Archived: KIDS (Wakefield)

KIDS Wakefield is a specialist childcare service which provides personal care and support for children and young people aged from birth to 25 years within their own home. Care is provided around children's needs, often before and after school. At the time of the inspection there were seven children and young people using the service, aged from seven to 17 years.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The inspection took place on 12 October 2017 and was announced. The service was last inspected in August 2016 and was rated ‘requires improvement’ overall, with a breach in regulation 17, good governance. This was because there were limited systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided and the registered provider did not sufficiently maintain accurate, complete and contemporaneous records. At this inspection we found all necessary measures had been taken to address the breach in regulation.

KIDS (Wakefield) is a registered charity which provides personal care for children and young people with complex needs. At the time of the inspection, care was provided for seven children and young people.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff clearly understood how to keep children and young people safe. Robust recruitment, induction and staff support was in place and there were consistent staff in place to support each individual.

Staff were trained and their practise was monitored through regular drop-in visits to observe and assess their skills. Staff said they felt highly supported and valued.

Staff demonstrated enthusiasm and motivation for their work, with a clear focus on meeting children and young people’s needs. Staff knew each individual they supported and they were respectful of children and young people’s rights.

Care was provided in line with children’s individual needs, preferences and routines. There was evidence of staff working closely with parents to provide responsive care. There were systems in place to obtain feedback on the service and comments received were positive and complimentary. The complaints procedure was made available and systems were in place to record and respond if complaints were received.

The registered provider responded promptly to the issues raised at the last inspection. The service had an open and transparent culture in which staff felt motivated, appreciated and trusted to do their work. Quality assurance processes were more robust and the registered manager was continually seeking ways for the service to evolve and improve.

Kids (Wakefield) is a registered charity which provides personal care for children and young people with complex needs. At the time of the inspection, care was provided for seven people. Minimum call times were for one hour in a morning before school and some call times were for up to three hours after school. During school holidays some calls were longer, to provide care and support throughout the day.

The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Parents told us they felt the service was safe and staff had received safeguarding training in order to keep children and young people safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs with a regular, consistent staff team and there were robust recruitment practices in place.

Staff did not routinely administer medicines but they had received specific training to enable them to safely do so, if required.

Parents felt staff had the necessary skills and training to provide effective care. Staff told us they felt supported and records we saw showed staff had received induction training. However, during the inspection, it was not clear exactly what training staff had received. Staff received supervision, although this was not always formally recorded, so it was not possible to determine the frequency of staff supervision.

We saw from the care files we reviewed the registered manager sought and obtained appropriate consent, prior to care and support being provided.

Parents we spoke with told us staff were caring. The staff we spoke with were enthusiastic and driven to provide good quality care. Staff described how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff encouraged people’s independence where possible.

We saw care plans were personalised and person-centred. They were reviewed regularly with the involvement of children and young people and their parents and carers. Care and support staff were aware of the content of people’s care plans.

Regular quality assurance audits could not be evidenced and audits were not robust. Areas which had been identified as requiring improvement through the inspection process, such as the recording of staff training, staff supervision and quality assurance checks had not been identified and actioned through auditing. Up to date accurate records were not kept in this respect. This demonstrated a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Parents and staff told us they felt listened to and that the service was well-led. Regular staff meetings took place and staff felt information was communicated and shared effectively across the organisation.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Below is a summary of what we found.

Is the service safe?

Staff confidently described the action they would take to ensure children were protected from abuse.

We were shown how there was a support plan for each child which was detailed with individual risk assessments and highlighted when things changed.

Is the service caring?

Parents told us children's needs were at the forefront of what the service offered, emphasised how caring the staff were and said (with gestures): 'It comes from the heart'.

Is the service effective?

A skills match was carried out by management so that children's individual needs were best met by particular staff with the appropriate skills and experience.

Is the service responsive?

Parents told us their children were supported well to make their own choices and the service was child-led. One parent said their child was helped to make decisions by staff using a picture book for them to indicate their choices.

We saw feedback was sought from parents of children who used the service.

Is the service well led?

Staff said there was a culture of openness in which they could approach the management at any time to discuss issues of importance. Parents praised the quality of the provision and strong leadership and professionalism of the team.