Guidance on Quality Standards for the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

Guidance on Quality Standards for the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

Guidance on Quality Standards for the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund February 2013 1

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Measuring quality Measuring quality is important for Voluntary Sector Organisations (VSOs), and offers the following benefits: Benchmarking good practice and supporting continuous improvement across your organisation. Improving the targeting of your services by involving service users, staff and volunteers. Demonstrating outputs and value for money to help your organisation secure additional funding increasingly public sector commissioners award points to organisations that have a quality standard in place. Measuring quality should be seen as a positive opportunity to improve your project or organisation. The HSCVF expects all projects to demonstrate a commitment to measuring quality. This guidance note covers: What is meant by 'quality' How to develop a quality system How to select which quality standards to work towards External quality standards relevant to health and social care VSOs 1.2 Ongoing support Ideally quality systems should be planned during the development of your project, but these can be built upon at any time, and organisations can work towards externally recognised quality standards. Your organisational diagnostic (the 'ODT' is available to local projects only), will identify the development needs of your organisation and help you identify where you should focus your work on quality systems. Additionally, we have provided links to further information see Chapter 5. 2

2.0 Getting started 2.1 What do we mean by 'quality'? The terms 'quality control', 'quality assurance', 'quality mark' 'quality standards' and quality systems are often used interchangeably. Broadly speaking: Quality control is about testing the systems around a particular service. Quality assurance is about improving service standards and ensuring that services are delivered consistently and according to agreed plans. A quality mark is a kite mark or recognised benchmark of a service achieving a certain standard. Quality standards are used to assess or measure key aspects of an organisation, or a specific project or service within an organisation, and are often verified or awarded by external bodies. Quality systems set out the expectations that a quality organisation or service should meet. They range from internal quality systems, to inhouse bespoke standards developed by VSOs networks for their member organisations, through to externally recognised quality standards. Quality systems can focus on a particular project or service, or be applied to your whole organisation. Other terms often associated with quality are: Codes of Practice: similar to quality standards are Codes of Practice which some organisations are expected to sign up to, although they are actually voluntary. For example, some charities subscribe to the Institute of Fundraising Codes of Fundraising Practice, which do not have any statutory authority, but use peer pressure to raise standards of performance and promote public confidence. Inspection agencies and regulatory bodies: inspection regimes are a step on from Codes of Practice. For example, the Care Quality Commission inspects all adult health and social care providers, as well as hospitals and dentists. Ofsted is the official body for inspecting early years and childcare and children and families services, as well as schools and adult learning and skills services. VSOs in the health and social care sector may fall under the inspection regimes of one or both these bodies. The Charity Commission is primarily a regulator rather than an inspection body, which sets out expectations of charities behaviour, especially around governance and reporting; and has also been working to maintain and encourage improvement in standards. 3

2.2 Why is it important to develop a quality system? A robust quality system provides a systematic process for your organisation to continuously reflect - learning, developing and reviewing its practice. A quality system will bring internal and external benefits to your organisation: Internal benefits: provide a framework for ensuring standards and consistency of service delivery benchmark against other organisations set improvement targets and priorities and monitor progress against them support organisational development around clear action plans bring the organisation together as a team and provide opportunities to identify potential problems or ways of working and empower staff and volunteers to address them. External benefits: show positive and measurable outputs and outcomes to funders and commissioners demonstrate value for money to funders and commissioners provide increased credibility with stakeholders. Establishing a quality system often involves working towards an agreed level of performance, or quality standard. However, as a starting point, organisations without nationally recognised standards should develop their own internal quality system. We provide guidance on this below. 2.3 The quality cycle The Charities Evaluation Services describes how assessing and improving quality involves a continuous cycle of reviewing, learning and improving. 1 When you complete the final stage in the cycle, the process begins again. 1 http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/about-performance-improvement/what-is-quality/the-qualitycycle 4

2.4 Establishing a quality working group Careful planning is an essential first step before introducing a quality system to your organisation. We recommend establishing a small quality working group of trustees, staff and volunteers to share the workload and encourage openness. The composition of your working group will be determined by the size of your organisation, but should be led by a named individual. The quality working group should decide: 1. Who will take a lead and manage the activities? 2. Who will be involved and how will they contribute? 3. How will the information gathered through assessment be fed back into decision-making and work processes? 4. How will quality planning be linked to other organisational planning? 5. How will improvements be demonstrated and shared with others? 5

It is important to ring-fence adequate resources to ensure your quality work can be implemented successfully. 2.5 Organisational diagnostics Your organisational diagnostic (ODT) provided by the HSCVF quality developed work will identify and prioritise the development needs of your organisation. These are likely to also be those areas in which you will need to develop or improve your quality measures. Once you have agreed on the areas to be covered by your ODT, these can then be prioritised and built into your quality development work. The action plan resulting from your ODT will support your quality planning work. 6

3.0 Choosing which standards are right for your organisation 3.1 Deciding on the priorities for your quality work Drivers for introducing quality systems to your organisation may include: to gain a better understanding of what is working well and less well, and hence act as a tool for service improvement to raise your organisation's profile and attract more users and volunteers to support tender submissions, funding applications and monitoring reports to showcase organisational performance to stakeholders, funders and potential users to create a shared understanding and approach between organisations within a network to gain external recognition or validation to increase staff motivation. The primary considerations in weighing up the options for your quality work should be: the reasons why you want to introduce a quality system how the quality system sits alongside other management tools the time and staff resources required to apply for and implement different standards, including training for staff the purchase cost of applying for different standards and guidance material, and buying in advice or external assessment and / or accreditation. 3.2 Selecting a quality system Once you have agreed what you hope to achieve from your quality work, the next step is to agree a quality system to aim at. You may decide to develop your own quality system, rather than work towards external standards. In this case, you should conduct self-assessment against external standards, supported by management information (such as data on participation, outputs and outcomes) and internal peer review. These development tools can help your organisation maximise the benefits of 7

implementing a quality system to assist you to move forward. Developing an internal quality framework will add legitimacy and credibility to your organisation, but you would need to work towards an established quality standard to gain external recognition. Therefore, many organisations find it helpful to follow a ready made quality standard or framework. There are a range of national quality standards and awards directly relevant to VSOs in the health and social care sector. These are discussed in Chapter 4. It can be challenging to decide which ones are the most appropriate for your organisation, particularly since your stakeholders may have different priorities for your quality work. The following steps can help your organisation decide which quality standard or quality mark best fits your purposes: Agree with your working group what your organisation is trying to achieve, and the benefits you are looking for Review your organisation's current position, and identify actions for your quality work see section 2.5 Research the range of quality systems that might meet your organisation's needs, or could to adapted to suit your requirements see Chapter 4 Determine the budget available for your quality work, including staff planning and consultancy time and costs associated with gaining an external standard Identify any external support available to you and how you can make best use of it. Tips on implementing a quality system Be aware of staff commitments and workloads if you are expecting a large investment of time from staff, volunteers or board members in smaller organisations. Decide who will be involved at senior management and board level, and how you will monitor and review the process. Communicate across your organisation. A quality improvement system will only work if people within your organisation are committed, which means raising awareness of what you want to achieve and feeding back on progress and outcomes. Check whether any of your funders or commissioners of services require 8

Tips on implementing a quality system or expect you to use particular quality systems and if funders will fund an appropriate proportion of your costs 2. Talk to other similar groups or organisations that are using quality systems. 2 NCVO website http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/strategy-impact/need-support/working-with-funders/fundingand-quality 9

4.0 External quality standards 4.1 Types of quality standards A recent report by NCVO noted that there are quite literally hundreds of quality standards available to VCOs that serve a range of purposes 3. This section introduces some leading quality standards and awards suitable for VCSE organisations working in the health and social care sector. The current range of quality standards and awards falls into two main categories: Externally recognised quality standards Bespoke quality standards developed by VSOs or networks for their member organisations, or for VSOs serving particular client groups or providing particular types of services. Some of these standards are endorsed by independent bodies such as the Charities Evaluation Service and the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Some are open to any appropriate VSOs, whilst others are only available to network members. Your organisation could consider approaching one of these networks to discuss your organisation's suitability to joining their network and working towards their quality standards. 4.2 Quality standards for VSOs in the health and social care sector You need to decide if you want to gain: A standard which validates your organisation as a whole. Within this there are generic standards for any type of organisation, and standards that relate to specific types of organisation only, such as small VSOs or community groups; or A standard aimed at improving the quality of a particular area of your organisation, such as staffing or volunteering; or 3 Scoping Study Quality Assurance in the Voluntary and Community Sector - http://www.ncvovol.org.uk/sites/default/files/big_quality_standards_scoping_research_ncvo_opm_final_up dated_appendix_b.pdf 10

A standard aimed at improving a particular service you provide, such as IAG or advocacy; or A standard aimed at improving services for a particular client group. In practice some standards cover more than one function. The flowchart on page 12 will help you identify which standards you may wish to explore further. All the standards are listed in pages 13 22, alphabetically, within the four types of standard identified in the flowchart. Once you have researched the standards which appear most relevant to you by using the further information links in this guide, the next step would be to contact the providers for initial discussions. 11

Flow Chart on Quality Standards Do you want a standard to cover your whole organisation? NO Do you want a standard to cover a particular part of your organisation? ISO 9001 EFQM Excellence Model You may also wish to consider the following: Staffing: Investors in People Volunteers: Investing in Volunteers Customer Service: Customer Service Excellence Standard NO Do you want a standard to cover a particular service? Are you a Social Enterprise? Social Enterprise Mark Are you a Support & Development Organisation? NAVCA Award Are you a small VSOs? PQASSO Are you a Community Organisation? Visible Communities Standards/Review Do you work in Rural Areas? ACRE Standards IAG: Matrix Mentoring & Befriending: Approved Provider Standard Quality in Befriending Standards Advocacy: Quality Performance Mark Health & Care Information: Information Standard Legal Advice: Community Legal Service Quality Mark NO Do you want a standard to cover a particular client group? Health Services for Young People: You re Welcome Alcohol & Drug Users: QuADS Organisational Standards for Alcohol & Drug Treatment Services Supported Housing for Vulnerable Groups: Sitra Quality Assessment Framework

1. Standards relating to your organisation as a whole a) For all organisations EFQM Excellence Model (European Foundation for Quality Management Excellence Model) Brief description: The EFQM Excellence Model is based on a framework of selfassessment and continuous improvement across nine criteria: five enablers (leadership, people, policy and strategy, partnerships and resources, and processes); and four results (people results, customer results, society results and key performance results). It is often used as a diagnostic tool and takes a holistic view to enable organisations to assess where they are, helping them to understand their key strengths and potential gaps in performance; agree a common vision of the organisation to facilitate effective communication with internal and external stakeholders, and remove duplication and identify gaps in current provision. Organisations can be externally assessed against the EFQM model through a recognition scheme. Pros: Relevant to VSOs of all sizes. The EFQM has a good track record in helping organisations develop a common sense of purpose, engage and motivate stakeholders, and improve their financial performance. It is of medium cost compared to other leading standards. Cons: It makes high demands on staff time compared to other leading standards. Further information: http://www.efqm.org/en/ ISO 9001 quality standard (ISO 9000) Brief description: The ISO 9000 set of standards provide a framework for implementing a quality management system to help organisations achieve user satisfaction through effective service delivery and product development. Focused on management processes, the ISO 9001:2000 quality management standard includes five main sections: a quality management system, management responsibility, resource management, product realisation and measurement analysis and improvement. ISO9001 is accredited by a certification body to demonstrate that an effective quality management system is in place and that the organisation is willing to work towards improving efficiency. Pros: ISO9001 is awarded up to 9 points in the LA commissioning framework and is relevant to VSOs of all sizes. It is of medium cost compared to the other leading standards. It can help motivate staff and improve efficiency and productivity. Cons: It makes high demands on staff time and is more complex than other leading standards. Further information: http://www.isoqar.com/iso9001/qualintro.htm?ppc=1&gclid=co-j- 13

ISO 9001 quality standard (ISO 9000) vld2q4cfucrfaodfkdffg b) For specific types of organisations The ACRE standards (Action with Communities in Rural England) Network: Rural Community Action Network. Brief description: The ACRE Standards cover nine areas of organisational performance: business planning, user-centred service, trustees and the Board, managing activities, financial management, monitoring and evaluation, managing and supporting staff, training and skills development, networks and partnerships. Each of the nine Standards is divided into two incremental implementation levels (Levels 1 and 2), plus a Level 3 check, review and improve requirement. Continuous improvement is embedded within the ACRE Standards and is also formalised by the Level 3 requirement to ensure that everything in Levels 1 and 2 continues to be effectively implemented, and to further review and improve the way that the organisation operates. Pros: Soon to be made available to ACRE affiliate members. The ACRE Good Practice Quality Standards are endorsed by the Charity Commission. Cons: Only relevant to organisations working with rural communities who are members or affiliates of ACRE. Further information: http://www.acre.org.uk/our-work/the-acre-standards http://www.acre.org.uk/our-work/the-acre-standards/charity-commission-endorsement NAVCA Quality Award Network: The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) Brief description: This quality award is externally audited to demonstrate the quality of services offered by local support and development organisations that are members of NAVCA. The NAVCA approved award is assessed against the NAVCA Performance Standards and once awarded, the Quality Award is valid for three years. The assessment process to test the quality of service delivery includes self-assessment against the Performance Standards and a visit from a NAVCA-accredited auditor to check the evidence submitted. The standard can be used as evidence to local authorities and other funders. The Performance Standards, on which the NAVCA Quality Award is based, have been mapped against several quality frameworks including PQASSO, Matrix and Community 14

NAVCA Quality Award Legal Services Quality Mark. Achieving the NAVCA Quality Award therefore also provides evidence for these and other external quality systems. Pros: The award provides external validation that an organisation delivers high quality services to the local voluntary and community sector. Cons: Only relevant to infrastructure organisations providing support to VSOs. Demand on staff time can be high compared to other leading standards. Further information: http://www.navca.org.uk/services/quality/qualityaward PQASSO Quality Mark (Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations) Brief description: PQASSO is the Charities Evaluation Services practical quality assurance system for small organisations or for projects within larger organisations. It is designed specifically for VSOs and is the most widely used quality assurance system within the voluntary and community sector. PQASSO is a self-assessment tool which involves people within an organisation making judgments about its performance against the PQASSO standards. The PQASSO Quality Mark is an externally accredited kite mark to show that your organisation has met the PQASSO standards. It is designed to build on your self-assessment by having an independent external review. PQASSO focuses on 12 areas: process and outcomes: planning; governance; leadership and management; user-centred services; managing people; learning and development; managing money; managing resources; communications and promotion; working with others; monitoring and evaluation and results. Pros: This is the leading quality standard for small organisations. Organisations that achieve the PQASSO Quality Mark at Levels 2 and 3 (third edition) can use the Charity Commission s Charity Quality Standards stamp confirming that they are accredited by standards that meet the Hallmarks of an Effective Charity. According to the Charities Evaluation Service, PQASSO can help organisations develop more effective and efficient organisational systems and procedures, improve user services and communication amongst staff, trustees and volunteers, and promote creative thinking and continuous improvement. PQASSO is of low complexity and cost compared to other leading standards. Cons: It is not suitable for medium or large organisations wishing to quality assure their whole organisation. Further information: http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/pqasso 15

Social Enterprise Mark Brief description: The primary objective of the Social Enterprise Mark is to develop knowledge and understanding of social enterprises across the wider public and communities by establishing a social enterprise definition and appropriate certification to represent businesses trading for people and planet. The second objective of the Social Enterprise Mark is to create a network of social enterprises. A social enterprise can qualify for the mark if: it has social and / or environmental aims; it has its own constitution and governing body; at least 50% of company profits are spent on socially beneficial purposes; it earns at least 50% of its income from trading; it can demonstrate that social / environmental aims are being achieved, and if the company ceased trading remaining assets would be distributed for social / environmental purposes. Pros: The cost of the Mark varies according to the annual income of your business. Cons: It is only relevant to social enterprises. Further information: http://www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk/ VISIBLE Communities quality standards Network: Community Matters Brief description: Community Matters have developed the VISIBLE Communities quality standards for the charity and community sector to promote best practice. The standards are aimed at medium to large community organisations. The standards provide a framework for organisational development, flag up potential problems, improve the motivation and ability of staff and volunteers to manage their organisation, helps organisations remain legally compliant, evidence quality and results to existing funders and regulators, help frame Service Level Agreements, support organisations to become community anchors, and improve local relations and communication internally and externally. Pros: The quality system and standards for the charity and community sector were developed in consultation with members of the Community Matters network and other key stakeholders and endorsed by the Charity Commission. Cons: Only relevant to medium and large sized organisations and can be relatively expensive to achieve the full standards. Further information: http://www.visiblecommunities.org.uk/index.php?page=10 PreVISIBLE Review Network: Community Matters Brief description: The PreVISIBLE review tests community organisations management and governance systems and policies, to ensure they are up to date, legally compliant, and adhere to best practice. It can help organisations demonstrate to potential funders that they 16

VISIBLE Communities quality standards are fit for purpose. It can also help organisations embarking on a period of growth or development (such as asset transfer). The PreVISIBLE review can be used as a diagnostic and development tool, and is the first step towards full VISIBLE accreditation. Pros: The PreVISIBLE review is suitable for community organisations of any size, and simpler and cheaper to acquire than the full PreVISIBLE quality standards. Cons: The PreVISIBLE review is not an accredited standard. Further information: http://www.visiblecommunities.org.uk/index.php?page=10 2. Standards relating to a particular area of your organisation Customer Service Excellence standard (replaced Charter Mark 2008) Brief description: A practical tool for driving customer-focused change and assessing the quality of service delivery. The standard tests the areas of an organisation that are a priority for customers: delivery, timeliness, information, professionalism and staff attitude. It can help identify areas for skills development. The standard also emphasises developing customer insight, understanding the user s experience and measuring service satisfaction. Pros: It is relevant to all sizes of VSOs and makes medium demands on staff time compared to other leading standards, and can be implemented flexibly. Charter Mark was the government s national standard for customer service excellence and encourages continuous improvement through self assessment. Cons: It is of high cost compared to other leading standards. Further information: http://www.customerserviceexcellence.uk.com/ Investing in Volunteers standard Network: Volunteering England Brief description: This quality standard benchmarks the quality and good practice of volunteer management and involvement in organisations. It can improve the effectiveness of organisations' working with volunteers. The standard uses the following indicators: commitment to involving volunteers through a two-way process which benefits volunteers and the organisation; the allocation of resources to working with volunteers; volunteers reflecting the diversity of the local community; appropriate roles for volunteers; volunteer health and safety procedures; volunteer recruitment procedures; induction procedures for volunteers; support and supervision arrangements for volunteers; organisational commitment to recognising the contribution of volunteers. The standard is designed to introduce consistency and quality control to Volunteer Centres around the country. 17

Investing in Volunteers standard Pros: Relevant to all sizes of organisations working with volunteers. The standard is of medium cost and complexity compared to other standards. Cons: Demand on staff time is high compared to other leading standards. Further information: http://iiv.investinginvolunteers.org.uk/ Investors in People (IiP) Brief description: IiP provides a framework for helping organisations to improve performance and realise objectives through effective management and by setting standards for the training and development of staff. IiP provides: strategic planning meetings; continuous improvement feedback; free interactive online tools; onsite interview-based assessment (no paperwork); easy-tounderstand assessment reports; and annual onsite catch-up/ discussion. Pros: IiP can support your organisation to improve: financial performance, profitability, motivation and employee engagement, productivity, ideas and innovation, quality, loyalty and advocacy. It is suitable for all sizes of VSOs. It requires medium demand on staff time and is of medium complexity and cost compared to other leading standards. IiP is probably the most commonly used quality standard and has 'currency' as it is widely acknowledged cross-sector. Cons: IiP is focused on human resources so may not meet all your requirements. Further information: http://www.investorsinpeople.co.uk/pages/home.aspx 3. Standards relating to a particular service Approved Provider Standard (APS) Network: Mentoring and Befriending Association Brief description: The Approved Provider Standard (APS) is designed to promote quality and good practice in mentoring and befriending nationally. The standard focuses on 12 key management and operational areas that underpin the effectiveness of any mentoring or befriending programme. Projects or services are assessed to determine if they have: a clear rationale and purpose; effective organisational and management structures; suitable staff skills and development opportunities; a clear process for identifying and referring serviceusers; introductory information for service-users; rigorous volunteer recruitment and selection processes; safeguarding service-user involvement; induction and training for 18

Approved Provider Standard (APS) volunteers; effective processes to match service users with mentors / befrienders; supervision and support for mentors / befrienders; and monitoring and evaluation procedures. Projects which meet the 12 key requirements are accredited for three years. Pros: Relevant to all sizes of mentoring and befriending programmes. Cons: Only relevant to organisations delivering mentoring and befriending programmes. Further information: http://www.mandbf.org/quality-standard Community Legal Service Quality Mark Brief description: This quality standard focuses on information, advice and specialist legal services. Community Legal Service Partnerships encourage their local providers to apply for the Quality Mark. This legal emphasis is the main difference between the QM and other standards. The standard also measures the effectiveness of referral processes. Pros: Relevant to VSOs of all sizes. Cons: Only relates to legal advice and information. Further information: http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/civil/qm/quality_mark.asp The Information Standard Quality Assurance System Brief description: This is a new standard for organisations producing health and/or social care information. It uses a community asset based approach. The Information Standard quality mark demonstrates that information is reliable to the public and patients. It covers the whole range of medical conditions, services, treatments and information, provided both offline (leaflets and booklets) and online (websites and mobile) channels. To achieve the Standard, an organisation has to demonstrate that its consumer/patient information is: clear, articulate, impartial, balanced, evidence-based, accessible, and up-to-date. The Royal Society for Public Health, (RSPH) took part in the Department of Health pilot scheme for the initiative and was the first certification body to award certificates for the Information Standard. Pros: The Information Standard enables your organisation to test whether internal processes are fit for purpose. The Certificate can enhance the credibility and reputation of your organisation, improve its efficiency and reduce the risk of litigation due to a clearly defined information audit trail. Cons: This is a new standard and so has less of a track record. 19

The Information Standard Quality Assurance System Further information: http://www.theinformationstandard.org/ Matrix Standard Brief description: Matrix is a national quality standard for organisations delivering information, advice and guidance services for learning and work. The Standard ensures organisations review, evaluate and develop their service; encourage the take up of professionally recognised qualifications and the continuous professional development of their staff. The Standard consists of four main elements namely; leadership and management; resources; service delivery; and continuous quality improvement. Pros: The Matrix Standard framework is underpinned by the National IAG Board Principles for Coherent Delivery in IAG Services. Costs are flexible, depending on the size and complexity of your organisation. Cons: Only relevant for organisations with information, advice and guidance services. Further information: http://www.matrixstandard.com/ Quality in Befriending standards Network: Befriending Networks Brief description: The Quality in Befriending standards link closely to the BNS Befriending Code of Practice and to the credit-rated Vital Skills in Befriending training course. Quality in Befriending is part of the Accreditation Providers Forum. Projects can achieve QiB at one of two levels: the Quality in Befriending Award (i.e. they have demonstrated Safe and Competent Practice) or Quality in Befriending Excellence (i.e. they have demonstrated Good Practice). The Quality in Befriending standards assess the core work of befriending projects but do not assess the wider organisation. The practice areas covered by QiB are: client referrals, assessments and waiting lists; volunteer recruitment, assessment and selection; volunteer training; matching; reviews and ongoing support for clients and befrienders; endings; risk management and safety; project resources; monitoring and evaluation, and implementing change. Pros: The standards were developed by Befriending Networks with input from key stakeholders including the Charities Evaluation Services (originators of PQASSO), the Accreditation Providers Forum (England), a reference group of quality award providers and assessors and a pilot group of 13 diverse befriending projects. Cons: Only relevant to befriending projects. 20

Quality in Befriending standards Further information: http://www.befriending.co.uk/quality-awards.php Quality Performance Mark Network: Action for Advocacy Brief description: The Quality Performance Mark (QPM) is the only national advocacyspecific quality assessment system which applies to all forms of one-to-one advocacy. The QPM went live in September 2008 and has been well received by pilot groups and feedback has been very positive, helping organisations instill an awareness of quality across their practices and evidencing the work they do. Pros: The costs for the QPM have been set at a level that will enable it to be thorough, self sustaining and affordable. This has been achieved by using an operational framework which reduces overheads as much as possible. Cons: Only relevant to organisations working on advocacy approaches. Further information:http://www.actionforadvocacy.org.uk/articleservlet?action=list&articletype=44 4. Standards relating to a particular client group QuADS Organisational Standards for Alcohol and Drug Treatment Services Network: Alcohol Concern and Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (SCODA) Brief Description: Standards developed by Alcohol Concern and Standing Conference on Drug Abuse (SCODA) funded by the Department of Health, for use by alcohol and drug treatment service providers as an assessment tool, to help with the development of quality services. It provides an opportunity for services to audit comprehensively all aspects of their organisational practice. Pros: Standards are free to download and clear to use Cons: Specific to providers of drug and alcohol services. It is not an accredited standard. Further information: http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/drugscope/documents/pdf/policy/quads.pdf 21

Sitra Quality Assessment Framework Network: Sitra, a membership organisation for the supported housing sector Brief description: Funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) is a self assessment tool for Supporting People and housing related support services, used by local authorities Supporting People teams and providers as a quality assessment tool. It covers five core objectives around assessment and planning, health and safety, safeguarding, inclusion and client involvement. Pros: Assessment tool and guidance manual is free to download and clear to use. SITRA offer consultancy and training. Cons: Specific to providers of housing with care and support. It is not an accredited standard. Further information: http://www.sitra.org/the_qaf_refresh_2009/ 'You're Welcome' quality assurance kite mark (Department of Health) Brief description: This quality assurance kite mark is designed to ensure that health services targeted towards young people are assessed and verified to be young people friendly, according to DoH criteria. There are three levels of You re Welcome: Starting Out, Getting There and Meets You re Welcome. Organisations initially self assess themselves against ten main criteria based on local practice and evidence. The first eight themes focus on topics relevant to all health services in general practice, primary, community and acute settings - access; publicity; confidentiality and consent; environment; staff training, skills, attitudes and values; joined-up working; involvement in monitoring and evaluation of patient experience; and health issues for young people. The latter two themes focus on specialist and targeted provision: sexual and reproductive health services; and targeted and specialist CAMHS. The You re Welcome programme and review process is locally led. Following self assessment, trained young assessors visit the service to verify if the scoring is accurate. The young people use a variety of methods to assess the organisation including: mystery shopping, known shopping, and questionnaires for clients. The assessors, (young people and professionals) involved in the verification process, can highlight where a service falls short, and suggest actions for the service to implement. Pros: Targets group user involvement in the assessment process, providing opportunities for young people to share in decisions about their health. Cons: Only relevant to organisations providing health services for young people. Further information: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/publicationsandstatistics/publications/publicationspolicyandguida nce/dh_073586 22

5.0 Useful links We hope you have found the above information useful. This section provides a list of further links to information which can inform your organisation's quality work. General Quality in the Voluntary Sector: a guide to not-for-profit sector quality awards http://accreditationprovidersforum.org/qu ality_in_the_voluntary_sector_guide_(n ov2011).pdf Charities Evaluation Service Guide to benchmarking in the third sector Quality standards in the voluntary sector join the debate http://www.cesvol.org.uk/downloads/benchmarkinginthe thirdsector-230-237.pdf http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/networkingdiscussions/blogs/17618/12/06/28/quality -standards-voluntary-sector-join-debate Quality selector to help organisations' compare some of the key quality standards Accreditation Providers' Forum: A membership group for organisations to share learning on accrediting quality in the voluntary and community sector NCVO advice on funders views of quality issues About performance improvement Outcomes and quality management making the link http://www.ncvovol.org.uk/change/quality-assurancechange/quality-selector/quality-selector http://www.accreditationprovidersforum.o rg/ http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/fundingquality http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/aboutperformance-improvement http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/news-andevents/news/news-archive/newsseptember-2012/news-septemberoutcomes-and-quality 23

Health Specific Care Quality Commission s five national standards for care in different settings including care homes and in the home NICE quality standards are a set of statements designed to drive and measure priority quality improvements within a particular area of care National Service Frameworks set out the standard for different conditions or client groups e.g. older people, children, long term conditions Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire (AC-QoL), published by The Princess Royal Trust for Carers, in association with the University of Nottingham, is a simple 40-item instrument which measures a carer s quality of life in eight domains The Outcomes Star is a suite of tools for supporting and measuring change when working with people. There are 15 versions adapted for different client groups and services including older people, mental health and long term conditions. Versions have been funded by the Department for Health, Big Lottery and several NHS trusts among others. http://www.cqc.org.uk/public/nationalstandards http://www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/qualitys tandards/qualitystandards.jsp http://www.dh.gov.uk/health/search?q=n ational%20service%20frameworks http://professionals.carers.org/health/arti cles/carer-quality-of-life-toollaunches,7010,pr.html http://www.outcomesstar.org.uk/ Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund 24

Contact us If you would like further information about the fund you can contact us using the following methods: E-mail: volunteeringfund@uk.ecorys.com Helpline: 0845 172 8058