Children's home run by Spark of Genius North East LLP in Stockton-on-Tees

Information about this children’s home

A private provider manages and operates this children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who have behavioural and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 4 December 2019

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit:

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Findings from the visit

 some children smoke in their bedrooms Assurance visit report: 1159884 2  staff are ill-equipped to safeguard the children

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Findings from the visit

 the quality of the children’s risk assessments is poor and these do not identify all the children’s known risks

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Findings from the visit

 strategies to manage predictable risks are insufficient to prevent poor experiences for the children

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Findings from the visit

 the home environment presents hazards to the children and does not create a homely environment

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Findings from the visit

 the manager’s monitoring of the service is ineffective.

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The care of children

The children’s experiences are poor. This is because some staff do not provide care and support that reflect the children’s needs or protect them from harm. As a result, some children’s behaviours quickly escalate, resulting in violent incidents in the home. Other children regularly go missing from the home and are at risk of serious harm.

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The care of children

Some of the children smoke and regularly use illegal substances. Some staff do not have sufficient knowledge or skills to help children to understand how harmful these behaviours are to their physical and emotional health.

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The care of children

Most of the children have moved into the home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationships between the children, and those that the children have with staff, are new and just beginning to form. This means that, at times, the children are reluctant to engage with staff in activities or to spend time in the company of their peers.

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The care of children

The children received some education during the COVID-19 pandemic. They took part in educational activities and life-skills workshops, including cooking sessions. This helped the children to maintain a daily routine.

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The care of children

The staff support the children to maintain safe relationships with their families. This support has continued during the COVID- 19 pandemic, through the use of social media and computer technology. This means that children do not feel isolated.

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The safety of children

Some children’s risk assessments do not include all known risks to their safety. These risks include children going missing from the home, substance misuse, internet safety and child sexual exploitation. The children’s risk assessments do not provide staff with clear guidance or information on how to manage and reduce the Assurance visit report: 1159884 3 risks to children. As a result, the staff are ill-equipped to manage the risks to children.

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The safety of children

The children and the staff are at risk of harm from fire. The efforts of staff to prevent the children from smoking in their bedrooms are ineffective. When some staff are aware that children are smoking in their bedrooms, they do not always report these safety concerns to managers. The inspector ensured that the registered manager took immediate action to address fire safety concerns during this visit.

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The safety of children

The home is not well maintained. For example, a broken electrical socket in one child’s bedroom is a fire risk. In other areas of the home, there is a loose skirting board, a loose dado rail, a broken window and a burnt and ill-fitting carpet that is a trip hazard. Furthermore, there was a strong smell of smoke in one child’s bedroom, and their bed and bedding were dirty. This means that staff do not make sure that children live in a safe or hazard-free environment.

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The safety of children

The staff do not consistently help the children to understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, they do not deliver key-work sessions about the risks that the children may face when they are missing from the home. As a result, the children do not believe that their behaviours may be harmful to themselves or others.

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The safety of children

The registered manager does not ensure that the children’s missing from home care plans include effective strategies for staff to follow to reduce this risk. These plans focus on crisis management and the use of restrictive behaviour management methods, such as physical restraint, to prevent children from going missing.

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The safety of children

The staff use a combination of rewards and sanction to manage children’s challenging behaviours. However, this approach is ineffective and does not motivate the children to change their behaviours or to find other ways of managing their frustrations.

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Leaders and managers

The registered manager does not operate the home in accordance with the aims and objectives of the statement of purpose. For example, some staff do not have the skills to identify, manage or reduce risks to the children’s safety. This means that the children’s experiences are not positive or safe.

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Leaders and managers

The registered manager does not monitor the home effectively. He has failed to identify shortfalls in the children’s support plans, in their risk assessments, and in staff practice. The registered manager’s six-monthly monitoring review does not include the views of children or other agencies. This lack of consultation means that the registered manager does not understand how shortfalls in the quality of care affect children’s progress.

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Leaders and managers

The independent visitor continues to regularly monitor the home during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and has identified shortfalls in practice. However, the registered Assurance visit report: 1159884 4 manager does not quickly act on the independent visitor’s recommendations to improve the quality of care for children.

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Leaders and managers

The registered manager does not notify the regulatory body of all significant events. Consequently, Ofsted cannot oversee safeguarding practice.

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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, 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(iv)) 11/10/2020

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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 that staff—

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 11/10/2020 Assurance visit report: 1159884 5 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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(d)(e))* 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(f)(h))* 11/10/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2)) 11/10/2020 Assurance visit report: 1159884 6 In particular, revise behaviour management incentives and sanctions. The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to,

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; and

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 11/10/2020

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Spark Of Genius North East LLP

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: King Edwin School, Mill Lane, Stockton on Tees, Cleveland TS20 1LG

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Inspector

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: 1159884 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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