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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 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 operated by a private company. It provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties and learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2020. The registered manager post and the responsible individual post are vacant.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the visit, the home was subject to a suspension of accommodation notice and there were no children living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection was undertaken on 17 April 2025. During this visit, inspectors identified serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Following the full inspection, Ofsted made a decision to suspend the accommodation at the children’s home under section 14A of the Care Standards Act 2000 (the Act) with immediate effect.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to monitor the suspension of accommodation notice. Inspectors found that the provider has complied with the suspension of accommodation notice. However, suitable action to address all shortfalls identified at the inspection had not been taken.

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This monitoring visit

Since the inspection on 17 April 2025, a manager has been appointed who has submitted an application to register with Ofsted. However, the new manager has not yet been in post long enough to affect significant change or drive measurable improvements. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 2 Staff recruitment processes continue to be unsafe, with key safer recruitment checks not being completed for staff who are new to the home. Once staff member did not have sufficient Disclosure and Barring Service checks completed prior to their employment and these shortfalls were not identified by the provider.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have created an action plan following the inspection. However, they were unable to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate how these actions had been met.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers say that they have held regular team meetings with staff to discuss shortfalls and support staff development. However, meeting minutes do not reflect these discussions, and reflection sessions are not evident.

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This monitoring visit

Staff who continue to work at the home have not received supervision since the home was suspended. This means that staff have not had the opportunity to reflect on the inspection and identify lessons learned from the shortfalls identified.

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This monitoring visit

Some staff have received training sessions since the last inspection to support their development and improve their skills and knowledge around de-escalation techniques and recording and reporting. However, staff have not received refresher training on safeguarding and managing allegations. This means that staff have not considered the expectations of their roles and responsibilities in response to safeguarding concerns.

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This monitoring visit

External monitoring visits of the home continue to be ineffective in providing external scrutiny. Two reports completed since the last inspection include inaccurate information and do not evaluate the action taken during the reporting periods.

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This monitoring visit

The suspension of accommodation notice will remain in place. The requirements regarding areas of concern raised at the full inspection also remain in place and will be reviewed at the home’s next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/04/2025 Full Inadequate 14/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/01/2024 Full Good 23/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 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, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 May 2025

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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

promotes their welfare. 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are suitably experienced and competent to work with children, and to ensure that staff are given responsibilities in line with their experience. This also includes ensuring that there is adequate staffing to fulfil the requirements of the children’s placement plan and court-directed orders.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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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)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 May 2025

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 6 In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring 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 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 registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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; 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 7 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) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)((c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

engage with them; and 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 8 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 9 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the records include a copy of the staff duty roster of people working at the home, a record of the actual rotas worked and a record of any person who works at any time at the home, including any managers covering shifts. 30 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 30 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 10 In particular, the independent visitor report should provide a clear statement of opinion and provide robust evaluation of practice in the home.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 11

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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: 5 Crescent East, Hardhorn road, Thornton/Cleveleys, Lancashire FY5 3LJ

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Stacey Ilaboya, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2557064 12 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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