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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 1 SC477031 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

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

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since March 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to four of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Following an assurance inspection on the 4 December 2024, a restriction of accommodation notice was served under regulation 27. A monitoring visit took place on 26 February 2025. The provider made the necessary improvements, and the period of restriction of accommodation ended. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Good 06/06/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and trusting relationships with staff. Staff spend time getting to know children, which helps staff to understand their past experiences. Children can all name adults they would turn to at times of need. Children told the inspectors that they feel happy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children for their move to the home. Staff consider the potential impact of a new child moving in on each child already living there. They have meaningful discussions so that everyone feels prepared to welcome a new child from the moment they arrive. Children say they had a positive experience of moving into the home. This provided them with a strong starting point for developing a sense of belonging .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff support routine appointments and advocate for children to have more specialised input if and when required. Staff are patient when children are anxious to attend appointments and offer praise and encouragement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school and are making progress. Staff promote a structured routine to help children to be prepared for learning. Children say that they enjoy school and are supported to attend and do well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have created a warm and homely feel. The children help make decisions about the improvements made to the home. There is ample space for the children to spend time together or alone. Staff and children share a sense of pride about the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn the skills they need to care for themselves. Staff encourage children to naturally develop those skills in line with their age. When children are ready, staff expand the children’s self-care tasks to prepare each child to live more independently.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Improvements have been made to the quality of risk assessments since the last inspection. These are updated regularly and are appropriately detailed, making it easier for staff to follow and respond to risky behaviours.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are familiar with and follow missing-from-home procedures. Staff keep detailed recordings of each event so that the manager can identify patterns that lead to missing- from-home episodes. Staff complete effective key-work sessions with each child, contributing to a reduction in children going missing from home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager takes complaints and allegations seriously. The manager investigates and provides feedback to children and supports the child to escalate their concerns if they are not happy with the outcome. Further investigations are completed until the child is Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 4 satisfied that their complaint is resolved. Children say they trust that they will be listened to.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are held as a last resort to protect themselves or others. These holds are appropriate and proportionate. The child’s feelings and views heavily influence the manager’s evaluation of the effectiveness of each hold. The manager has good oversight of staff practice and is therefore assured that children are protected.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff support children to make good behaviour choices. Staff use a system of rewards and incentives to encourage this, and children have natural consequences to deter unwanted behaviour. However, the manager does not consistently review consequences for their effectiveness. This resulted in staff implementing ineffective consequences over a two-month period. This is not the most helpful way to aid children’s learning about what is acceptable or not.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has applied to Ofsted for registration. They have the appropriate qualifications and experience to fulfil the role requirements. The manager aspires to provide all children with good-quality care so that they enjoy their childhood. The manager is committed to making sure children have the best possible preparation for the next stage of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and well attended. These include training in relation to practice issues and discussion about events in the home. There are clear action plans from each meeting, which the manager consistently reviews. Staff say they know what is expected of them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is restorative in her approach with staff when disputes occur in the team. The manager facilitates staff mediation to resolve issues. This approach helps to maintain a calm and harmonious environment for the children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multi-agency working is strong, and staff work effectively with partner agencies. The manager and staff have built respectful and efficient networks across the child’s wider care team. The manager has the ability to appropriately challenge decisions made about children by the social worker and still maintain a positive working relationship with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision. The manager bolsters this with the use of single supervision sessions for targeted work with staff. There is evidence of reflective discussion with staff about practice. However, this is not yet consistent and is ad hoc in nature.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems to monitor and review practice in the home. They have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the home, having joined at a time when the home faced significant challenges. The manager’s influence is steadily improving practice in the home. However, this is not fully reflected in their Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 5 quality of care review report. After completing a quality of care review, the manager does not set out how they intend to make improvements to the home, nor is this report shared with the regulator for review. Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 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 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 effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (1) (3)(vii)) 10 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(c) (3)) 10 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This specifically relates to staff having discussions about their individual practice and not as a group. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 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: Dunedin House, Columbia Drive, Thornaby, Stockton- on-Tees TS17 6BJ

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC477031 9 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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