SCC Prison Social Care Team

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.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been ratedgood.

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 75 (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 a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

People knew who the registered manager was and were positive about them. One person told us they were, “Easily approachable.”

The management team told us they ensured the staff were valued and promoted people’s individuality, protected their rights and enabled them to thrive. Staff told us there was a good and positive culture within the service where people and staff had a good rapport, and the atmosphere was one of respect and care.

Oversight was provided through a monthly Mental Health Management Performance and Finance Board, attended by all team managers, including the prison team. The senior manager told us, “We are part of a big corporate organisation. We sit within the specialist mental health team. We have good team; we work together and communicate well. Nobody is afraid of expressing their opinion. The registered manager added, “What we believe we do is deliver a person-centred service where people are valued and cared for and we want to continue this.”

The provider set a culture that valued reflection, learning and improvement. The registered manager effectively used staff supervision and regular team meetings as a platform for staff to raise any concerns and an opportunity to share their views and opinions.

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.

People were positive about the registered manager and the staff team. Their comments included,“[Registered manager] and [Member of staff] have always been amazing through my years” and another said, “I just wanted to say how lovely [Staff members] are.” A relative told us, “My experience with them overall has been good.” External professionals told us they had confidence in the leadership of the service.

The staff reported they felt supported by the management team, who were visible and helpful when staff needed them. Their comments included, “[Registered manager] is wonderful. [They are] there for us and get involved” and “[Registered manager] has been really nice and approachable. The whole team has.”

The registered manager was an experienced leader who had worked within the social care sector for a long time. They strived to make continuous improvements for the benefit of people who used the service. One of the visiting directors told us, “What stood out for me is how our workers do the work, from end to end. It’s all kept in in-house. They know their people, they care about them.” The nominated individual agreed and said, “We have a very strong bunch of staff who are dedicated to people, and passionate about what they do.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People were given information when they started using the service about how to raise a concern and said they knew how to make a complaint. One person told us, “If I had a complaint, I would talk to [Staff member]. I can use the complaints form on the wing.”

Staff knew about the provider’s whistleblowing policy and would not hesitate to use this to benefit staff and people living at the home.

The provider had processes in place to support staff to speak up. This included supervision meetings, staff meetings and a whistleblowing policy.

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.

The managers treated their staff equitably and supported them to meet their individual needs. The registered manager told us they valued the staff and wanted to make them feel appreciated.

The provider had policies to promote equality, diversity and inclusion and to protect staff from discrimination and harassment. The registered manager told us, “We have a good policy across Surrey to support people’s diversity. We have the employee support system which staff can access if they need to talk. We do discuss with staff if they have any concerns and how we can support them. We are currently looking at adjustments for a member of staff who has had some challenges recently.”

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.

The registered manager regularly visited the prisons, attended assessments, joint visits and professional meetings. They also carried out observations with the support workers. The senior manager also visited the prisons to attend joint visits for complex cases, professional meetings and attended the quality and partnership boards meetings.

Staff at all levels understood their roles and their level of accountability. Managers and support staff worked well together and understood how their duties impacted and supported the other. The registered manager told us they felt supported by their line manager. They said, “I feel very supported. [Line manager] is here when I need [them]. We have open discussions. [They] respect me and trust me to do a good job.”

There were systems in place for monitoring the quality of the service and these were effective. Action was taken when audits identified the need for improvement. The senior manager told us, “We have targets set for our team. We are part of an expectation of audits we need to undertake, and senior managers do random audits of these.”

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 registered manager told us they worked with a range of professionals so people’s needs would be met and had a good working relationship with them. They told us how working within a multi-disciplinary team had contributed to open conversations about people’s changing needs and this had led to improvements in people’s daily lives.

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 the development of safe and effective practices and research.

People told us they were consulted individually during a review or regular conversation to find out if they had any concerns or requests. We saw that people’s opinions and requests were taken seriously.

The registered manager was passionate about the service they provided and aimed to continue learning and developing this to further meet people’s needs. They told us, “We have let the team evolve naturally. When we first started, we did not know what we were supposed to do. We now have the model and the benefit it provides to people, so we have learned as we go along.” The senior managed added, “I started with the pilot, and we have worked and developed the team together."