Action for Children West Lothian Outreach Housing Support Housing Support Service

Transcription

1 Action for Children West Lothian Outreach Housing Support Housing Support Service Unit 4 & 5 Delta House Carmondean Livingston EH54 8PT Telephone: Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 16 September 2016 Service provided by: Action for Children Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS

2 About the service This service was registered with the Care Inspectorate on 5 May Action for Children West Lothian Outreach Housing Support provides a housing support service to young people living in the community within West Lothian. It is operated by Action for Children, a registered charity. The service operates all year round, daily, evenings and weekends. The service is aimed at young people who are 16 years of age and up till their 25th birthday. The service aims statement includes. "The overarching aim and objective of the West Lothian Young People Housing Support Service is to prevent homelessness or repeat homelessness. This will be achieved by supporting young people via the provision of time limited housing support and assistance as outlined in the Housing Support Regulations 2012 and associated guidance. This service should be designed to maximise young people independence and generate living skills so that young people are effective citizens, neighbours, tenants and live independently." What people told us During this inspection we spoke with two young people who were receiving a support from the service. They told us they were very happy with the support they received. Comments included: "They are really supportive to me, they helped me above and beyond what they needed to do" "They are amazing. I have now got my own place. They are great, I don't know what I would have done without them" We also received four completed 'Care Standard Questionaries' (CSQs) which we gave to the service to give to service users in order to get their views. Responses to the CSQs were very positive. All four people who responded strongly agreed with the statement: 'Overall I am happy with the quality of care and support the service gives me' In addition we spoke with six professionals who work alongside the service. All of them were very positive about the staff and management and how they work with young people to support them in their tenancies. page 2 of 7

3 Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self assessment from the provider. The provider identified what it thought the service did well and gave examples of improvement. The self assessment clearly identified some key areas that the provider thought could be improved and showed how the service intended to do this. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection All of the service users had a clear and current support plan which identified their needs and the tasks to be carried out by the support worker. We saw that they used a variety of worksheets to help young people focus and prioritise their needs. From this support workers and service users identified the desired outcomes and developed strategies to help young people to achieve. We saw that support plans were written with sensitivity and focused on promoting independence and self esteem. Comprehensive risk assessments identified approaches to minimise risk in order to help keep everyone safe. Some of the paperwork from the files was located elsewhere. When we asked questions the manager quickly produced the paperwork. We suggested that a note should be put in the file to identify paperwork being updated. Regular reviews helped to ensure that all of the people involved knew their individual tasks. They provided an opportunity to acknowledge achievement and identify changes to strategy. We saw that many of the young people using the service had made substantial progress in sustaining their tenancy and achieving independence. The service worked closely with other agencies to provide group sessions where young people could learn new skills and form friendships. Newsletters helped to keep young people informed of events, provided useful hints and tips and offered opportunity to express views about the service. A comprehensive welcome pack told young people what they could expect from the service, explained young people's rights and responsibilities and provided useful addresses and telephone numbers. We spoke with some agencies who worked alongside the service. They were all very positive about the service and told us that they had "contributed to young people having positive experiences". They told us that the staff at West Lothian Outreach Housing Support, "persevered because they understood that this is what it will take to help these young people". They told us "The staff group in the service appear to be able to quickly form, and maintain, good working relationships with some of our young people, and I believe that this is a direct result of their refusal to 'give-up' on the young people" page 3 of 7

4 Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of staffing Findings from the inspection The staff we met during the inspection presented as knowledgeable about the needs of the young people and were committed to supporting them in very practical and systematic ways. We saw evidence that enough staff were available to meet the needs of the young people in line with the commitment to the authorities funding the service. We heard that the whole staff were flexible and whenever possible continued to provide support to young people when staff were absent. We saw that robust recruitment procedures verified the suitability of staff in order to safeguard young people. Established induction arrangements meant that staff were clear and confident about their role in supporting young people. All staff were appropriately qualified to carry out their work and to be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). A well maintained training file evidenced that staff had participated in training opportunities on a variety of topics relevant to their work with young people. Staff had access to a range of appropriate policies and procedures to inform their practice such as whistle blowing and codes of practice. Staff meetings were well attended and were used to discuss practice issues and current themes. They offered staff an opportunity to get together to support one another and exchange knowledge and expertise. We found that staff had regular one to one supervision with their manager where they discussed case work and personal development. Staff told us that supervision helped them to focus on the tasks with young people and offered a private space to reflect on their practice. Young people told us that the staff were approachable and helpful. They said that they had formed good relationships with their support worker and that they were respectful and sensitive. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 4 of 7

5 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection We saw that very good management processes were in place and the manager was confident in her role. The manager had a significant presence within the service and was readily accessible to young people and staff. The manager appropriately delegated tasks and individual pieces of work to staff in order to support their development and promote leadership skills. Audit systems were in place and had begun to have an impact on service development and improvement. This had included consultation with stakeholders and young people. When areas for development were identified, an action plan was put in place and actions taken within a three month period. The staff we spoke with during the inspection told us they felt supported by the management team. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at or since the last inspection Previous requirements There are no outstanding requirements. page 5 of 7

6 What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection Previous recommendations There are no outstanding recommendations. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 6 of 7

7 To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Find us on Facebook Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 7 of 7