6 January 2015
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on 6 January 2015 and was an announced inspection.
The Fun and Breaks (FAB) service provides short breaks for children and young people with a range of disabilities, for example, autism, physical and/or learning disability and communication difficulties, from birth to the age of 18 years. The service is for disabled children who are in receipt of middle or high rate Disability Living Allowance. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is money for children who have care needs or mobility needs. It is run by West Sussex County Council and receives additional funding from government. Volunteers are recruited to provide support for children either at their family home or out in the community. They will volunteer for at least two hours per week and, apart from expenses, are unpaid. Volunteers are trained by the service. The short breaks provided to children or young people enables families to spend time together away from the child, for example, as a couple or with their other children. Additionally, it enables the child to become more independent and confident as they are supported by their volunteer in the community.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
Relatives felt their family members were safe as they were supported by volunteers on a short break. Risks were assessed so that volunteers knew how to look after children and young people. Any accidents or incidents were reported formally through the completion of diary sheets after every short break. Volunteers knew about safeguarding procedures, what to do if they suspected abuse was happening and had received child protection training. Safe recruitments practices were followed and all necessary checks had been undertaken when new volunteers were recruited, to ensure they were safe to work with children and young people. Volunteers carried information about the child they supported when they were out in the community. This enabled them to share vital information to be shared with the emergency services, should this be required. Volunteers did not administer medicines as this was not their responsibility.
Volunteers were carefully matched with families, children and young people. The service established the preferences, likes and dislikes of the child or young person and then looked at the profile of new volunteers to see who would work best together. When volunteers were matched with families, they agreed together the number of hours’ support and when it would be convenient to have a short break. Volunteers received training as part of their induction programme and this was refreshed annually. They received regular one to one meetings throughout the year from the registered manager, either face to face, by ‘phone or through email. The registered manager had also received training that was relevant to her role. Consent to care was provided by family carers, since the children and young people using the service, were under the age of consent.
Positive, caring relationships had been developed between the volunteers, the children or young people and their families. These relationships were developed slowly so that people had time to get to know each other. The child or young person was part of the process and they made choices about how they wanted to spend the time with their volunteer.
Short breaks were organised either in the family home or outside in the community. Children and young people were interested in being supported in a variety of activities, for example, visiting a garden centre to see the animals, attending a karate class or having a meal at McDonalds. Volunteers’ interests and hobbies were matched with the interests of the child. Care plans were drawn up that provided information about the child to enable the volunteer to deliver appropriate support. These plans were reviewed regularly with families. Complaints were dealt with in line with the provider’s policy and addressed promptly. No formal complaints had been made recently.
The registered manager had sent out questionnaires to families, children and young people. Feedback was positive and the results had been analysed and outcomes acted upon. The service sent out a newsletter every six months which provided updates about the service and useful contacts. Events were held for volunteers to thank them for their contribution; events were held for parents and carers too. Steering groups were organised where volunteers, parents and carers could feedback any issues to local authority representatives. Registered managers from the other FAB schemes in the county met regularly and the service worked in partnership with relevant professionals, organisations and charities.