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

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This 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. Four children spoke to the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2024.

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 18 February 2025

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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: SC484242 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Outstanding 21/03/2023 Full Outstanding 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 3

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improvement to be good

One child’s bedroom is cold and unwelcoming, with no personalisation. Damage caused to the room is not repaired in a timely manner. In contrast, the other children’s bedrooms are homely and personalised to reflect the children’s personalities This does not help all children to have a sense of belonging or promote a sense of fairness.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of the importance of developing a good relationship with the children’s families. Families consistently provide positive feedback about the staff. Children enjoy the time they spend with their family and can see that the adults who care for them get along.

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improvement to be good

Most children attend school and are making good progress. Two of the children have 100% school attendance and have positive school reports. Another child is now able to spend a full day in the classroom.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to attend all regular appointments and to follow a healthy diet. Staff do direct work with children to help them understand their health and make better- informed decisions. Children with specific conditions are supported to access specialist help. Children are healthier because of staff action.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children prepare for their future. Staff support children to develop and build on existing skills. Children take part in age-appropriate learning opportunities in an out of the home, to build their confidence. When children move on, they enjoy a range of planned activities and celebrations. Children have a positive ending to this chapter of their lives. One child continues to reach out to staff for ongoing support.

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improvement to be good

While all children have up-to-date risk assessments, one child has no plan and therefore staff are not guided on how to work proactively to reduce risk for the child. Identified actions to support this have not been completed and room searches designed to prevent drug use have not continued. The main risks for this child are therefore not reducing.

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improvement to be good

Some staff who restrict children’s movements have not been trained in the home’s approved restraint techniques, as stated in its statement of purpose. Furthermore, not all incidents of restraint are recorded, and those that are often lack consistent reflection and discussion with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have effective strategies in place to keep all children safe online. The actions identified in one child’s plan to reduce risk and to help protect them have not been Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 4 implemented. The child therefore continues to spend time online communicating with others, which increases the child’s anger.

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improvement to be good

Routines and boundaries are not consistently applied for all children. The manager has instructed staff that for one child there are differing boundaries which extend to them going out. This will not demonstrate to children that they are equal.

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improvement to be good

One door, which acts as a fire escape, is locked at night. This could impede children and staff’s ability to exit the home safely in an emergency.

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improvement to be good

Staff know what to do when a child is missing and follow the home’s missing-from-home procedures. Staff inform all appropriate people and search known locations and look for associates to contribute to their return home. The missing records do not show staff curiosity as to where the child has been, to avoid further episodes of going missing and independent return home interviews are not tracked.

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improvement to be good

Children have a good relationship with the staff. Children can talk to the staff and are confident that they will be listened to. The children can identify trusted adults and know that they will respond to their wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use incentives to encourage children to make better choices. Staff relationships with the children help them to de-escalate situations effectively. Children’s achievements are collected, giving children a positive record of the things they do well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2024. The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted. The manager is not aware of the strengths and weaknesses in the home and has been ineffective in developing strategies to make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is not supportive of all placements in the home. The manager has prioritised gathering information to support one placement ending. This has prevented staff from making plans to help the child to understand that this is their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective systems in place to monitor and review practice within the home. Not all incidents are recorded, and there is no tracking of events. Record-keeping does not show management oversight consistently and key documents, are out of date. The manager is therefore not sighted or assured of how the home runs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is not leading the team in a way that unites them. The team is dealing with working as a newly formed staff team. Staff are unclear on the plans for some children as key messages from meetings are not communicated to staff. This has impacted on the staff’s ability to meet the children’s needs consistently. Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 5 Not all plans for the children comprehensively meet their needs. The manager has not challenged the local authority effectively when insufficient information is available to plan for a child. Things are not escalated in line with the home’s escalation policy; this does not support the child to have a sense of belonging .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff are receiving regular supervision or their annual appraisal. This means that staff are not given opportunities to reflect on their practice or discuss any issues or concerns related to the individual care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s records reflect their everyday lives. They are written in a child-friendly style and increase the child’s understanding of their time at the home. If a child looks back on these documents, they will be able to determine from the language used that staff care about them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 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 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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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)(b)(e)(f)(h)) 30 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs; and

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e)(i)(ii))

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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 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 8 the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(b)) 30 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience, and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 30 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC484242 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The home should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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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 10

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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 11 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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Inspector

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