Reynards Care and Support Agency

Reynard's Care and Support Agency is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Currently they provide support exclusively to learners at what was, the independent college Foxes Academy based on the seafront in Minehead. In September 2017 Foxes Academy and Reynard's Care and Support Agency was bought by Aurora and now, although they are both independent of each other they do form part of the Aurora Group. Foxes Academy is a specialist catering college and training hotel for young adults with learning disabilities. (Rated as Outstanding when inspected by Ofsted in September 2018.) Foxes emphasises the importance of learners developing independence whilst at the college and progressing into work or further training.

This inspection focused only on the care and support delivered by Reynard's Care and Support Agency, and not any of the work delivered by Foxes Academy, which is not regulated by CQC.

Staff at Reynard's Care and Support Agency work in partnership with the teaching and residential staff to enable learners to maximise their potential and obtain maximum benefit from the time they spend at Foxes. Reynard’s care and support staff help with people's daily personal care routines, support them if they became unwell and promote healthy living by assisting people to manage their own health.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good

People and their relatives told us they trusted staff and felt safe when staff came to their house to support them. One person told us, “Yes, I am with people who are looking out for me”. Policies in relation to safeguarding and whistleblowing reflected local procedures and relevant contact information.

Staff demonstrated a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and knew who to inform if they witnessed or had an allegation of abuse reported to them. Systems were in place to identify and reduce the risks to people living in the home. People's care plans included risk assessments. These documents provided staff with a clear description of any risks and guidance on the support people needed to manage these risks.

There were enough staff available to meet people's needs and to keep them safe. A robust recruitment and selection process was in place and staff had been subject to criminal record checks before starting work at the service.

Systems were in place that showed people's medicines were managed consistently and safely by staff. Policies and procedures were available for staff. Staff had competency checks and training provided on induction. People were protected by staff who followed good infection control practices and staff knew the reporting process for any accidents or incidents.

The provider had appropriate systems in place to assess people’s needs and choices. There were copies of pre-admission assessments on people’s files. People said the staff were well trained and that they did a good job. The new provider, Aurora had an extensive training programme. Training was delivered using methods such as face to face and on-line learning.

Staff had regular one to one supervision and we saw annual appraisals in staff files.

Staff worked successfully with healthcare services to ensure people’s health care needs were met. Staff supported people to access services from a variety of healthcare professionals including GPs, chiropodists, dentists, diabetic nurses, and epilepsy nurses to provide additional support when required.

People had their needs assessed before they were accepted into the service. The provider sought consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance. People told us they were involved and discussed their care and support needs with staff. Staff encouraged people to be as independent as they could be without disempowering people. People kept their support plans in their rooms and staff had made sure they were clearly set out and easy to read.

There was a registered manager in post. The leadership was visible, accessible and gave clear lines of responsibility and accountability. There were effective quality assurance arrangements in place to raise standards and drive improvements. Complaints procedures were available to people and their relatives and regular surveys were sent out to allow people to feedback their views on the service overall.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

Reynard’s Care and Support Agency is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Currently they provide support exclusively to learners at the independent college Foxes Academy based on the seafront in Minehead. Foxes Academy is a specialist catering college and training hotel for young adults with learning disabilities. (Rated as Outstanding when inspected by Ofsted in 2013.) Foxes emphasises the importance of learners developing independence whilst at the college and progressing into work or further training.

This inspection was of the care and support agency and not any other work of the academy which is not regulated by us.

Staff at Reynard’s Care and Support Agency work with the teaching and residential staff to enable learners to maximise their potential and obtain maximum benefit from the time they spend at Foxes. Care and support staff provided daily support with people’s daily personal care routines and supported them if they became unwell. They also undertook regular health monitoring designed to promote healthy living and assist people to manage their own health. Staff accompanied people when they visited the GP or hospital appointments if this was required.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 in post for three years. The responsible individual for the service was involved with the service on a daily basis and was responsible for safeguarding and quality assurance aspects of the service.

The registered manager showed enthusiasm for wanting to provide the best level of care and support possible. Staff had the same ethos and enthusiasm and this showed in the way they spoke about people and interacted with them.

People told us they felt safe with staff who supported them. Reynard’s staff communicated and co-operated with residential and teaching staff to protect people from bullying, harassment and avoidable harm.

There were sufficient staff employed to ensure people received care according to their assessed needs. People told us staff were reliable and arrived at the correct time and were able to give them their specified support. Staff told us the system of allocation of staff and rotas worked and they had enough time with people.

Staff knew and understood people and provided the right balance of support and promotion of independence. Staff told us their aim was to help prepare people for the time when they would leave the academy, so assisting them to develop their ability to care for themselves as much as possible was important.

People were supported to take medicines when appropriate. There was an emphasis on people being as independent as possible and the understanding that people who initially needed prompting and guidance may eventually be completely self-managing with regard to their own medicines.

The provider’s staff recruitment procedures helped to minimise risks to people who received a service. Thorough staff induction and on-going supervision ensured people received effective care and support. Staff said the registered manager was approachable and always willing to listen to them. They said they “wouldn’t worry or hesitate about discussing anything.”

Staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staff were well trained and competent in their jobs. Training was linked to the needs of people receiving support and the development of individual staff. Staff said the manager was “keen to teach new things” and encouraged staff to look at new sources of information.

People benefitted from staff who had a caring approach to their work and were totally committed to providing high quality care. All staff spoken with were highly motivated and inspired to offer care which was kind and compassionate. They worked flexibly and would stay on beyond their shift times to support people in emergencies such as accidents or hospital admissions.

People received care and support that was responsive to their needs and personalised to their wishes and preferences. Staff told us the service was completely person centred. They said each person was seen as an individual. Care plans gave information about people's likes and dislikes as well as their physical needs. This made sure staff knew how people liked to be supported and the things that were important to them.

There were systems in place to make sure high standards of care were delivered. The service was committed to continuous improvement. Plans and targets for future developments and completed projects showed where this had been achieved. There was a quality cycle and quality checks were completed to challenge ideas and systems in place.