Outreach Services

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question good.

At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had exceptionally inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They always did so with integrity, openness and honesty. A ‘people-first leadership’ was fostered and practiced at every level of leadership within the organisation. At the core of the service was a purposeful culture driven by work which was values based. These values were developed with people in mind. Every aspect of the service was underpinned by a commitment to ensuring people led a full and active life of their choosing. The culture and values was not something which was devised by leaders alone, but which was owned by everyone. Staff at all levels demonstrated a genuine passion, energy, drive and commitment to making people’s lives better. Staff collaborated with people at every opportunity to ensure they were kept at the heart of the service at all times. The empowerment of people was the driving force of the organisation. Leaders and managers led by example and engaged with staff, people and their families to help promote person centred values which were focused on empowering people to make choices and decisions and shape their own care and support.

Staff were recruited on the basis of their compatibility with the ethos, values and culture of the service, and leaders were not averse to challenging any practices which fell short of this. Staff not only understood, but embraced and practiced the service’s vision, values and goals. Leaders worked directly alongside staff, so staff felt respected, valued and supported. There was a strong commitment towards ensuring equality and inclusion across the workforce, and staff were highly motivated and proud of the service. There was a high level of satisfaction from staff. Comments from staff included, “This is simply the best job I have ever had” and “It’s the best company I have ever worked for."

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. The registered managers were supported both by the provider and the wider team to help aid more effective leadership. Leaders demonstrated compassion and inclusivity by engaging with staff and people to further embody the culture and values of the service in the pursuit of high level and person-centred care. Leaders at all levels continually monitored practice against the values of the organisation. Governance tools and audits and processes were in place to help provide effective oversight to help deliver safe care. In addition, each department such as recruitment, policy and strategy and positive behaviour support trainers had their own leads, which helped provide increased oversight and accountability in those areas.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Leaders and staff encouraged people and their significant others to provide their views and concerns, so they were listened to and acted on to shape the service and culture. This was done in a variety of ways such as welfare checks and meetings with people and their families. We saw numerous examples of how the provider had listened to and acted on people’s feedback. People had made suggestions to start weekly clubs, arts and craft sessions and coffee mornings. People from different services attended providing people with the opportunity to build relationships. Resources were also in place to enable staff to develop and be heard. Staff told us they had plentiful opportunities to speak up.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Managers engaged with staff via formal meetings and informal check ins to enable staff to have a platform to voice their feedback and views. Equality and diversity characteristics and needs were taken into account and accommodated where necessary. For example, staff’s religious and cultural beliefs were respected and accommodated such as permitting time to pray whilst at work.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Governance was well embedded into the running of the service. Performance and risk was monitored so any improvements to the safety and quality of care and support was identified and delivered. Layers of oversight at different levels helped ensure a more robust approach to regulatory and legal compliance, focused on driving up quality and improvement across the organisation. Performance management processes were effective and reviewed regularly. Staff understood their role and responsibilities and leaders were able to provide constructive feedback to staff to help further drive-up improvements.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The provider was transparent, open and collaborative with relevant external stakeholders and agencies. The service worked with other agencies to help build a seamless experience for the people it supported based on good practice outcomes. The provider upskilled staff and empowered staff to feel confident to make referrals to other professionals. Policies were in place for staff to follow and people had health passports in place. (A health passport is a summary of medical information, communication needs, and care requirements for healthcare professionals.)

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research. Leaders strived for excellence through consultation and reflective practice. Where something had gone wrong, not only was remedial action implemented in a timely way, but time was taken to share learning and apply any learning where applicable from the advice of external agencies. The service was a member of Autism Alliance UK (the national body for not-for-profit organisations supporting autistic people and their families) to share learning and best practice. The service was committed to improve care outcomes for people at every available opportunity. The provider produced a ‘Strategic Aims’ document yearly which outlined their desired achievements for the future, which was aligned with any relevant changes in legislation, best practice and CQC requirements.