We carried out a review of the data available to us about Rainbow Trust Children's Charity 5 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 Rainbow Trust Children's Charity 5, you can give feedback on this service.
The service had a registered manager. 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 received extremely positive and consistent feedback about the service from children and their families. Parents felt the service went above and beyond and staff were extremely experienced at looking after people needs. Children and their families received care that was based around their individual needs and that was personalised.
Parents felt their children were safe with the charity. Risks to children were minimized through appropriate risk management. There were plans in place for foreseeable emergencies. Parents supported their children with medicines so staff were not involved in this.
Relevant recruitment checks were conducted before staff started working at the service to make sure they were of good character and had the necessary skills. Staff had received training in safeguarding children and knew how to identify, prevent and report abuse.
The service was extremely responsive to children’s and their family’s needs. Staff asked parents how they could support them and this ranged from taking the child out who was unwell, taking the child’s siblings out, to supporting the whole family in the home. Parents we spoke with felt able to complain although they had not had cause to. The service had a complaints procedure in place but had not received any complaints. They had received compliments and letters of thanks.
The service had introduced new initiatives to support children and their families by having sibling’s days at local theme parks, and arranging support sessions at local hospitals and running support groups.
Staff completed a wide range of training and felt it supported them in their job role. New staff completed an induction before being permitted to work unsupervised. Staff told us they felt supported and received regular supervision to discuss areas of development. Staff meetings were held regularly. There were sufficient numbers of staff to maintain the schedule of care visits to meet people’s needs.
The registered manager promoted a positive culture that was open, inclusive and empowering. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were able to give their views on the service as well as suggest any improvements.
All the parents we spoke with told us they were cared for with kindness, compassion and sensitivity. Care plans provided comprehensive information about how families wished to receive care and support. This helped ensure people received personalised care in a way that met their individual needs.
National surveys allowed children and their parents to provide feedback which was used to improve the service. They were encouraged to be involved in developing the service and were asked their views and opinions regularly.
Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity 5 is a national domiciliary care agency which provides support to children who have life threatening or terminal illness. The charity provides support in family homes and the wider community. The regulated activity is personal care but this is provided only when needed, as part of a wider service, for example, changing a baby’s nappy whilst taking them out or showering them after swimming. The service was being provided to approximately 100 children under the age of 18.
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. The registered manager had been temporarily seconded to undertake a national project within the organisation but was still involved in supporting the acting manager and was at the service regularly.
Parents felt their children were safe with staff who had been trained in safeguarding children.
There was a system in place to assess the risks to children’s personal safety whilst they were receiving care and support. The provider had safe recruitment procedures in place, which included seeking references and completing checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) before employing new staff. Parents supported their children with medicines so staff were not involved with this.
Staff were very experienced and effective in their roles and this was confirmed by parents. The provider had an induction programme available which was based on the Care Certificate and offered a range of relevant training which staff found useful. Staff were supported in their roles through the use of clinical and non-clinical supervision, weekly team meetings and annual appraisal.
Parents and their children were supported by staff who were highly motivated, kind, compassionate and caring and enjoyed their work. Staff were adept at maintaining the dignity of children they supported with personal care and accessing other professionals when necessary.
Children and their families received a service which was responsive to their individual needs and was flexible. Staff asked parents how they could support them and this ranged from taking the child out who was unwell, to taking the child’s siblings out, to supporting the whole family in the home. Parents we spoke with felt able to complain although they had not had cause to. The service had a complaints procedure in place but had not received any complaints. They had received compliments and letters of thanks.
The registered manager promoted a positive culture that was open, inclusive and empowering. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were able to give their views on the service as well as suggest any improvements.
Parents who used the service said they had no concerns with regard to the safety of their children when they were with their support workers. We were told by one person that staff were, 'so caring and lovely with us all but they are open, straightforward, professional and respectful'. Another said they trusted them, 'to deal with every eventuality.' People told us their views on the service had been sought shortly after the service was introduced to check that people were happy with it and that it was meeting their assessed needs. One person told us, 'they ring up from time to time from the office to see if everything is alright.' Another said, 'I was specifically asked for feedback'.
We found people received the care and support as necessary to meet their assessed needs. Staff had received training in safeguarding children and were aware of the policies and procedures in place around this subject. The provider sought feedback and made improvements to the service as necessary.