified weaknesses in practice, shortfalls in mandatory training do not provide sufficient assurance that all staff have the skills and knowledge required to carry out their roles effectively. As a result, children do not yet consistently benefit from skilled and informed care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professional feedback is mixed. Education professionals spoke positively about the home's communication, noting that staff worked well with them to support an understanding of the child's presentation and needs. However, one local authority raised concerns about staff's skills and confidence in managing challenging situations. The local authority acknowledged that leaders were aware of these concerns and have implemented additional training and support for staff to help improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff speak positively about the leadership of the home and report feeling well supported by managers. They describe leaders as approachable and available for guidance and advice when needed. Staff receive regular supervision, which provides opportunities to reflect on their practice, discuss challenges and identify areas for professional development. This support helps to promote reflective practice and contributes to the ongoing development of the staff team. Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 6

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff support children in line with the home's therapeutic model of care when managing incidents to keep them safe, and that staff use effective de-escalation strategies when children become upset, helping to prevent incidents from escalating and reducing the need for restrictive interventions or external involvement.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 28 August 2026

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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— 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 7 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the registered manager ensuring that staff training is up to date and that staff have the necessary skills, knowledge and competence to meet the needs of children effectively. The registered manager must also ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child and that workforce arrangements promote continuity of care, enabling children to build stable and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

that the care meets the child's needs. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to the registered manager ensuring that the care provided to children is consistently aligned with their individual needs and that children do not experience the ending of their time in the home because the home is unable to meet those needs effectively. 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2516553 9

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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

Julia Tompson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2516553 10 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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