Archived: KIDS (South Gloucestershire)

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.

People's experience of using this service:

Parents told us they were very happy with the support in place and trusted the staff to support their child safely. Comments included, “It is an absolutely brilliant service” and, “My son looks forward to the sessions and going out”.

Children, young people and their parents were consulted about what they wanted and needed in respect of the support from KIDS (South Gloucestershire). Each child/young person’s support was tailored to their needs and aspirations. Care plans were unique to each individual. Hours of support was agreed with commissioners of the service. There was some shortfall in hours, but this was closely monitored by the service and the commissioners. This was because the service wanted to get the right staff to support the child or young person. Recruitment was ongoing to ensure there were suitable numbers of sessional workers to provide support to existing and new children and young people.

Before sessional workers supported children and young people they went through a thorough recruitment process and induction. There was ongoing training and support for sessional workers. Some sessional workers had other employment during the day and worked and supported the children after school, during the holidays and at weekends. The team had a wealth of experience including nursery staff, teachers, and health and social care professionals.

Staff were knowledgeable about the children they supported and spoke about them really fondly. It was evident the sessional workers had built positive relationships with not only the child but other members of the family. There was good partnership working involving the child, their families and health and social care professionals.

The service was well led and had clear leadership with supportive networks for the staff, the child/young person and their families. Systems were in place to check the quality of the services, which included seeking the views of the young people, parents, and health and social care professionals. Staff were passionate about supporting the child or young person and their family.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 09 February 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to review information we receive about the service until we return to visit as part of our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

Kids South Gloucestershire provides short breaks for children and young people with disabilities. This includes engaging in activities with the children in their home or within the community. Personal care is also given to children. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 11 children. Throughout the report we refer to children as people.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. 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.

At the time of the inspection the service employed, a registered manager and 25 care staff.

People received care and support from care staff they felt safe with. People were safe because staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep them safe from harm. Staff were aware how to raise any safeguarding concerns. Risks were assessed and individual plans put in place to protect people from harm.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to ensure people's needs were met. Plans were in place to recruit additional staff to ensure there was sufficient cover to care for people. This was important due to the complex needs of some people using the service. The service carried out pre-employment checks on staff before they worked with people to assess their suitability.

People spoke highly of the staff that provided their care and people’s relatives were also complimentary of staff. Staff we spoke with demonstrated they were aware of people’s individual needs and understood their preferences. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in supporting people to make their own choices and decisions.

Staff were suitably trained and training was monitored and kept up to date to ensure people received appropriate and safe care. Staff received supervision and appraisal aimed at improving the care and support they provided. Competency checks were carried out on staff to make sure they were practicing correctly. This ensured staff had the necessary skills to care for people safely.

People gave consent before any care was provided. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and gave examples of how they supported people with decisions about their care and daily lives. Where required, legal documentation was in place where others had made decisions on behalf of those people who lacked capacity to do so.

Staff were described as caring, friendly and supportive. It was clear positive relationships had been built between people and staff. Staff knew how to encourage people to be as independent as possible. Communication between staff, people and their relatives was positive.

People received a service that was well-led because the registered manager provided good leadership and management. Systems were in place to check on the standards within the service. These included regular audits of care records, recruitment files, risk assessments, health and safety, staff training and supervision.