Oxfordshire Children - Young People & Families

Oxfordshire Children- Young People & Families provides a home care service to children under the age of 18 years old. The children and young people had a range of needs including learning and physical disabilities and health conditions. At the time of the inspection 36 children and young people were receiving personal care support from the service.

People's experience of using this service:

The service met the characteristics of Good in four areas and Outstanding in Caring, making it overall a rating of Good; more information is in the full report. Children and young people continued receiving a safe and exceptionally caring service from Oxfordshire Children- Young People & Families.

We received positive feedback from parents and professionals on how staff had developed caring relationships with children and young people. Parents said their child or young person looked forward to seeing staff, which we saw evidence of during the inspection. One parent told us, "They're [staff] absolutely brilliant." Staff supported the same children and young people in order to provide regular consistent care and support. We heard of many examples of where staff went over and above what was expected of them to ensure children and young people were safe, comfortable and enjoyed the time they spent with staff.

The registered manager was excellent in managing the service and was proactive in recruiting staff of a high calibre who could support children and young people appropriately. Where there had been some challenges in offering the fully allocated amount of support to children and young people, parents were made aware of this issue and steps were being taken to recruit new staff.

The registered manager ensured lessons were learnt where appropriate to improve the service further. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place which were used to drive improvement.

Children and young people's needs were assessed and their needs recorded in very detailed support plans. These guided staff on how best to support the child or young person. Children and young people continued to be supported by staff that had the right skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles effectively. Staff told us they were well supported by the management team and received training relevant to the children and young people they visited.

Children and young people knew how to complain and complaints were dealt with in line with the provider's complaints policy.