We carried out an inspection on the 22nd January 2014 and found the provider in breach of Regulation 9 HSCA 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2010. The provider was not taking proper steps to ensure that each young person was protected against the risks of receiving care or treatment that was inappropriate or unsafe. This was because they did not have care plans or risk assessments available for all young people who used the service.

On the 10th March 2014 we received an action plan confirming that the provider had taken action to become compliant with Regulation 9 HSCA 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2010.

At the time of this inspection the provider was providing a service to three people, two children under ten, and a young adult. They were providing a ‘respite’ service and not providing any personal care to these people at this time.

We looked at all three care records and spoke to relatives of people who use the service, one support worker, the acting manager and the chair of trustees during our inspection. We found that the provider had taken appropriate action and updated all care records. Relatives told us that they had been involved in the assessment and care planning process and that a copy of their child’s care plan and risk assessments was kept in the home. People told us, "I am always informed of what is going on" and "The care is excellent, I don’t have to worry when I am not around."

The registered manager whose name appears in this report is no longer in post; the current operations manager told us that she is currently applying for registration.

Parents we spoke with said, that staff were great at motivating and getting the young people out of the home and taking part in lots of different activities and mixing more with the local community. We found that people were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement.

Although the provider had a detailed needs assessment for each young child, they did not have a care planning system in place, which may have put young people at foreseeable risk.

We spoke with staff, who all confirmed they had received safeguarding training and understood the categories of abuse, such as neglect, physical and emotional abuse. Parents that we spoke with confirmed their children were safe with the staff. One relative said, “it’s all worked out well my daughter is safe with her worker.”

We spoke with three staff members, all felt supported by the provider and said they could contact the office or visit any time if they needed to discuss concerns. All the parents we spoke said staff were young and energetic and could relate to the young people in their care.

We saw the provider was not auditing any areas of the service. The provider explained that they did review care and were in constant contact with parents and carers to ensure they were happy with the care they were receiving. We saw some evidence that this was occurring in young people notes. We discussed this with the provider who agreed to start formally auditing the service.