Category: News

Introducing the new and improved Youth Star to practitioners

Posted on by Donna

Triangle published the Youth Star in 2012 as a light touch tool for community-based youth work. Since then, it has been widely used and the youth sector has changed and evolved. Over the years we have received helpful feedback and realised that we needed to review this Star. Along with updating it, another key aim of the new edition was to develop detailed scales and resources to support training, consistency and clarity as the original edition was published without detailed scale descriptions.

What do I need to do?

If you have been provided with the materials for the new Edition, familiarise yourself with the revised scales, detailed descriptions and new resources (particularly the User Guide and flashcards).

Discuss it with colleagues and try it out before using it with the young people that you support.

What has changed in the new Edition?

Most importantly, we have created detailed scale descriptions for the six areas covered by the Youth Star. These are in a new User Guide, along with a ladder graphic of the short scale descriptions.

In addition, we listened to feedback from young people and workers and changed some wording to be more sensitive, trauma-informed and responsive to the issues people faced and created flashcards and new guidance. Specifically:

  • The first stage of the Journey of Change is renamed stuck, to recognise that things may feel or be stuck for many reasons, not because the young person is ‘not interested’
  • The first scale is now Interests and activities (replacing ‘Making a difference’), and is broader, to recognise activities that are positive for young people but not aimed at making a difference to others.
  • Health and well-being replaces ‘Well-being’ and includes physical health and managing mental health as well as emotional health.
  • Education and work now emphasises getting the most out of school, training, apprenticeships, work or college rather than focusing on achievement.

There are other minor tweaks to scales, with some aspects moving from one scale to another to increase clarity and accessibility.

The new Youth Star

New resources

User Guide with detailed scale descriptions, flashcards and new guidance

Improved wording

More accessible, clear and trauma-informed

Revised scales

Interests and activities, Health and well-being, Education and work

Journey of Change

‘stuck’ replaces ‘not interested’ as the first stage
Find out more about the Youth Star

Going back to my roots: Presenting the Carers Star to the Carers Awareness Day in Hong Kong

Posted on by Donna
Stock photograph of a street in Hong Kong at night
Star co-creator Joy MacKeith reflects on how the Carers Star is taking her back to where she started life in Hong Kong

It is always exciting to have the opportunity to speak at an event about the Outcomes Star, but my presentation on the Carers Star to the Carers Awareness Day in Hong Kong this Friday is particularly meaningful to me.

I was born in Hong Kong and lived there until I was seven. My parents had travelled there from England just six months earlier so my father could take up a management post at the Nethersole Hospital on Hong Kong Island. He had been inspired by his aunt who had worked as a teacher in Shanghai and then Hong Kong from the 1930s to the early 1960s.  What a delight (just) over fifty years later to be able to share a tool I co-created with a Hong Kong audience of professionals, policy-makers and carers themselves.

Photograph of Joy MacKeith as a child with a group of people
Joy MacKeith, aged 6, with nurses from the Nethersole Hospital where her father worked

The annual event aims to promote the awareness of carers and their needs among the social service sector and policy makers. It is organised by Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service (BOKSS) a not-for-profit which provides a wide range of services across Hong Kong including children, youth and family services, services for older people and mental health services.

BOKSS have established a CARE College which provides training to carers, professionals and related agencies and raises awareness of the needs of carers. When they came across the Carers Star they recognised that the collaborative approach to assessment and action planning that is at the heart of the tool fitted perfectly with their holistic and participative approach. 

Image of the Carers Star in chinese
The Carers Star in Chinese

The Carers Star was developed by Triangle with the Carers Trust and Social Enterprise of East Lothian in Scotland. It covers seven key areas in which carers often need support including their own health, adapting to the caring role and making time for themselves. It is already widely used in the UK (including by The Carers Trust and Barnardos) and Australia (including by Australian National Carer Gateway and Uniting Care West), with over 30,000 readings on the Star Online. 

My presentation will introduce the Carers Star and outline its dual purpose as a key-work tool to support a structured and empowering conversation with a support worker, and an outcomes measurement tool providing valuable information about how things are changing for carers whilst they receive support. Sadly for me the event is completely online but on the positive side that will mean that I can be joined by colleagues Angela Kallabis and Laura Baker for the Q+A session. 

Percentage of service users moving forward in the seven Carers Star outcome areas

It is a long time since I lived in Hong Kong, but it is where life started for me and I still have vivid memories of my time there. I never could have dreamt that I tool I co-created would reach out so far into the world and pull me back, half a century later, to my roots. I will follow the journey of the Carers Star in Hong Kong with great interest and hope that it is as helpful there as it has been in the UK and Australia.

 

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The Carers Star was recently translated into Chinese in collaboration with Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service (BOKSS). For more information on the Stars and how to use them internationally or in translation take a look at our International section or contact Triangle for more information.

Recruiting now: Client Services Co-ordinator

Posted on by Donna

Are you excellent at record-keeping and enjoy making sure everything is accurate? Are you super organised? Interested in working with a social enterprise that supports third sector organisations? We are seeking a maternity cover for our Client Services Coordinator who will be responsible for organising a large number of training courses for new and existing clients.

Triangle is seeking a capable and organised Client Services Coordinator to support our clients, and provide excellent customer service. The successful candidate will be responsible for responding to, managing, and co-ordinating the large number of training courses that new and existing clients require.

We’re looking for a pleasant and self-confident professional with an ability to develop and build strong relationships with clients and collegues.

The Client Services Coordinator is a vital role in managing and co-ordinating the large number of training courses. Main tasks will include liaising with clients and the training team (across the UK and beyond) to find suitable training dates, and manage the booking process and administration of these courses, maintaining and keeping our CRM up-to-date, monitoring numbers and organising appropriate training. You’ll also be responsible for organising records and pre-training resources, information including quotes and invoices as well as generating and issuing personalised certificates using Adobe to trainees who have completed their sessions.

The successful applicant will be based out of our Hove office, and we are open to flexible working arrangements especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Find out more and apply

Visit our Careers page to find out more about us and the role.

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You can download the job description and application form from our careers page to see if this is the next step for you. If you’d like an informal conversation about the position, please email miranda@triangleconsulting.co.uk

Introducing CPD sessions for Licensed Trainers

Posted on by Donna

A series of CPD sessions free for Licensed Trainers to educate, inform, inspire, and connect us all.

Triangle’s training and implementation teams have been hard at work to create a new series of CPD training sessions for all of our Licensed Trainers across the world. Licensed Trainers (LT’s) are individuals within organisations who have been nominated and trained to effectively deliver training and support within their organisations. As part of the Licensed Trainer support, Triangle has, in the past, offered a series of Development Days which provide an opportunity for Licensed Trainers to gain additional support, training, update their skills and network across other organisations.

 

What are the CPD sessions?

These new CPD sessions have been developed as a result of the changing working environment and in response to requests from the Trainers to provide ongoing support and regular CPD in specific areas. Licensed Trainers must complete a total of 6 hours of CPD training across the year in order to maintain their LT status.

 

What do the sessions cover?

These sessions cover a range of subjects and draw on specialist knowledge and information across Triangle and beyond. Licensed Trainers are encouraged to book sessions in areas that are of interest to their work and organisations.

When are the CPD sessions?

The CPD sessions are scheduled across the year. More information below:

Licensed Trainers will be emailed details of the sessions and information on how to book their places. For more information, please email laura@triangleconsulting.co.uk.

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Licensed Trainers are trained and licenced to run Outcomes Star training within an organisation. This ‘train the trainer’ route can be cost-effective for large organisations. For more information on how to become a Licensed Trainer and the benefits of joining the team please contact us.

Star Online introduction sessions for March and April

Posted on by Donna

Free demo-webinars: A Practitioners guide to the Star Online and How to use the Reports dashboard on Star Online.

Each webinar will consist of a short video presentation, which will be followed by a question and answer season and it is designed to support clients by sharing knowledge, ideas and information. Please note: these sessions are not a substitute for official training.

A Practitioners Guide to the Star Online

This session is only relevant to practitioners who use the SOL and is not a substitute for training. The session covers an orientation of the new Star Online and during the session we will introduce practitioners to the new Star Online features, such as setting up engagements and managing notifications. It will also explore many of the main tasks practitioners need to complete, including:

  • Creating a service user
  • Adding Stars and Action Plans
  • Navigating the Help Centre and
  • Locating the Star resources you need

Click on the links below to book your place.

Dates available:

laptop with star online open on the screen

How to use the Reports dashboard on Star Online

Hosted by two Star experts, this workshop is ideal for Managers and anyone responsible for producing reports on Outcomes Star data. This session will cover:

  • The three new report dashboards for implementation, snapshot and distance-travelled reporting
  • How to use the filters
  • How to think about engagements to create instant and engaging charts that can be downloaded to add to any report or funding bid.

We will also discuss what the reports can tell you about how Stars are being used in a service and the progress made by service users.

Click on the links below to book your place.

Dates available:

These webinars are not a substitute for core training.

For more information on the sessions, how to book, or what clients need to do, please take a look at our previous posts, or find the links through the Star Online. Please note: We have limited spaces available, and we expect them to fill up quickly!

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If you would like to be included in a mailing list for future webinars, demo’s or sessions, please sign up for our mailing list, and if you have suggestions or would like to request specific content and sessions on the Outcomes Star and the Star Online please email webinars@triangleconsulting.co.uk

If you have any questions about remote training, new Stars, or would like any information on the new Star Online, or anything else, please contact us on info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44 (0) 207 272 8765.

January newsletter roundup

Posted on by Donna

Triangle’s January newsletter is out! In it, we celebrate a milestone on our new Star Online system: we hit 100k completed Stars in first few months!

Other than that we had:

You can read the full newsletter here, and sign up for your very own copy delivered right to your inbox here.

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Contact Triangle at info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44(0) 20 7272 8765 for more information on our Outcomes Stars, the new Star Online and our licence and training options.

Online demos in February

Posted on by Donna

This February we are running a free webinar for organisations, managers and keyworkers who work with refugees and asylum seekers as well as our usual demo-webinars for Star Online.

A new Outcomes Star, the Integration Star is a tool that enables keyworkers, managers and organisations to evidence achievements.

Triangle, the social enterprise behind the Outcomes Star, in collaboration with the Refugee Council, will be presenting a free webinar to explore and showcase the benefits of the Integration Star and why it is a vital new tool to support organisations and keyworkers in their work with refugees.

The webinar will explore some of the key issues faced by the sector, including questions such as:

    • How can we ensure that our key-work is strengths based and trauma informed?
    • How can we evidence the difference we are making?
    • How do we know what is working?

 

This webinar is primarily aimed at managers and keyworkers who work with refugees. Triangle and the Refugee Council will explore the development and co-production of the Integration Star and demonstrate how the Star is a collaborative holistic tool to help refugees integrate into their new country and build a new life there. The webinar will also explore how the Star is enables you to evidence achievements both within your support service and with clients completing the Star.

 

The webinar will be hosted by Juliet Kemp, Implementation Lead at Triangle. It will be presented by Sara Burns, co-Founder of Triangle, together with Andrew Lawton, Head of Integration, and Amilee Collins, National Projects Worker at the Refugee Council. Sara Burns and Andrew Lawton will unpack the eight key areas on which successful integration depends, from employment and housing to education and health. Amilee Collins will highlight what practitioners within the Refugee Council have learned so far from using the Integration Star. These presentations will be followed by a question and answer session.

Tuesday, 9th February 2021, 10:00-11:00 GMT UK – Webinar

An introduction to the Integration Star

Better conversations and better outcomes for refugees

More information about this Webinar
Book your place on the Integration Star webinar

Free demo-webinar on How to use the Reports dashboard on Star Online.

Hosted by two Star experts, this workshop is ideal for Managers and anyone responsible for producing reports on Outcomes Star data. This webinar will be covering:

  • The three new report dashboards for implementation, snapshot and distance-travelled reporting
  • How to use the filters
  • How to think about engagements to create instant and engaging charts that can be downloaded to add to any report or funding bid.

We will also discuss what the reports can tell you about how Stars are being used in a service and the progress made by service users.

laptop with star online open on the screen

Tuesday, 9th February 2021, 3pm GMT – Demo-webinar

How to Use Reporting Dashboards on Star Online

Book your place on the Reports Dashboard Demo-webinar

How to use Star Online (Practitioners Guide)

This webinar will be an orientation session to the new Star Online and during the webinar we will introduce practitioners to the new Star Online features, such as setting up engagements and managing notifications. It will also explore many of the main tasks practitioners need to complete, including:

  • Creating a service user
  • Adding Stars and Action Plans
  • Navigating the Help Centre and
  • Locating the Star resources you need.

Tuesday, 23rd February 2021, 10am GMT – Demo-webinar

A Practitioners Guide to the Star Online

Book your place on the Practitioners Guide Demo-webinar

These webinars are not a substitute for core training.

For more information on the webinars, how to book, or what clients need to do, please take a look at our previous posts, or wait for your invite email. Please note: We have limited spaces available, and we expect them to fill up quickly! We will be organising further webinars to meet demand.

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If you would like to be included in a mailing list for future webinars, demo’s or sessions, please sign up for our mailing list, and if you have suggestions or would like to request specific content and sessions on the Outcomes Star and the Star Online please email webinars@triangleconsulting.co.uk

If you have any questions about remote training, new Stars, or would like any information on the new Star Online, or anything else, please contact us on info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44 (0) 207 272 8765.

Integration Star proves a hit

Posted on by Donna

After a successful pilot with the Refugee Council, the Integration Star for refugees is now available for widespread use, with an introductory webinar taking place this February. What’s more, the Star is a great fit with the Home Office’s integration framework, writes Triangle’s research analyst Dr Anna Good.

Designed for refugees needing to build lives in the UK, the long-awaited Integration Star was finally published at the end of 2020. It’s been in development for two years and has undergone a rigorous pilot with the Refugee Council and refugee community organisations that collaborated in the Star’s development. And it’s proven to be a powerfully transformative tool.

Not only has the Star gone down well with refugees and with workers, but it’s also been greeted positively by the Home Office – an important factor for refugee organisations reporting to the department or seeking Home Office funding.

From the outset, the Refugee Council wanted a tool that could map onto the Home Office’s “Indicators of Integration” framework. That was on Triangle’s agenda too – as part of the development process we carry out a detailed literature review that examines the issues affecting the sector. This time the review included each of the domains in the Home Office framework.

The Integration Star

Designed for use with refugees needing support to integrate into their new country and to build a new life there.
Click Here

The Home Office framework mainly focuses on end outcomes of successful integration, such as work, housing, education and social connection. Within the Integration Star, these and other outcomes form the end point of Star domains. They are  typically realised at the top of the Journey of Change (the model of change that underlies every Star). But the Star also captures important changes in acknowledgement of issues, acceptance of help and attempts to change things. This makes for a nuanced tool that maps the stages refugees go through from getting practical help to building the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to integrate into their new country.

It was important, however, that the Home Office framework did not pre-determine the shape of the Star. That was developed from the bottom up in a series of workshops and expert interviews that teased out the issues for front-line workers and for refugees. As with all Outcomes Stars, what mattered was partnership and collaboration.

The drafting of a Star is a meticulous and lengthy process – if people knew how much detail went into it they would be amazed. The Integration Star had many, many iterations, examining the structure and the content through a number of different lenses.

As research analyst at Triangle, part of my role is to check that the scales have clearly defined stages so that readings are comparable when they are done by different people. I then crunch the numbers from the pilot and check the psychometric properties of the Star to see that it’s academically sound. In addition we put a lot of thought and testing into how the Star worked for different refugee circumstances – refugees who come in on a resettlement programme, and refugees who don’t have resettlement status and typically have been in the UK for longer.

It was encouraging – though by no means a given – that the final version of the Star mapped really well onto the Home Office framework. And Home Office officials have been very positive about the Star, seeing it as a much simpler, more accessible tool for refugees.

One worker from the pilot sums up the prevailing mood: “The Integration Star is a really powerful, clear tool that can visualise a client’s support needs. I think it provokes conversations that highlight support needs that may have otherwise been missed”.

A separate version of the Star, the Planning Star was published last year for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

The Integration Star and the Planning Star are available to all organisations with a Star licence and training is available for workers and managers. Join our Integration Star webinar on 9th February or contact us for more information on info@triangleconsulting.co.uk or +44 (0) 207 272 8765.

Book your place

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Triangle Consulting Social Enterprise is an innovative, mission-led organisation that exists to help people reach their highest potential and live meaningful and fulfilling lives, often in the context of social disadvantage, trauma, disability or illness.

The Refugee Council works with individuals and families to make sure they can live safe, fulfilling lives in the UK after being forced to seek refuge from persecution and human rights abuses overseas.

The development of this Star was part funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

Other organisations taking part in the development of the Integration Star included: RETAS (Refugee Education Training Advice Service) Leeds, Leeds Refugee Forum, Path Yorkshire, Goodwin Development Trust, Humber Community Advice Services (H-CAS), Refugee Action Kingston, Iranian Association, Diversity Living Services, Bahar Women’s Association, Action for Community Development, West Yorkshire Somali Association, DAMASQ, Stepping Stone 4, Leeds Swahili Community.

We’re looking for a Implementation Lead (Client Advisor)

Posted on by Donna

WE’RE HIRING!

Do you have practical experience in a service sector? Do you have experience in account management, consultancy or client based experience supporting organisations through change? Know how to make clear and engaging presentations, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills and experience, education and/or skills in delivering training? Do you like working from home and travelling as part of your role?

We are looking for a new Client Advisor aka Implementation Lead, to support Triangle and our clients by building relationships, delivering training and supporting our clients to use the Outcomes Star well.

Triangle is a values-based social enterprise with a vision of a society in which people are enabled to thrive. We help homelessness, health, and social care providers improve services by creating engaging visual tools and promoting collaborative ways of working. We help to enable people to achieve their highest potential, by providing a suite of tools for promoting and measuring personal change called Outcomes Stars.

The Star has proved very popular and is now widely used in the UK by charities, social enterprises and local and health authorities in a wide range of fields including mental health, homelessness, vulnerable families and substance misuse. It is also being used internationally, with a particularly strong presence in Australia.

Implementation Leads are expected to work from home and to travel throughout their region (London and Central/East England) as required. As our clients are located across the country, there is a requirement for our staff to travel to deliver training and meet face to face, once this is permitted again and safe in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. All travel expenses are paid for and we have a policy around travel, TOIL and flexible working.

For more information about the position and to apply, you can download the job description and application form from our careers page

2020 – Not remotely what we expected

Posted on by Donna

Early in 2020 we were putting the finishing touches to our strategic plan and new online app.  We were approaching the new year with confidence and a strong sense of direction.  We really knew what this year was about – we thought! Like everyone else, Triangle has not had the year we planned. So what have we learnt from the unprecedented changes and challenges?

The Outcomes Star supports remote working

When people can’t be in the same physical space and must connect online or by phone, the Outcomes Star can help build connection, rapport and understanding by providing a shared map of how things are now and where they might need to go.  The visual of the Star and the Journey of Change ladders have always been important in engaging people, but this benefit can be even greater when other ways of connecting are stripped away. 

There are of course complications.  More advanced planning is required because the materials need to be posted beforehand if the person receiving support can’t access the Internet.  But overall Star users tell us it is well worth it.

How to complete the Star remotely

Download the PDF

When needs must, creativity flourishes

They do say that necessity is the mother of invention and that has certainly been the case for us when it comes to delivering training to use the Star.  Although we had been considering alternative delivery methods for some time, the first lockdown focused our minds. Within weeks we had a remote training offer and what was even better, was the excellent feedback we received. 

Now we are looking at creating more digital training content and ways of bringing Star users together both remotely and in person when Covid allows.  This will enable us to provide more support – particularly to smaller organisations and to managers who are really crucial to successful implementation of the Star.

Have a look at the Star training we have available

The Star is intrinsically trauma-informed

How to use the Star in a trauma-informed approach

Download the PDF

As trauma-informed working has risen up the agenda in many sectors we have been exploring how the Outcomes Star can support a trauma-informed approach.  What we have learnt is that part of what draws people to the Star is that it is intrinsically trauma-informed.  By focusing on the present rather than someone’s past, and their strengths as well as their challenges, the Star avoids the re-traumatising impact of going over previous experiences. 

The visual aspects help people get perspective and make links between different parts of their life, even when they are close to the edge of their ‘window of tolerance’.  And the Journey of Change recognises the importance of building trusting relationships with helpers as a secure foundation on which everything else depends.  We are exploring how to further support trauma-informed working so do get in touch if this is an area of interest and have a look at our briefing.

The evidence-base for Star validity is growing

Some things, such as our research programme, have continued more or less as planned.  We were delighted to have a piece on the psychometric validity of the Family Star Plus published in the peer reviewed Journal Family Relations. We also added many new pieces of independent research on other versions of the Outcomes Star to our online library where you can now find details of 55 independent studies.  Much more is planned with a new piece on the psychometric validity of the Outcomes Star for homelessness in the pipeline.

Evaluation is becoming better integrated into service delivery

We have all learnt to be more responsive because of Covid and that is very good news when it comes to learning and evaluation.  Evaluators are reporting that people are becoming more interested in data day to day rather than seeing evaluation as something that happens after the work has been completed.  We see this as a good thing as it supports learning rather than an end of project report that sits on the shelf. 

We are starting to make the case that we need a new breed of tool that works well as part of on-going service delivery and provides ‘live’ management information on progress.  This contrasts with research tools that are designed for one-off studies.  We see the Star as one of the first of this new breed and would like to join with others in exploring how this kind of tool is best assessed and validated.  Please get in touch if this is something you are interested in too.

Counting the cost

Now at the beginning of 2021 we, like everyone else, are aware that we have only just seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to counting the cost of Covid.  We are exploring how we can continue to adapt to help the helpers respond to the rising needs.  One part of that could be looking at what Star data can show about the impact of the pandemic on service users across different services and sectors.   Is this and exploration that you would be interested to join?

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Triangle is the social enterprise behind the Outcomes Star™. Triangle exists to help service providers transform lives by creating engaging tools and promoting enabling approaches. To talk to Joy MacKeith or another member of the Triangle team, or for any other information, please email info@triangleconsulting.co.uk.