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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 1 SC484242 Registered provider: Spark Of Genius North East Llp Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were five children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/03/2023 Full Outstanding 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding 21/08/2019 Full Outstanding 22/08/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 3

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outstanding

Children live in an exceptionally settled and nurturing home, where they have secure and trusting relationships with the staff. The staff know the children extremely well and invest their time in them in a meaningful way. This has resulted in children making significant progress while living in the home.

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outstanding

Children live in a home where there is a real family atmosphere. Children are encouraged, regardless of their age, to help with household tasks, and take ownership of their home. Staff model behaviour that will teach children about looking after themselves in the future. This helps children to feel a sense of permanence and belonging.

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outstanding

Staff work diligently with education professionals who have spoken about the exceptional support that children receive. One teacher told inspectors that a child who had previously refused to attend is now thriving in school. There is a clear expectation that all children will attend education and do their best. Staff are ambitious and work hard to ensure that there are good routines and clear boundaries. This means that children are now attending each day and making excellent progress from their starting point.

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outstanding

Children can rely on staff to listen to their views and advocate strongly on their behalf. For some children, this has meant they have been able to continue living in the home despite plans being progressed to move them on. Staff challenge the local authority plan in the best interests of the children. This meant that they were able to remain living in their home being cared for by people whom they know and trust.

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outstanding

Staff recognise the importance of family relationships to the children. Staff go to great lengths to ensure that children are supported to see those who are important to them. Where relationships between the child and their family have risks to the child, staff will plan safe ways of maintaining those relationships.

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outstanding

The manager and staff support children to attend routine appointments, ensuring that their health needs are consistently met. As children get older, staff support them to learn how to manage their own health. For one child, this means they are now able to attend their appointments independently. This contributes to how the staff support children into adulthood.

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outstanding

Staff speak positively about all children and recognise their individuality. Children take part in themed nights where they can sample food and celebrations from different cultures. There are also discussions with children around subjects such as sexuality, gender and disability. This helps the children to understand and accept difference. Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 4 Children are encouraged by staff to take part in a range of activities. One child is supported to attend Brownies and also takes part in sporting activities. This helps children to explore their talents and interests, building resilience and self-esteem.

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outstanding

Staff invest time and care into capturing important memories and experiences for each child. Staff create thoughtful a slideshow of photos in a digital format for the children to take with them. This gives each child a memento so they can look back on their time living in the home when they move on as adults.

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outstanding

Staff identify and understand children’s individual risks and know what they need to do to keep them safe. Staff regularly reflect on, and seek to better understand, children’s behaviours. This is discussed in supervision and team meetings to ensure that all staff have a good grasp of the risks to children. Comprehensive and carefully assessed plans set out how to manage risks to children effectively and ensure that they are safer.

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outstanding

Staff work in partnership with other agencies to share information and ensure that children are safe. This includes liaising with the local authority and police to safeguard children from exploitation and abuse. The diligence and tenacity of staff have significantly reduced the risks of exploitation to children. Staff have gone above and beyond to safeguard the children in their care. One professional stated that staff act to protect children when other professionals cannot. This shows children that staff care about them and will keep them safe.

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outstanding

Children have not gone missing from the home since May 2023. This is a significant reduction and demonstrates the progress that some children have made. The manager recognises that this may mean staff become less familiar with the home’s protocol for when children go missing. In response, a training day simulated an episode of going missing so that staff could refresh their skills and knowledge. This proactive response to potential risks contributes to an exceptional culture of safeguarding in the home.

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outstanding

Children are supported to take age-appropriate safe risks to develop their self- confidence and the skills to be able to do things for themselves. Because of the trusting relationships that children have with staff, children can rely on staff to be there if they make a mistake. This helps children to feel safe and secure in making their own decisions and trying new things.

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outstanding

Children are given clear expectations about how they should behave, and they have a consistent approach regardless of who is caring for them. The behaviour management plan sets out how to identify early when children are becoming upset or distressed. Staff then offer high levels of support to help children to understand and manage how they behave in response to their feelings. Staff are highly Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 5 successful in supporting children with their emotions, meaning that there have been no instances of children being restrained by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are inspirational, confident and ambitious for children. They have created a culture of high expectations for what children and staff can achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are innovative and strive to improve on practice through up- to-date and relevant research. When emerging risks to children are recognised, the manager undertakes research regarding how to address them effectively, and then disseminates that research across the staff team. This has created a culture of learning and reflection which runs through everything the team does.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings are regular and well organised. They offer all staff the opportunity to speak and share their views. Staff are allocated areas of practice to lead on. They are responsible for researching and developing their lead area and then sharing that learning with the team. As a result, staff practice is constantly developing and seeking to improve the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers work effectively with partner agencies. Professionals have spoken about the high quality of care provided to children and excellent communication. Staff and managers are said to be invested in the children, displaying genuine care for their progress and well-being. One professional said that managers and staff have gone above and beyond to support children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has effective systems in place to oversee staff practice and the recording of information. They understand the strengths and areas of development for the home and have robust plans in place. Recording systems are easy to navigate, meaning that important information is accessible to all staff and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager, and line managers, undertake regular supervision with the staff team. The supervision is consistently reflective and allows the staff to consider their own needs alongside how their care impacts on the children. This also enables line managers to have a good understanding of staff skills and knowledge and be assured that they can rely on staff to deliver a high standard of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When there is a concern about staff practice, it is dealt with quickly and investigations are thorough. They consider the evidence and ensure that the protection of children is at the forefront while not excluding the impact on staff of this process. The actions taken following an investigation are robust and there are clear plans to address the concerns and ensure that practice improves. Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 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 for children’s home: SC484242 7

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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

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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