Oxfordshire Children - Young People & Families

Oxfordshire Children- Young People & Families provides a home care service to children under the age of 18 years old. The children and young people had a range of needs including learning and physical disabilities and health conditions. At the time of the inspection 36 children and young people were receiving personal care support from the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service met the characteristics of Good in four areas and Outstanding in Caring, making it overall a rating of Good; more information is in the full report.

Children and young people continued receiving a safe and exceptionally caring service from Oxfordshire Children- Young People & Families.

We received positive feedback from parents and professionals on how staff had developed caring relationships with children and young people. Parents said their child or young person looked forward to seeing staff, which we saw evidence of during the inspection. One parent told us, "They’re [staff] absolutely brilliant." Staff supported the same children and young people in order to provide regular consistent care and support. We heard of many examples of where staff went over and above what was expected of them to ensure children and young people were safe, comfortable and enjoyed the time they spent with staff.

The registered manager was excellent in managing the service and was proactive in recruiting staff of a high calibre who could support children and young people appropriately. Where there had been some challenges in offering the fully allocated amount of support to children and young people, parents were made aware of this issue and steps were being taken to recruit new staff.

The registered manager ensured lessons were learnt where appropriate to improve the service further. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place which were used to drive improvement.

Children and young people's needs were assessed and their needs recorded in very detailed support plans. These guided staff on how best to support the child or young person. Children and young people continued to be supported by staff that had the right skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles effectively. Staff told us they were well supported by the management team and received training relevant to the children and young people they visited.

Children and young people knew how to complain and complaints were dealt with in line with the provider’s complaints policy.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (report published 26 August 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

Oxfordshire Children's Services is part of the local authority children's department. The service is providing care and support to 157 children and their families who are assessed as having a physical or learning disability. The agency provides a range of services to assist people in their own homes or out in the community. On the day of our inspection 138 children were using the service.

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.

Relative’s told us children were safe. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. Staff had received regular training to make sure they stayed up to date with recognising and reporting safety concerns. The service had systems in place to notify the appropriate authorities where concerns were identified. Children received their medicine as prescribed.

Children benefitted from caring relationships with the staff. Children and their relatives were involved in their care and children’s independence was actively promoted. Relatives told us children’s dignity was promoted.

Where risks to children had been identified risk assessments were in place and action had been taken to manage these risks. Staff sought children’s consent and involved them in their care where ever possible.

There were sufficient staff to meet children’s needs. Staff rotas confirmed planned staffing levels were consistently maintained. The service had safe recruitment procedures and conducted background checks to ensure staff were suitable for their role.

Children had enough to eat and drink. Children could choose what to eat and drink and their preferences were respected. Where children had specific nutritional needs, staff were aware of, and ensured these needs were met.

Relatives told us they were confident they would be listened to and action would be taken if they raised a concern. The service had systems to assess the quality of the service provided. Learning needs were identified and action taken to make improvements which promoted people’s safety and quality of life. Systems were in place that ensured children were protected against the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care.

Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the registered manager. Staff supervision and other meetings were scheduled as were annual appraisals. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and there was a good level of communication within the service.

Relatives told us the service was friendly, responsive and well managed. Relatives knew the registered manager and staff and spoke positively about them. The service sought people’s views and opinions and acted upon them.

The registered manager’s vision was echoed by staff and embedded within the culture of the service.

A single inspector carried out this inspection. The focus of the inspection was to answer one of our five key questions in relation to this outcome; is the service well led?

Below is a summary of what we found. If you want to see the evidence that supports our summary please read the full report.

Is the well led?

Systems were in place to review risks and learn from incidents to improve the safe delivery of people's care. The manager reviewed all reported accidents and incidents and shared concerns with staff and unit managers to action. The quality of the service was monitored. This included the auditing of care records and staff supervision.

We found that people's privacy and dignity was protected. One person told us "when care workers are here they are very considerate". We looked the care records for twelve people. These were person centred and clearly written with the involvement of the person. It was clear that information in these records had been used to form a detailed and individualised care plan.

People and their relatives told us that they felt safe when being cared for by care workers. Records showed that all care workers had completed safeguarding training. People felt that staff were well trained and understood their needs. Care workers told us they felt supported.

We looked at the quality assurance systems that were in place. The provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service and there was a clear procedure for recording incidents and accidents. The monitoring of the quality and safety of services provided to people was not taking place through for example, internal auditing procedures. We concluded that the provider did not have an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

Parents and advocates told us that they had been consulted as to the type of care the service was able to offer. Information was given to them in the form of a Children and Family Care Services information pack. This pack provided comprehensive information as to what the service could and could not offer. People told us that the service provided care in a way that ensured people were safe and that their care and welfare was looked after. People we spoke with told us that it was a valued service which complemented the care they were able to give themselves.

Due to their age and complex needs,feedback on the quality of the service was given by parents or advocates. the service had undertaken a satisfaction survey, a summary of which will be included in this report Information as to how to comment on the quality of the service was available. Information about the service was also provided in a visual format which included pictures of key people within the organisation. People told us that the service provided care in a way that ensured people were safe and that their welfare was looked after.

The service had effective recruitment practices in place which ensured that people working for the organisation were trained and qualified to do so.