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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 1 SC477031

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Registered provider: Spark of Genius North East LLP

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned and managed children’s home provides care for up to five children who experience a range of difficulties, which may include social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke with and observed three of the five children who live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 21 November 2022.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection of this home was completed on 7 and 8 June 2022. Ofsted judged the home as requires improvement to be good.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out in response to a number of safeguarding notifications received by Ofsted. The purpose of the visit was to consider the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements in this home.

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This monitoring visit

During the monitoring visit, significant breaches in the regulations were found. A case review was held on 21 February 2023 and a decision was made to issue one compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard. Requirements were also raised under regulations 13 and 35.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not evaluate how she and the staff team can safely and effectively meet and manage all of a child’s known needs and risks before they move into the home. This prevents the manager from identifying appropriate safeguarding strategies to inform the staff about how they can help to keep the children safe. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 2 Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are not updated in line with the provider’s internal processes. These plans are not consistently accessible to the staff once they have been updated. Furthermore, these documents do not reflect all of the children’s known risks, or the strategies that the staff should implement, to reduce the risks to children. This prevents the staff from effectively and consistently keeping the children safe.

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This monitoring visit

On occasion, the manager provides updates about the children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans through an email memo to the staff. However, some staff are unaware of some of the information contained in these emails. This ineffective communication prevents the staff from implementing the updated strategies that have been agreed to keep the children safe.

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This monitoring visit

Children rarely go missing from the home. However, the manager does not have a clear safeguarding process in place that the staff should follow in this event. As a result, the staff do not take prompt action to secure the children’s safety, and they do not provide the children with a consistent response.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has missed an opportunity to ensure that the children are educated about the associated risks of issues, such as starting fires and sexually harmful relationships. Furthermore, the children are not spoken to after a search of their bedroom has been completed. This oversight prevents the children from understanding why certain action is taken to safeguard themselves and others.

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This monitoring visit

Children are rarely held, and physical interventions are rare. However, on one occasion, staff who were involved in a physical intervention were not spoken with by a manager after the incident. This prevented the manager from scrutinising this practice to ensure that this was necessary and appropriate. This exposes the children to the risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

The children’s documents do not consistently contain accurate information. This oversight leads to ambiguity about the children’s real experiences of living in this home.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not have an effective review and monitoring system in place. This has prevented her from identifying the shortfalls that were found during this visit. This leaves the children vulnerable to harm.

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This monitoring visit

When children make allegations, these are taken seriously and are now investigated quickly. This reduces the likelihood of the process causing unnecessary anxiety to the children.

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This monitoring visit

The staff have positive relationships with the children. This enables them to provide emotional support to the children when they are upset and in crisis, which reduces risks to children. One child was observed to show emotional affection to a staff Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 3 member and expressed how much they loved the staff member. These relationships provide children with a sense of belonging.

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This monitoring visit

Supervision sessions are regular and reflective. However, supervision records do not consistently contain the supervisor’s responses to the supervisee. This means it is unclear whether staff receive appropriate guidance and support with the issues that they raise. However, staff do say that they feel well supported by the management team.

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This monitoring visit

The manager is new to this role. She is supported by a deputy manager, who is also newly appointed. They are both enthusiastic and dedicated to providing a trauma- informed approach to care. The manager shares this approach with the staff to inform their practice. When the manager identifies that the staff require additional support, she and her management team work additional shift patterns to provide good role-modelling opportunities to the staff. This helps the staff to improve their practice.

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This monitoring visit

The home is decorated to a good standard. The home now has adequate heating as the boiler has been repaired. Damage to furniture and the property is repaired quickly. This helps to prevent children from revisiting any trauma associated with the damage they may have caused when they were upset. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/11/2019 Full Outstanding 20/03/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 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, 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

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;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 2 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 6 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 2 April 2023

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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

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 2 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 7 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

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 8

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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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Inspectors

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Janine Shortman-Thomas, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC477031 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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