Ryedale Special Families

Inspection site visit activity started on 6 March 2018 and finished on 20 March 2018 and was announced. At the time of this inspection, the service was providing support to 34 people.

Ryedale Special Families is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation(CIO) and was developed in 1990 by families of children with a learning disability. They were previously registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at Welburn Hall School, near Kirbymoorside before moving to their current location. Following this, there was a change in the charity organisation, and in April 2017 they re-registered with CQC, therefore this was the first inspection of the service.

There was a manager in post who had registered with the Care Quality Commission. They assisted throughout the inspection process.

Safe recruitment processes had been followed. Staff had received appropriate safeguarding training and were familiar with the process they needed to follow if they had any concerns. Assessments had been completed when any risks were identified and these were regularly reviewed with input from parents. Staff had received medicines training and provided effective support in this area. All staff were provided with personal protective equipment to promote good infection control practices.

New staff completed an induction when they joined the service and parents were able to meet new staff before they began to deliver support. People were supported by a regular team of competent staff who had completed extensive training, specific to the needs of people they were supporting. Staff received supported through a regular system of supervisions and team meetings.

Staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act (2005), which would be applicable for some of the older people. However, staff were not responsible for the general welfare of the children or the younger people who lived with their parents or guardians.

Staff had good working relationships with other health professionals and organisations within the local community. Staff were aware of who to contact if they needed professional advice or guidance and this was sourced in a timely manner.

Parents told us, without exception, that people were well cared for. Staff demonstrated a positive regard for what was important and mattered to people and their relatives. Staff and parents were clear the main aim of the service and support provided was to help people to have an excellent quality of life whilst promoting positive risk taking.

Parents confirmed they were actively involved in the planning of people's care. Care plans had been developed which were person-centred and focused on the person as an individual. Parents complemented the commitment of staff and the amount of involvement they had in people's care. There was a complaints policy in place which people and parents received when they joined the service. Parents told us they knew how to make a complaint.

Staff told us the registered manager was approachable, responsive and listened to any ideas for areas of improvement. Staff and parent were asked to provide feedback on the service and were confident any concerns raised would be promptly addressed.

The registered manager utilised a number of quality assurance tools to ensure people were receiving good quality care and support.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found