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 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Five children were living in the home at the time of the inspection, and all children spoke with the inspector. Three children have left the home since the last inspection; 2 children have moved in and one child returned to live in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: none Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2025 Full Good 16/04/2024 Full Good 06/06/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 3

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy living in this home and say they can talk to staff to share their wishes and feelings. Children benefit from a range of activities and staff help them to develop their independence skills.

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Summary of findings

Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their individual needs. Staff are not always effective in reducing behaviours and keeping children safe. The manager does not always consider all the risks. As a result, this impacts on the children's experiences and being kept safe.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers create a home environment that is supportive of children's wishes and feelings. Staff receive good levels of support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are making progress in all areas of their lives and regularly attend education. For children who struggle with education, including those who do not attend or have reduced timetables, staff encourage and support them to develop better routines and achieve in these areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a range of activities and staff help them to develop their independence skills. When they are ready, most children experience positive moves from the home. For those children whose safety cannot be assured, decisions for them to leave are made as a last resort. The manager has supported one child to move back to the home when their long-term care plan did not work out. This provided the child with a continued sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home, as well as staff and professionals, contribute their views when new children are considered for admission. When transitions do not go to plan, the manager appropriately escalates these concerns with professionals. While the manager considers the individual risks of each child moving into the home, they have not considered the children's combined risks or how staff would meet these needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family and friends both at home and in the community with support from staff. This has helped children to feel a sense of value and ensured that their important relationships are maintained. Families share positive experiences of their children living in the home, but say that staff do not communicate with them enough about their children beyond meetings or visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home environment that is welcoming, child friendly and personalised. However, communal areas of the home are restricted, with some doors being locked. Some hazardous items that pose a risk to children who self-harm are left accessible in Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 4 communal areas, and previous damage to the home was not fully redecorated. Additionally, the garden has not been maintained.

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improvement to be good

When children display anti-social behaviours, staff attempt to discourage these behaviours and ensure that support is available from professionals to reduce children's risks. However, there is a lack of focus and action in response to the peer dynamics in the home. Staff do not always respond effectively when concerns arise. As a result, staff regularly use inappropriate strategies, such as restricting children's entry into communal areas, and there is a reliance on calling the police to manage children's behaviours. This has led to children being criminalised. The manager has not always informed the local authority of these incidents.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are rare, and support is provided to children afterwards. Staff share concerns with the managers when children experience unsafe holds. Managers complete full investigations and inform wider professionals, and learning is shared with all staff members to educate them and prevent further incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the risks and needs of children. Children are supported through discussions to help them to understand the risks. However, these do not take place regularly and are not effective in developing children's understanding and teaching them alternative strategies to reduce their behaviours or risks.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from home. They go searching for children until they are found and work well with professionals throughout. Children are supported when they return home. The manager reviews incidents and shares information with wider professionals, which help to locate children quickly. Staff have introduced distraction strategies, which have reduced the number of incidents for some children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and are supported by managers through regular supervision and team meetings. The managers are available in the home to both children and staff. They play an active part in daily handovers between the staff and provide clear guidance and expectations to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to the children and focus on children's individual needs and wishes. The managers act as strong advocates for children and have developed a collaborative relationship with professionals, which helps contribute to the care planning for children. However, information is not always shared with professionals and families about children's experiences in the home, which means they are not aware of some incidents. Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 5 The managers review the staff rota and staff structure to support children when difficulties arise. This ensures that children receive continuity of care from known adults. However, sufficient staffing to provide care for each child is not always in place when children's risks are high, limiting staff's availability when children are missing or when they display unsafe behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager's oversight and reviews are completed regularly but do not cover all aspects of children's care. The manager did not have oversight of all incidents when the police had been called to manage children's behaviour, and neither were they fully aware of the restrictive measures used, leading to an institutional feel in the home. This style of care is not in line with the home's statement of purpose. Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child's age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child's respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. 21 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 7 (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(vi)(vii)(viii)(x)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the staff caring for children are able to manage their behavioural needs without relying on the police for support.

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for 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)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 4 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children's home's premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 21(b)(c)(i)(ii)) 4 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 8 In particular, the registered manager should gain consent and inform children's local authorities when such limitations have been used.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children's home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. They will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children's homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 9

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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

Amey Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC477031 10 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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