North East Lincolnshire Council Short Breaks Service (Home and Community Support) is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. They provide care to children and young people who may have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a physical disability or sensory impairment. The care service has been developed in line with the values that underpin the 'Registering the Right Support' and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen - Registering the Right Support CQC policy.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because the overall rating of the service has not changed since the last inspection.

There was a registered manager at the service.

Children and young people, known throughout the report as children were protected from the risk of abuse because staff understood the signs and symptoms of abuse and knew their responsibilities for recording and reporting issues. Risks were managed so that children avoided injury or harm. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet children’s needs, recruitment systems were followed to ensure staff were suitable to support children and the management of medicines and infection control and prevention were safe.

Staff employed were trained and qualified to carry out their roles, they were supervised and received an annual appraisal of their performance. Children were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Children received appropriate support with nutrition and hydration.

Children received compassionate care from kind staff that knew about their needs and preferences. They were supplied with the information they required, were involved in their support plans and asked for their consent before staff undertook any support tasks. Staff respected children’s wellbeing, privacy, dignity and independence.

Parents told us that their children received responsive support from the service, where staff ensured children experienced every opportunity in life. Staff gave of their own time, had boundless patience and extended the service to support parents as well as children. Staff enabled children to have a very happy and fulfilled childhood and youth. Children were supported according to person-centred support plans, which reflected their needs and were regularly reviewed. An effective complaint system was used by parents and carers/guardians of children and complaints were investigated without bias. Children were encouraged to maintain relationships of their choosing with family and friends.

The service was well-led and children had the benefit of both a culture and management style that were positive. An effective system was in place for checking the quality of the service using audits, satisfaction surveys and meetings. Children and their parents made their views known through various methods. Their privacy and confidentiality of information were maintained, as records were held securely on the premises.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

North East Lincolnshire Council Short Break Services ( Home and Community Support) is a domiciliary care agency situated in Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. The registered office is located within a local authority building in a residential area of town. The office is provided on one level, offers access for wheelchair users and has on street car parking space at the front of the premises.

The service provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service supports children and young people up to the age of 18 with a range of conditions including learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder and physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 6 people.

This announced inspection took place on 25 February 2016. The last inspection took place in August 2013 and the service was compliant with all of the areas that we assessed.

The service had 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.

Staff had not received Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 training and had limited understanding of supporting people effectively with decision making when they lacked capacity. We recommended that all staff undertake MCA training to develop their awareness and understanding and ensure they are supporting people within the MCA principles.

The service understood how to keep people safe. There were policies and procedures to guide staff in how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff understood how to report potential abuse and had received training to reinforce their understanding.

A range of risk assessments were in place to minimise risks and ensure the working environments for staff were safe and well maintained. People received support from adequate numbers of staff who had been recruited safely and had received a comprehensive induction when they first joined the service. Staff had completed a range of training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge required to meet people’s assessed needs effectively.

People were referred to appropriate health professionals when there was a change in their needs and staff followed recommendations and guidelines from professionals. There was effective communication in place at the service and staff felt updated and involved with the operation of the service.

People were treated with respect and staff were kind and caring. Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences and demonstrated they understood how to promote peoples independence whilst protecting their privacy and dignity. People who used the service were involved with the planning and delivery of their care. Care plans were reviewed regularly and professional and family members were actively involved in the planning and delivery of care.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident they could raise concerns and they would be addressed in a timely manner. The service completed regular audits to ensure practice remained safe and effective.

Staff felt supported and listened to by the leadership team in place at the service. Staff told us it was a nice place to work and there was a culture of being fair, open and transparent. Staff received regular supervision and attended team meetings to reflect on their practice and enable them to make changes when necessary.

People who used the service were regularly contacted to ask for their views and options of the service. This assisted with the service delivery and identified if and when improvements were needed.

The service provides care and support to five children with complex needs and their parents in their own homes. To obtain their views about the service we spoke with parents over the telephone. The parents spoke very positively about the service they and their child received.

We found children and parents needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. Parents told us they received a consistent and reliable service.

We found there were systems in place to make sure medicines were safely administered. Parents we spoke with told us where staff assisted their child with medicines they had received appropriate training.

We found appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work and there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. Parents told us they liked the staff who assisted their child.

Parents confirmed they had been provided with a copy of the complaints procedure on commencement of the service. They told us they were happy with the service their child received and had no concerns.