ROC Support Network

Updated 12 November 2021

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 14 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the owner, the nominated individual, registered manager, operational managers and care workers. We sent questionnaires out to all staff and received 10 responses.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with three professionals who regularly visited or had contact with the service and sought further views from parents.

Updated 12 November 2021

About the service

ROC Support Network provides short breaks for children and young people with disabilities, and their parents and carers. The service is delivered in people’s homes, in the community or at an indoor centre. At the time of our inspection the service was being delivered to 23 children.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

ROC Support Network continued to provide an outstanding service. There was an exceptionally strong culture of care led by a passionate provider and managers which ran through the service. Staff felt cared for by the managers which motivated them to provide the best care for people. Parents also felt cared about and recognised the trust they had in staff which afforded them opportunities to do the essential tasks in their daily lives such as go shopping, have time with their children or take their dog for a walk.

Children, young people and their families and carers were assisted by a committed, well supported staff team. Staff worked with families to achieve individual goals with children and young people. Their achievements were well documented using photographs put together in scrapbooks so memories could be shared and revisited.

Families were supported by staff who understood how to protect children and young people from harm. Professionals were greatly appreciative of the ability of staff to form working relationships with families which prevented children and young people being subject to child protection procedures and/or requiring foster care. The behaviour of children and young people as described by their parents and carers when the staff arrived, showed they looked forward to their time with the staff and clearly felt very safe with them.

People's assessed needs were effectively met by well-trained staff. Risks to children and young people associated with their care and support had been assessed in great detail. Staff members understood these risks and negotiated with parents around new activities for their children, to enable children and young people to take positive risks, grow and develop.

Children and young people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this approach.

People's privacy and dignity was always supported. Staff ensured children and young people were listened to and their wishes promoted. The service had recently been awarded the Investors In Children gold award. The award is for organisations which support and encourage children and young people to participate in the decisions which affected them. The voices of children and young people were listened to and acted upon.

Staff showed people true compassion and great empathy for families who found themselves in lockdown with autistic children and young people requiring structure and education at home. Parents were supported to provide the essential routine and structure for their children whilst staff ensured children and young people continued with their learning. Parents described staff as going the extra mile and not being able to function through the pandemic without the staff.

Staff took a person-centred approach to infection, prevention and control by working with families to meet their unique circumstances. Staff were tested in line with government guidance and provided with the required personal protective equipment (PPE).

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Right support:

• Care and support was negotiated in detail with families according to their needs, wishes and personal choices. The support was adapted as needs changed. Parents, carers and siblings of children and young people with autism and learning disabilities derived significant benefits from the service.

Right care:

• The well-being of children, young people, their parents and carers was enhanced by the service. Staff went the extra mile to meet people's needs. The service recognised and promoted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children and young people were afforded their human rights.

Right culture:

• The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the provider, the managers and care staff ensured children and young were empowered to learn and grow in confidence. Parents, children and families were empowered to achieve their goals.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

The service was exceptionally well-led by managers who were very proactive in addressing the needs of staff and the people who used the service. They ensured staff were well supported and competent to carry out their roles. Staff echoed the comments made by one member of staff who said, “I have never worked somewhere that is so passionate about the families they support and the workers.” Support of the staff team was of the utmost importance to the managers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when they had been asked to put themselves at risk.

Governance systems were highly effective. The provider had methods in place to encourage children, young people, their parents and carers to contribute to the service, provide feedback and learn lessons. All feedback was welcomed.

There were excellent working relationships with other professionals who valued the work of the service in supporting families and paid tribute to their skills.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was outstanding. (Report published November 2019)

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated good and outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for ROC Support Network on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.