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

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

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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 operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in May 2021 and the manager has been registered since April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/07/2023 Full Good 26/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. Staff help the child to personalise their bedroom, including displaying photos celebrating their achievements. The child said that they are happy at the home and that they feel listened to. They also talk to staff openly if they have any worries. The child’s wishes and feelings are considered in the day-to-day running of the home and are included in their records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child feels that they have really good relationships with their key person and other staff. The child said that they feel that they are able to talk to any staff about any issues. The child said. ‘The home is brilliant. I love the house, love the staff and love everything.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team promotes the importance of family time, meaning that the child spends regular time with the people who are important to them. Family members say that staff are helpful and friendly when supporting their family time, which ensures that the child and family have a positive experience. One parent said that their child has a good relationship with staff, which they can see when they attend family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to develop interests and hobbies. The child has a passion for fishing and golf and staff have managed to make them a significant part of the child’s life and daily activities. This is clearly something the child takes great pride in and this has helped to increase their confidence. This also broadens the child’s experiences and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made positive progress in relation to their independence. Before moving into the home, the child did not independently meet their personal care needs, such as looking after their oral health. However, the child now meets their own personal needs independently and without prompting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made good progress in relation to their health needs. The child has now accessed dental treatment and is supported to attend the GP as and when necessary. Staff maintain regular contact with health professionals to discuss any health issues that arise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is making some progress in education from their starting point and is now enrolled with a local school. Leaders and managers communicate well with the placing authority and other education professionals in relation to securing appropriate education provision for the child. As a result, the child has now started to tentatively access education, albeit on a limited basis at this stage. Staff are proactively supporting the child, such as waiting outside school to help to reduce the child’s anxieties and the child now goes into school without support. The child said, ‘I am doing it for myself now and not for other people.’ This demonstrates that the child’s aspirations have increased and it is more likely that they will invest more in their education. Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 4 In addition to securing a school placement, leaders and managers have arranged for additional tutoring for when the child is not attending school. However, staff do not

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

consistently provide the child with a daily structure of educational activities to support learning and progress. Furthermore, the child’s school attendance is still minimal in terms of time spent in school each week. This prevents the child from reaching their full potential.

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

The child has not had any missing-from-home incidents since the last inspection. This is significant progress from their starting point. Staff have a good understanding of missing-from-home procedures and say that they would actively look for the child should they go missing from home. When other children have been missing from the home, staff have had a nurturing approach and have sought information to understand the reasons why children have been missing.

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

There have been no incidents of physical restraint since the last inspection. Leaders and managers say that any restraint is only used as a last resort to safeguard children. Behaviour support plans include detailed steps for staff to take to help them to understand triggers for incidents and how to de-escalate incidents wherever possible.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home. When staff move between homes, however, their induction progress is not monitored, meaning their practice and progress are not clearly assessed or recorded. The registered manager does ensure practice checks are completed monthly. This gives them an opportunity to continually monitor standards of care.

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

Leaders regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet children’s needs. Staff amend risk management plans to reflect any changes to children’s needs. This helps staff to provide a safe and consistent approach to managing risk.

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

Staff use positive behaviour approaches, supported by therapeutic training. This avoids any use of negative or punitive measures to manage children’s behaviour. The child clearly benefits from receiving consistent praise and rewards for positive behaviour through incentives.

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

All incidents are recorded reflectively and with oversight from the registered manager. However, not all staff are fully aware of the processes for reporting and recording concerns. This compromises safeguarding practice and could potentially impact on investigations.

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

The homes use the PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) approach as their chosen model of care. However, staff do not fully understand this model of care. As a result, children may not be provided with consistent approaches to care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an experienced and ambitious manager who has good general oversight of the home and understands the needs of the child well. The manager ensures that the principles of positive praise and positive reinforcement are embedded in staff practice. This has helped to increase the child’s confidence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing is consistent and there is a core team in place who are suitably trained. Staff have completed all mandatory training and have access to many other relevant training courses to support them in their roles and in meeting the specific needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported in their roles and attend regular supervision with managers. They attend team meetings to share their knowledge and discuss current issues. Staff say that the manager is always supportive and will often make amendments to rotas to support with any personal issues they may be experiencing. One member of staff said that they really value the manager’s compassion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The monitoring and review systems at the home are generally effective. This helps the leaders and managers to identify the home’s strengths and areas for development, to ensure that action is taken to address any shortfalls. However, the monthly health and safety and general maintenance checks have failed to identify some areas of damage and disrepair which pose a hazard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care review report celebrates the achievements and progress being made by the home. However, the report does not consistently include or evaluate the opinions of children, their parents and the placing authorities. This is a missed opportunity to help the leaders and managers to evaluate the quality of care effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their 12 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 7 age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home is well maintained to a high standard and any damage or maintenance issues are identified and rectified in a timely manner.

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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 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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are clear about their responsibilities when recording safeguarding concerns and have the knowledge to implement the model of care used. 12 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure they maintain good employment practice. They should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. This relates to ensuring that all staff complete an induction and induction records are reviewed when staff move to different homes in the organisation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery in the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  The registered person should ensure children are in full-time education when they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained in the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)

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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: 2641790 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A-Triangle Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5 Crescent East, Hardhorn Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire FY5 3LJ

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Ashley Smithson Hayes

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2641790 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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