Archived: Core Assets Children's Services

Updated 22 October 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 22 September 2015 and was announced. We checked to see what notifications had been received from the provider since their registration in 2013. Providers are required to inform the CQC of important events which happen within the service. Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We received a detailed PIR form from the provider.

The inspection was carried out by an inspector. On the day of our inspection, Core Assets was providing care to three children in their own homes.

We spoke with the current manager; peripatetic manager, two staff and three relatives of people who used the service. We also looked at a commissioner’s report from 2014. We also looked at copies of care plans, audits and records relating to the service.

Updated 22 October 2015

Core Assets Children's Services provides care and support to children living within their own homes. They provide support to children and young adults up to the age of 25. At the present time, three children were being supported outside of the county.

Core Assets did not currently have a registered manager in place however the service was supported by Core Assets peripatetic manager. An application had been made and the current manager’s interview was scheduled for the week 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.

We received extremely positive comments from parents of children who used the service. Parents were complimentary about how the service was run, how staff worked and how invaluable the service was to them and their family.

Parents told us staff were kind, caring and trustworthy. Staff were able to explain the needs of the children they cared for and how they supported them through child specific training, and how they supported children and parents to be involved in the care provided.

Staff were well trained and supported to undertake their roles. Staff had a clear oversight of their roles and responsibilities in regards to looking after children, including need specific training, and safeguarding of children and adults.

Staff were supported to work autonomously but were provided with support via on call systems, and an accessible intranet service. Staff told us they were supported by a manager who was kind, caring and effective.

Before any care was provided, staff were introduced to the family and child to ensure there was a ‘match’. This meant children and families were supported by a staff member who they could trust and get to know well. All children had a named worker and were offered an alternative if their named worker was unable to work.

Regular reviews of support ensured the service had a clear oversight of any changes to the children’s needs including the need for professional input, or an increase in the amount of care provided. We saw the service had built up good relationships with health professionals to achieve positive outcomes for the children they supported.