The inspection for The Reynard Care and Support Agency took place on the 19 and 20 November 2018. The inspection was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice because we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available for the inspection. It also allowed us to arrange to speak with people receiving the service.

Reynard's Care and Support Agency is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Currently they provide support exclusively to learners at what was, the independent college Foxes Academy based on the seafront in Minehead. In September 2017 Foxes Academy and Reynard's Care and Support Agency was bought by Aurora and now, although they are both independent of each other they do form part of the Aurora Group. Foxes Academy is a specialist catering college and training hotel for young adults with learning disabilities. (Rated as Outstanding when inspected by Ofsted in September 2018.) Foxes emphasises the importance of learners developing independence whilst at the college and progressing into work or further training.

This inspection focused only on the care and support delivered by Reynard's Care and Support Agency, and not any of the work delivered by Foxes Academy, which is not regulated by CQC.

Staff at Reynard's Care and Support Agency work in partnership with the teaching and residential staff to enable learners to maximise their potential and obtain maximum benefit from the time they spend at Foxes. Reynard’s care and support staff help with people's daily personal care routines, support them if they became unwell and promote healthy living by assisting people to manage their own health.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good

People and their relatives told us they trusted staff and felt safe when staff came to their house to support them. One person told us, “Yes, I am with people who are looking out for me”. Policies in relation to safeguarding and whistleblowing reflected local procedures and relevant contact information.

Staff demonstrated a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and knew who to inform if they witnessed or had an allegation of abuse reported to them. Systems were in place to identify and reduce the risks to people living in the home. People's care plans included risk assessments. These documents provided staff with a clear description of any risks and guidance on the support people needed to manage these risks.

There were enough staff available to meet people's needs and to keep them safe. A robust recruitment and selection process was in place and staff had been subject to criminal record checks before starting work at the service.

Systems were in place that showed people's medicines were managed consistently and safely by staff. Policies and procedures were available for staff. Staff had competency checks and training provided on induction. People were protected by staff who followed good infection control practices and staff knew the reporting process for any accidents or incidents.

The provider had appropriate systems in place to assess people’s needs and choices. There were copies of pre-admission assessments on people’s files. People said the staff were well trained and that they did a good job. The new provider, Aurora had an extensive training programme. Training was delivered using methods such as face to face and on-line learning.

Staff had regular one to one supervision and we saw annual appraisals in staff files.

Staff worked successfully with healthcare services to ensure people

This inspection was announced and took place on 7 and 8 June 2016. It was the first inspection of the service which was registered in April 2013. We gave the provider short notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure they were available so that we were able to access records, talk to staff and gain permission from people who used the agency to visit or talk to them.

Reynard’s Care and Support Agency is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Currently they provide support exclusively to learners at the independent college Foxes Academy based on the seafront in Minehead. Foxes Academy is a specialist catering college and training hotel for young adults with learning disabilities. (Rated as Outstanding when inspected by Ofsted in 2013.) Foxes emphasises the importance of learners developing independence whilst at the college and progressing into work or further training.

This inspection was of the care and support agency and not any other work of the academy which is not regulated by us.

Staff at Reynard’s Care and Support Agency work with the teaching and residential staff to enable learners to maximise their potential and obtain maximum benefit from the time they spend at Foxes. Care and support staff provided daily support with people’s daily personal care routines and supported them if they became unwell. They also undertook regular health monitoring designed to promote healthy living and assist people to manage their own health. Staff accompanied people when they visited the GP or hospital appointments if this was required.

There was 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.The registered manager had been in post for three years. The responsible individual for the service was involved with the service on a daily basis and was responsible for safeguarding and quality assurance aspects of the service.

The registered manager showed enthusiasm for wanting to provide the best level of care and support possible. Staff had the same ethos and enthusiasm and this showed in the way they spoke about people and interacted with them.

People told us they felt safe with staff who supported them. Reynard’s staff communicated and co-operated with residential and teaching staff to protect people from bullying, harassment and avoidable harm.

There were sufficient staff employed to ensure people received care according to their assessed needs. People told us staff were reliable and arrived at the correct time and were able to give them their specified support. Staff told us the system of allocation of staff and rotas worked and they had enough time with people.

Staff knew and understood people and provided the right balance of support and promotion of independence. Staff told us their aim was to help prepare people for the time when they would leave the academy, so assisting them to develop their ability to care for themselves as much as possible was important.

People were supported to take medicines when appropriate. There was an emphasis on people being as independent as possible and the understanding that people who initially needed prompting and guidance may eventually be completely self-managing with regard to their own medicines.

The provider’s staff recruitment procedures helped to minimise risks to people who received a service. Thorough staff induction and on-going supervision ensured people received effective care and support. Staff said the registered manager was approachable and always willing to listen to them. They said they “wouldn’t worry or hesitate about discussing anything.”

Staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staf