Children's Home run by A-Triangle Care Limited in Lancashire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 1 Registered provider: A-Triangle Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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The care of children

Children are well cared for in this home. Children develop positive relationships with staff and spend time talking to them about their wishes and feelings. This shows that children trust the staff.

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The care of children

Staff support children with regard to education. One child was able to complete their national qualifications and started doing voluntary work with horses. However, one child is not attending education. Staff are helping the child to undertake educational activities, but this is not consistent.

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The care of children

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are met . Staff ensure that children are registered with local health services and attend appointments with children as required. For some children, this is significant progress, as prior to living in the home they had refused to attend medical appointments.

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The care of children

Transition planning for children is variable. The move into the home for one child was well planned and sensitive to their needs. However, when one child moved out this was not well managed and caused confusion for the child and was not a positive ending.

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The care of children

Children’s views are gathered in a variety of ways and they can influence the day-to- day plans in the home such as the weekly activities and meal choices. They are also able to personalise their bedrooms and choose the colour scheme.

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The care of children

The home has had extensive refurbishment since the last inspection. It is well maintained and provides children with a warm and comfortable environment. Managers say there are plans in place to paint the exterior of the home.

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The safety of children

Children rarely go missing from the home and there are no serious concerns about their safety in the community. When children have gone missing from the home, staff have followed the correct procedures. The manager reviews the procedures with the staff team to ensure that they understand their responsibilities.

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The safety of children

Incidents of staff holding children to keep them safe are infrequent. On one occasion, a child did not have the opportunity to take part in a debrief after the incident. This limits the capacity of the manager and staff to fully learn from the incident. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 3 Improvements have been made in the recording of children’s vulnerabilities and risk assessments. Assessments are now clear and include strategies for staff to follow. Managers and staff regularly review the content of assessments to ensure that they understand new or emerging behaviours. However, when room searches are required, they are not well recorded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The home is being managed by an acting manager. She has submitted her application to register with Ofsted. The improvements required following the last inspection have been introduced into practice and this enhances the experiences of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager has implemented a new system for children’s records. These are well organised and help the staff to understand the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Since the last inspection, two new staff have been recruited. The manager and responsible individual have strengthened their recruitment systems, which are now robust. This ensures that only suitable staff are employed to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff say they receive regular reflective supervision and have received extensive training. There are opportunities for learning to be embedded in practice through scenario-testing in team meetings. Some staff have completed the relevant qualification and others are on track to complete this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed by the manager. She has a robust monitoring system in place and an action plan to consistently drive improvements in the care of the children.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 4

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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 education standard is that children are supported to make measurable progress towards achieving their education potential and are helped to do so.

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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

that staff help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support through the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (2)(a)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all children are consistently encouraged to engage in education. 24 May 2023

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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 (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records clearly reflect the measure of restraint used and that all users of the measure are spoken to within the required time frame. This includes the child the measure was used on. 24 May 2023 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedroom are entered, without their permission, to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A-Triangle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: M A2 Ltd, 5 Crescent East, Thornton-Cleveleys FY5 3LJ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Ashley Smithson Hayes

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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