Archived: Share A Family

Updated 17 April 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 was planned to check 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.

The inspection visit took place on 3 December 2014 and was followed up by phone calls to volunteers, young people who used the service and their parents or guardians. The inspection was announced; the service was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection as the office based staff all work part-time and we needed to be sure they would be available.

One inspector visited the office, made calls to the volunteer link workers and emailed professionals who had regular contact with the service for their views. An expert by experience phoned the families in receipt of the service, speaking to the young people themselves if they were aged 16 or over and able to speak on the phone. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. In this case the expert by experience was a person with personal experience of services for children and young people with disabilities.

Due to technical difficulties the Provider Information Return (PIR) was not reviewed before the inspection, but we looked at it afterwards. The PIR 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.

During the inspection we spoke to two office based staff, including the registered manager, three volunteers, five parents and one young person who received the service. We also received information from three professionals who had contact with the service. We looked at four volunteer files and three young people’s files, as well as a range of the provider’s policies and procedures.

Updated 17 April 2015

The inspection visit took place on 3 December 2014 and was followed up by phone calls to volunteers, young people who used the service and their parents or guardians. The inspection was announced, with two days’ notice.

Share A Family provides support to children and young people aged 0-19 years with a range of disabilities by matching them with volunteers (known as ‘link workers’) who take them out to activities or provide a home sitting service. At the time of our inspection the service was providing this one-to-one support for 12 children and young people. All of them lived within the London Borough of Wandsworth. The frequency, duration and type of support depended on the individual needs of the child or young person and their family. Most volunteers met with the child or young person once or twice a month for a half day activity of the child or young person’s choosing.

The service also runs regular monthly clubs for children and young people with disabilities arranged according to age (0-8 years; 9-12 years; 12-18 years). These clubs are not subject to registration with the Care Quality Commission and, therefore, were not inspected, but most of the children and young people who received one-to-one support also attended a club and many of the link workers volunteered with the clubs as well.

Share A Family is a voluntary organisation of 34 years standing. It is contracted to provide this service by a local authority and no charge is made to families who use the service. It underwent some restructuring in 2013 as the result of a re-tendering process and uncertainty about its future led to a dip in activity. However, the service had been recruiting volunteers throughout 2014.

A registered manager was 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.

We found that the service was meeting all the regulations. Parents spoke well of the service received. Staff kept up-to-date with best practice through extensive networking with other organisations. Volunteers were thoroughly vetted to ensure they were safe to work one-to-one with children and young people and received an induction and attended an annual update. Their strengths and interests were taken into account when matching them with children and young people on the waiting list.

Children and young people’s needs were assessed prior to the match taking place. Activities were arranged which were stimulating and enjoyable. Plans were in place to manage any foreseeable risks. Staff kept in touch with volunteers and families, particularly during the first three months of the match taking place. Volunteers received training and there were appropriate policies and procedures in place to guide both them and staff.