Beaman House

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. The registered manager and staff contributed to a culture at the home which was focused on providing good care to people. A relative told us staff were open with them and wanted the best possible care for their family member. The relative said, “I think [registered manager] wants [people] to be well looked after and cared for and they will do whatever they can to put this in place for [people].” A staff member said, “[Registered manager] wants [people] to have the best quality of life and to be fulfilled. [Registered manager] fights for them to be happy and trusts us to carry on with that. It's made a positive difference to [people].” Staff understood how the culture being created by senior staff linked in with their role and approach to caring. Staff described working together across teams to achieve this. Senior staff considered how to address any barriers which may prevent staff from delivering care in the way they wanted, through staff meetings, supervision sessions and by communicating with staff through information technology platforms.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Relatives were positive about the skills, knowledge and inclusive approach taken by staff. One relative told us the registered manager supported their family member and them, so they were able to maintain their relationships, through visits to their family home. This had occurred when the relative ‘s circumstances meant they were unable to travel. The relative said, “It is so lovely of [registered manager] to do it. I just looked at [registered manager] and cried, because I felt it was wonderful they would do this.” Other relatives described an open and constructive approach taken by staff, which had a positive impact on the quality of care provided. Staff told us the registered manager and senior staff demonstrated their compassion and skills when leading the service in practical ways. For example, by supporting staff to maintain a good life balance, by working alongside staff and through providing advice when they wanted this. One staff member said, “[Senior staff] are very accommodating.” This helped senior staff to understand the challenges staff faced. The registered manager told us they were supported the board of trustees.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff said they were listened to, so had not needed to raise any whistle-blowing concerns. One staff member said, “There’s a central [telephone] number we can use, but I have not needed to, as anything I have raised has been dealt with appropriately.” Staff knew how to raise such concerns, if they wanted, and were confident appropriate action would be taken by senior staff. A staff member told us, “I would call the line manager or if the concerns were about them, then I would go to the next person up. Failing that I would contact the Police or CQC. The number and policy is printed on the staff room board upstairs. All polices are on [an IT platform], so it's easier to access and find whenever we need to.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Relatives told us their family members were not discriminated against because of their disabilities. Staff told us they were treated fairly and encouraged to work as a team, for the benefit of people living at the home. Staff were confident if they raised any concerns these would be appropriately responded to.

The provider did not always have embedded systems of good governance. They did not always act on up to date information about risk. Processes used did not always promptly identify and swiftly mitigate some areas or risk. However, some areas of governance were working more effectively. There had been changes to the provider’s quality assurance staffing and processes and some governance checks needed further time to embed. For example, checks had not identified the concern we found in relation to the premises. In addition, a fire risk assessment had last been commissioned and completed on13 June 2023. The registered manager had developed an action plan to address shortfalls identified. The majority of actions identified at the fire risk assessment had been promptly actioned by the provider. The registered manager had reviewed their action plan in December 2024. However, a review of the fire risk assessment, which was due to be done by 13 June 2024, had not been undertaken by the time of our inspection in April 2025. Whilst there was no evidence of harm to people, this may increase the likelihood of poor fire risk management. Further, some checks were undertaken by the provider’s representative during their visits to the home, but these had not been recorded. The registered manager, who was also the nominated individual, planned to introduce a nominated individual audit to record these checks. These will need time to embed. However, people, relatives, staff and other health and social care professionals were complimentary about the way the home was managed and told us care was organised well. There were regular checks on staff practice, so the registered manager could be assured people were receiving good care. One staff member told us, “[Senior staff] give you instant feedback.” This helped to ensure any required changes to staff practice were promptly taken.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. People told us their views on their care were listened to. One person said they were asked what care they wanted, what meals they wished to have and what interesting things they wished to do. The person told us their views were listened to. Relatives were positive about the partnership approach taken by staff. A relative told us, “We get phone calls to keep in touch, it works for us. The communication is good, [staff] do let us know what is going on. We had a questionnaire not long ago. I think if there were problems they would listen and change things.” Health and social care professionals said they were treated as partners in people’s care. Health and social care professional said staff were accessible and knew people well. One health and social care professional told us because of the effective systems put in place to promote joint working, “The staff are very person centred and support the people to achieve outcomes. The staff also are very good at updating professionals.” Staff told us they were encouraged to make suggestions to improve people’s care and quality of life and gave us examples showing how effective joint working with other health and social care professionals had improved people’s health and well-being.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. Relatives said they were confident if they made any suggestions to improve their family member’s care their suggestions would be acted on. One relative gave an example showing how staff had carefully monitored their family member’s reaction to a new activity and had taken learning from this. The relative said because of this, “[Person’s name] had previously done bingo. [Staff] monitored it and saw it was not working. What they have now done is found out what [person’s name] really enjoys and have arranged it. They have put this in place, and it does work, they have found the right balance.” Staff told us they were promoted and encouraged to discuss and take learning about people’s care during their supervision and staff meetings, and after any incidents when people had been anxious. The registered manager gave us examples of learning they had taken from other care homes and had developed a learning folder for staff reference. The registered manager also took learning from, and communicated learning to, other professionals through their contribution to strategic workforce development and planning organisations for adult social care in England.