The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: The Old School

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

The Old School, 16 School Hill, Irchester, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN29 7AN (01933) 316852

Provided and run by:
Professional Care Systems Limited

All Inspections

8 January 2016

During an inspection looking at part of the service

During our inspection in August 2015, we found that mandatory training was not always up to date for staff working at the service. There was little in the way of specialist training specific to the needs of people using the service. This was in breach of Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2010 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Following the inspection the provider sent us an action plan detailing the improvements they were going to make, and stating that improvements would be achieved by the end of September 2015.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the outstanding breach of regulation. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘The Old School’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

The Old School provides respite care for up to four people with a learning disability. There were four people using the service during our inspection.

The inspection was announced and took place on 8 January 2016.

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.

During this inspection, we found that improvements had been made in respect of the systems to overview staff training. Staff had received core training and records had been updated to show when training was next due.

While improvements had been made we have not revised the rating for this key question; to improve the rating to ‘Good’ would require a longer term track record of consistent good practice. We will review our rating for effective at the next comprehensive inspection.

27 and 28 August 2015

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on 27 and 28 August 2015 and was announced.

The Old School provides respite care for up to four people with a learning disability. There were four people using the service on the second day of our visit.  

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.

Mandatory training was not always up to date for staff working at the service. There was little in the way of specialist training specific to the needs of people using the service.

Staff were able to describe the different types of abuse and the reporting procedures. They knew how to recognise signs of abuse and how to use the whistleblowing procedure.

We saw that risk assessments were in place and staff told us how they used the risk assessments to reduce identified risks and protect people from harm.

We found there were sufficient numbers of staff working at the service to support people with their individual needs. Robust recruitment procedures were in place.

Systems were in place to make sure people's medicines were stored, administered and recorded safely and correctly.

People’s consent to care and treatment was sought in line with current legislation. Staff and the registered manager were aware of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

We saw that people were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts of food and drink. We observed during the evening meal that when extra support was required, staff provided it in a discreet and dignified manner.

Staff and relatives told us that the staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments if necessary and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required.

We observed staff communicating effectively with people, responding to their needs promptly and treating them with kindness and compassion.

We saw that people were able to spend private time in quiet areas when they chose to. We observed staff maintaining people’s privacy and dignity.

Staff were caring, friendly and helpful. They were aware of the life histories of people they cared for and were knowledgeable about their likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests. This enabled staff to engage better with the people who used the service and provide support in a more personalised way.

People were supported to take part in meaningful activities and pursue hobbies and interests during their respite stay.

People were encouraged to voice their opinions about the service through the use of communication books, satisfaction surveys and regular communication. This enabled them to influence the running of the service and the care they received.

A variety of quality audits were completed by the registered manager on a monthly basis. This ensured that any shortcomings were identified and addressed quickly so that people received the care appropriate to them.

People, relatives and staff were positive about the leadership provided by the registered manager.

We identified that the provider was not meeting the regulatory requirements and was in breach of one of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

22 November 2013

During a routine inspection

During our inspection visit to 'The Old School' we spoke with four people who had arrived to have respite care at the home. We spoke with two relatives of people receiving respite care and the registered manager and the owners of the service.

Two of the four people using the service were able to communicate with us verbally and told us that they were happy with the care provided by staff. One person told us 'I like coming here and staff are very nice'. Another person said 'I help bake cakes and we also go shopping'. They also told us they knew how to make a complaint and would speak to the staff or their parents. The other two people were not able to verbally communicate with us due to communication difficulties. However they used body language, facial expressions and different sounds to tell us that they were happy with the care they received and were well looked after by all the staff.

We spoke with two relatives of two people using the service. They told us that they were very happy with the respite care provided by 'The Old School' and the place was homely and pleasantly decorated.

Throughout our visit we observed people using the service had good relationships with the staff and were included in what was happening in the home. We also saw staff speak to people in a dignified and kind manner

We found the provider had systems in place to meet people's health and welfare needs. We also found that there were enough staff to meet people's needs. We saw that the provider had a complaints system in place to ensure that any complaints raised were handled appropriately.

13 February 2013

During a routine inspection

On the day of the inspection visit we spoke with two young people using the service. One person told us that they were having introductory tea visits at the home so they could meet staff and other people using the service. This was to help them decide if they wanted to have respite care at the home. They stated that the 'home is lovely and we had nice food for dinner' and that they liked the home and wanted to come for respite care.

Another person told us that they had regular respite care at the home and said 'I am happy here and the staff are very nice to me'. They said that they liked the individual one to one support provided by staff who went out shopping with them. They also told us that they would tell the manager 'if I am not happy' and that the manager listened to their concerns. They said that they had no complaints to make as the staff looked after them well.

One relative we spoke with told us that their family member was having tea visits before they stayed overnight to help them get to know the home and staff better.

25 November 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

Although we had no specific concerns, we carried out this review because we had not visited the service since 23 June 2008. We spoke to some people's relatives and we were told that they were happy with the care provided by the home. We were told that it was good to have places like The Old School, which provided respite care for their family member, and gave them a break. They also told us that their family member enjoyed having respite care at the home. The manager and the staff were described as being very caring and professional, and nothing was too much trouble for them.

24 November 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

Although we had no specific concerns, we carried out this review because we had not visited the service since 23 June 2008. We spoke to some people's relatives and we were told that they were happy with the care provided by the home. We were told that it was good to have places like The Old School, which provided respite care for their family member, and gave them a break. They also told us that their family member enjoyed having respite care at the home. The manager and the staff were described as being very caring and professional, and nothing was too much trouble for them.