All inspections: Beaumont College - Care Quality Commission

This was an unannounced inspection on the 30 September 2014.

Beaumont College and Scope Inclusion North West offers both residential and day programmes to students at the College. The students are aged between 18 and 25 with a broad range of physical and learning disabilities.

The service was last inspected in January 2014, they met the requirements of the regulations we looked at during that inspection.

There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

All staff members we spoke with were positive about their work with the students and how care and support was provided to the people who lived at the college. They all said they were well supported by the management team. Comments from staff included, “Fantastic manager you can approach him at any time of the day or night if you have an issue.” Also, “Cannot fault the support and care given by everyone.”

Each person who lived at the college had an allocated member of staff known as a keyworker. This enabled the students and their families to have a named person who worked with them closely to ensure care and support was provided as determined by the person and their families. One student said, “It’s really helpful to have good staff around.” Care records of people told us if their needs changed their care plans would be reassessed and updated to ensure they received the support they needed. People who lived at the college told us they were involved in decisions about their care and were supported by staff to make choices as part of their daily life.

We found that staff were well supported to carry out their role and had regular formal supervision meetings with their line manager. These sessions included a personal development plan (PDP) meeting. This enabled staff to discuss any training or additional support they may need to continue their personal development and improve the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. We discussed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), with the registered manager. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is legislation designed to protect people who are unable to make decisions for themselves and to ensure that any decisions are made in people’s best interests. (DoLS) are part of this legislation and ensures where someone may be deprived of their liberty, the least restrictive option is taken.

The registered manager demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the legislation as laid down by the Mental Capacity Act and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. We found they were up to date with current guidance and how it relates to their service.

We discussed with staff and the management team how the service was being staffed and looked at staff training. All staff we spoke with said there was enough staff around to provide support and spend as much time as needed with people on a one to one basis. One staff member said, “We are fortunate to have access to a range of staff with different skills. We are able to spend time with students on a one to one basis.” All staff told us access to training was very good and the management team constantly arranged training to support staff in their roles.

We observed in every classroom that we went into, a ratio of at least one staff member to two students with complex needs and in some cases it was individual support. The staff ratios are based on the assessed student need, additional staff can be called on where needed

Suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. People told us they felt safe. The service had safeguards in place for people who may be unable to make decisions about their care and support. The provider had developed a booklet, ‘Safeguarding Complaints Information’ This document was in picture format and explained the processes to follow should students wish to raise a concern. One student said, “It certainly explains what to do if I wanted to report any abuse.”

During the inspection visit we saw examples of where the registered manager and staff had tried innovative methods to offer practical solutions to meet people’s needs. Students told us they were consistently involved in making decisions about all areas of their support. Comments included, “All the staff are really good at keeping us up to date with what’s happening at the college. Also, “A great place to be.”

Documentation we looked at and discussions with the management team found there to be systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided. The registered manager and provider consistently assessed, audited and monitored the quality of care and support provided to the students. Independent achievement awards had been awarded to the service for the outstanding performance of the service.

Quality assurance systems involved all people who had a contribution in developing the service. For example student surveys were conducted annually. These were analysed by the registered manager and any negative comments that required attention would be acted upon. All surveys that we saw contained wholly positive comments. One comment included, “A truly excellent place so glad I came here.”

On this inspection we looked at the college residential provision in the main. There were 56 residential students, as well as day students attending Beaumont College when we inspected. Students were usually enrolled at the college for between one and three years. Residential students only stayed at the college during term time, returning to the family home for their holidays.

We spent time observing how staff interacted with students. We also talked with students and staff. Some students had limited verbal communication and were unable to converse with us in depth. To help us understand their experiences of staying at Beaumont College we observed the care they received and the interaction by staff.

We observed students being treated with respect and dignity. Staff were friendly, polite and encouraging. Students told us that the staff were nice and helpful. One student told us, 'The staff are fantastic.' Another student said, 'I love it here, we do so much.'

Person centred care records were in place providing information about the students. These were updated frequently. They showed that students were involved in deciding about their care and support and any future plans.

Most meals were cooked by the catering team and served either in the restaurant or the dining rooms on the residential areas. The restaurant was open from morning to evening, with a range of healthy options, vegetarian and special diets. We saw staff assisting and encouraging students with their meals as needed. They were attentive and supported the students appropriately. A wide range of aids and adaptations were available to support students to eat as safely and independently as possible.

Beaumont College was maintained and decorated for the comfort of the students attending the college. There were comfortable communal areas on the residential areas. Bedrooms were personalised according to students' wishes. Maintenance records were in place showing that regular safety checks were carried out.

The college was staffed well enough to provide students with individual and group activities. We saw there were enough staff to assist students as they wanted and in the way they needed. During the inspection staff responded quickly and sensitively to any requests for assistance.

The students we spoke with were clear that they knew how to complain if they were unhappy with the support they received. They told us that they were able to make their feelings known to staff and staff acted on any complaints.

We looked at the service received by students using the College and also by people living in the community that received domiciliary support from the organisation. As part of our inspection of the domiciliary service, telephone discussions were held with users of the service or their relatives. Comments were generally very positive.

We spoke individually with three students and a number of staff including the registered manager, support workers, nurses employed by the service, a speech and language specialist and the domiciliary care coordinator.

We asked students and the relatives spoken with if they felt people using the service were respected and involved. One student interview communicated to us by using an I-Pad communication devise. This person told us, 'I have always felt respected here. I have been given independent living skills by the College, especially around speaking up for myself. The college has met my intellectual needs. I mix with other students here and I think they are all happy, I see no signs of disrespect or abuse'.

One parent, speaking in respect of Scope Inclusion that supported her daughter in the community told us, 'We as parents had to be sure that our daughter was happy and properly supported - and we felt Scope Inclusion did this. They respect her in terms of her ability not just her disability. They have great knowledge of her personal non-verbal communication. Our daughter can now make it clear what she does and does not want to do'.

In this college environment we refer to people using services as students.

There were approximately 60 young people who were residential students at Beaumont College when we visited.

We spoke with eight students in-depth in one to one interviews. We also spoke with many students as we went around the college and also with a small group of students together. They told us:

'I am independent'. 'I get to say what's in my care plan.'

'We get a lot of support actually, anything we want to do they try and help us do it, they are very good, we are lucky.'

'I think it is great being here, the staff are really good at their job and they are very nice, without them we would not be able to do all this stuff.'

'We go out when we want to go out. I like the computer evening sessions, going for pizza, and the cinema.'

'I love spending time hanging around with my mates in the college, going out on Saturday. I've been skiing in Manchester.'

Archived: Beaumont College

All Inspections

30 September 2014

During a routine inspection

22 January 2014

During a routine inspection

13 February 2013

During a routine inspection

18 January 2012

During a themed inspection looking at Learning Disability Services