KIDS (London)

Updated 14 May 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Service and service type:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides support to children and young people living in their family homes. At the time of inspection six children were using the service.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.’

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit because it is a small service. We needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office.

What we did:

Before the inspection the provider sent us a Provider Information Return. Providers are required to send us information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also looked at information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We contacted commissioners to seek their feedback.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager. We looked a range of records. This included three people’s care records and two staff files. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service such as quality assurance monitoring records and policies and procedures.

Following our inspection we spoke with a family member, a staff member and a professional from a commissioning local authority.

Updated 14 May 2019

About the service:

Kids (London) provides a short breaks service to children and young people with physical and/or learning disabilities in their family homes. The service provides personal care and support to participate in activities at home and within the local community. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to six children and their families.

People’s experience of using this service:

Care and support was person centred. Children’s care plans and risk assessments included guidance for staff members about their care and support needs and preferences. They had been reviewed regularly and updated where there were any changes in needs.

Staff had received training about safeguarding and knew how to respond to any allegation or suspicion of harm or abuse.

The service ensured that recruitment of new staff members included checks in relation to their suitability, such as references and criminal records checks.

Staff had received training to ensure that they were able to meet the needs of the children they supported. Staff also engaged in regular supervision sessions with the registered manager to ensure that they were able to carry out their roles.

Care plans were in place for the children and young people supported by the service. These included guidance for staff on how to provide care and support in accordance with their preferences. Individual risk assessments included information on how to manage and reduce identified risks.

Children and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care. They were also involved in approving their care and support staff before they were assigned to work with them.

Regular surveys of views of the service had taken place. These showed high levels of satisfaction. Processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

The provider undertook a range of audits to check on the quality of care provided. These were reviewed by the management team and actions had been taken to address any concerns.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated Good (Report published 7 September 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on our rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to inspect as part of our re-inspection programme.

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