We carried out a review of the data available to us about Vision Beyond Autism on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Vision Beyond Autism, you can give feedback on this service.
Vision Beyond Autism is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care and support to children and young adults with autism. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection three younger adults were receiving support with personal care.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People benefitted from an exceptionally caring, kind and compassionate service. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the quality of care from relatives and professionals involved in people's care. Staff promoted a strong person-centred culture and were motivated to deliver care that met and exceeded expectations. A social care professional commented "It's phenomenal what they've achieved."
Staff went above and beyond to make sure people lived a fulfilling and meaningful life of their choice and were as independent as they could be. Staff went above and beyond to support people to complete tasks and secure work placements. Each person was supported to follow a comprehensive programme of activities and programmes each day to increase their independence.
Each person was supported by a small team of staff who knew them well. Staff had an excellent understanding of people's communication needs and supported people with their comprehension. Staff were skilled at anticipating people's emotional needs and supported people to use strategies to reduce their anxiety levels.
People's privacy and dignity was protected and considered at all times. Staff fully understood people's preferences, wishes and choices. They worked together with people, their relatives and professionals involved in their care to achieve the best possible outcomes for people.
People were supported to be a part of their local community. Staff supported people to access a wide range of facilities and worked with staff at these facilities to increase their understanding of autism.
People were supported in such a way that allowed them maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff were well supported in their role with appropriate training and supervision. Staff had also received specialist training to meet the specific needs of the people they supported.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service people received, identify shortfalls and bring about improvements. Risks to people had been robustly assessed and measures were put in place to mitigate any risks identified, whilst still respecting people's freedom.
The registered manager and registered provider had met their legal requirements with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They promoted person centred care and transparency within the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
At our last inspection, the service was rated "Good." (Report published 30 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the last inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Vision Beyond Autism is a small bespoke service that provides learning support and personal care for people and children who have autism in their own homes or in a school/college setting. The support provided focuses around positive behavioural support for adults and children, and there is an emphasis on this throughout all areas of support and risk management. At the time of the inspection the service supported six people.
There was a registered manager at the service. 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.
Without exception the feedback we received about care people received was excellent. Relatives told us how the service had made a difference to people’s lives and people had become more independent with the caring and patient support they had received from staff.
People’s independence was promoted throughout the support provided and the support staff gave to people centred around their daily living skills and had enabled people to live a full and varied life.
The registered manager led the staff by example and the values were promoted and understood by staff. Relatives highly recommended the service and told us that the registered manager was approachable and helped them to understand how to support their relative effectively.
We saw that the provider had systems in place to ensure that people received a high standard of care and actions were taken by the registered manager to ensure people received support that met their needs.
The registered manager encouraged and supported staff to gain further knowledge and experience through training and regular updates in best practice gained from research and information from other agencies.
People’s risks were planned and managed in a way that promoted their independence whilst keeping people safe from harm.
People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff had a good understand of the signs of abuse and their responsibilities to report any concerns.
We found there were enough suitable recruited and qualified staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff received an intensive induction to ensure that they were confident to provide support to people.
People’s nutritional risks were managed and monitored and people were supported to access health professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.
People were supported to consent to their care and where they were unable to do this for themselves appropriate representatives had been involved.
Staff understood how to support people who displayed behaviour that may challenge and the focus of the service was to support people to enable them to manage their anxieties to reduce occurrences and triggers of behaviours that may challenge.
People and relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care and staff knew people’s needs and preferences well.
People and relatives knew how to complain and complaints were dealt with in line with the provider’s policies.