JMT Young Adult Placement Adult Placement Service Unit 3a Alba Pavilions Alba Business Centre Livingston EH54 7HG Telephone: 01506 407340 Type of inspection: Announced (short notice) Inspection completed on: 30 June 2017 Service provided by: JMT Care Services Ltd Service provider number: SP2009010327 Care service number: CS2009233415
About the service JMT Young Adult Placement service was registered in 2010 and currently provides a service to three young adults. All of them have lived with these carers for a number of years under the support of JMT Fostering Service. Although JMT Young Adult Placement service has its own policies and procedures the service is closely linked to JMT fostering. The same staff, manager, approval panel, board of directors, carers, support groups and training are accessed. We have not identified any differences in qualities or areas for improvement during this inspection therefore we have provided one narrative on the quality of the service for both reports. What people told us We spoke with four carers during this inspection and had access to documentary evidence of other feedback provided to the service. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive with an emphasis on the support provided by key staff and the relationships developed by these staff with carers and young people. Self assessment No self assessment was requested in this inspection year. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good 6 - Excellent not assessed What the service does well Evidence of positive outcomes for those using the service was compelling. Giving children and young people a sense of belonging in families was the most consistent finding. We were also satisfied that there was good evidence of: improved health of children and young people; engagement and achievement in education and employment; and the development of enduring relationships between carers and children. We felt that the following strengths in relation to care and support and staffing were significant in achieving these outcomes and would be important in sustaining the progress this service has made. The relationships between agency staff and carers - we found that the size of the service and their ability to retain staff meant that relationships between agency staff and carers were very good. There was a genuine respect for each other and the added element of having supported carers through assessment and difficult caring experiences meant that these relationships were close. Staff visit carers regularly and communication is very good. Support offered to carers - The level of support from individual staff members is excellent and we heard time and time again examples of staff going the extra mile. We heard of a coherent range of group support and development opportunities available to carers and plans to develop this further. Support groups are well page 2 of 6
functioning and valued by the carers. We also heard of supports from across the larger organisation with a specific mention of psychological services support. The commitment and motivation of staff - this remains a key strength of the service and is evidenced by the retention of staff and the overwhelmingly positive feedback we had from carers and staff themselves. Staff want to work in this team and are ambitious for themselves, carers and the children and young people they look after. The support given to staff - JMT clearly value the staff team and excels in providing the informal and informal supports which evidently ensure that staff feel well looked after. We would highlight the value of the team meeting in bringing together a staff group who are geographically some distance apart. A culture of openness gives the workspace a dynamic edge and ensures that staff feel valued for the knowledge that they bring and there is always someone available to talk if you need it. We also felt that the appointment to senior posts has also recognised the value of developing formal leadership roles across the team in addition to the informal opportunities for all staff to take a lead in specific areas. What the service could do better We identified only minor areas for improvement, including some raised by the service themselves during the inspection, but we found that these were not adversely affecting the quality of care and support at this time. Learning from unplanned endings - we found some evidence of unplanned endings to placements and were able to discuss these with staff. Where placements have ended, relationships have ended and children and young people have therefore had an increase in placements. Not all endings were formally reviewed by the service. We understood the reasoning for these moves but would ask that the service formally analyse all unplanned endings to ensure that learning is maximised from individual circumstances to inform assessment and matching in the future. The supervision and appraisal of panel members - this remains outstanding and we look forward to hearing how this has been fully implemented by the time of the next inspection. In relation to the panel we also heard of plans for there to be further joint training days including panel members which would also include an opportunity for the panel to clarify the role of the panel. Further lead roles for staff - these have been an effective way of taking forward specific developments/areas of interest (for example, training for carers, continuing care) and we would encourage this practice with the suggestion that another outstanding element of service development (outcomes reporting) is taken forward in the coming year. Finally, this service has significant experience of providing continuous placements for young people who are no longer 'looked after' but want to remain with their carers. JMT have worked in partnership with various local authorities to ensure these transitions are seamless and practice in this area has been exemplary. The service has made great efforts to get a clear understanding of new legislation related to 'continuing care' and how this is variously implemented across the country. We would encourage the service to continue with this effort and continue to advocate on the behalf of young people affected. This will include highlighting issues with relevant authorities and playing a part in shaping policy. page 3 of 6
Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 22 Jun 2016 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 7 Aug 2015 Announced (short notice) Care and support Management and leadership 13 Jun 2014 Announced (short notice) Care and support Management and leadership 8 Aug 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support Management and leadership 14 Jun 2012 Announced (short notice) Care and support page 4 of 6
Date Type Gradings Management and leadership 26 Aug 2010 Announced Care and support Management and leadership page 5 of 6
To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @careinspect Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 6 of 6