Action for Children

Updated 10 December 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides support and outreach services to children and young people living in their family homes.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We also looked at information we had received about the service since the last inspection, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We contacted a local authority commissioner to seek their feedback. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. These included two people’s support records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment, staff supervision and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures and quality assurance management records were also reviewed.

We spoke with two family members of children using the service. We spoke with three staff members including the registered manager, a support worker and the team administrator.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked staff and quality assurance records. We spoke with a representative from a local authority.

Updated 10 December 2019

About the service:

Action for Children Camden provides a short breaks service to children and young people with physical and/or learning disabilities who are living in their family homes. The service provides personal care and support to participate in activities at home and within the local community. At the time of our inspection the service had been providing support to three children.

People’s experience of using this service:

Care and support was person centred. Children’s care plans and risk assessments included guidance for staff members about their care and support needs and preferences. They had been reviewed regularly and updated where there were any changes in needs.

Staff had received training about safeguarding and knew how to respond to any allegation or suspicion of harm or abuse.

The service ensured that recruitment of new staff members included checks in relation to their suitability, such as references and criminal records checks. Staff had received training to ensure that they were able to meet the needs of the children they supported. Staff received regular supervision sessions with the registered manager to ensure that they were able to carry out their roles.

Care plans were in place for the children and young people supported by the service. These included guidance for staff on how to provide care and support in accordance with their preferences. Individual risk assessments included information on how to manage and reduce identified risks.

Children and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care. They were able to approve their support workers before they were assigned to them.

Regular surveys of views of the service had taken place. These showed high levels of satisfaction.

Processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

The provider undertook a range of audits to check the quality of care provided. These were reviewed by the management team and actions had been taken to address any concerns.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated Good (Report published 20 April 2017).

Why we inspected:

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

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to inspect as part of our re-inspection programme.