Quality

Manual

This copy printed on 24 April 2019

Table of Contents

1.INTRODUCTION......

2.THE ISSUE STATUS......

3.THE QUALITY POLICY......

4.OVERVIEW OF PETERBOROUGH PLUS

5.THE SCOPE OF REGISTRATION......

6.OUR QUALITY OBJECTIVES......

7.MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY...... 9

8.RESOURCES...... 10

8.1Human Resources...... 10

8.2Infrastructure...... 10

9.PRODUCT REALISATION...... 11

9.1Planning of Product Realisation...... 11

9.2Complaint Management...... 14

9.3Purchasing...... 15

10.MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS AND IMPROVEMENT...... 16

10.1Measurement...... 17

10.2Analysis...... 17

10.3Improvement...... 17

11.Office Procedures...... 18

11.1OP01 - Corrective/Preventative Action & Control of Non Conforming Product...... 18

11.2OP02 – Internal Audits...... 19

11.3OP03 – Control of Records...... 20

11.4OP04 – Document Control...... 21

12.Appendix 1 – Organisation Chart...... 22

1.INTRODUCTION

This document is the Quality Manual of Peterborough Plus VCSE Consortium (PP) and for the purpose of this manual will be referred to as PPQM.

The Quality Manual is the property of PPand is a controlled document.

The purpose of the Quality Manual is to provide an overview of PP, the activities it carries out and the quality standards of operation it conforms to.

It is not designed to act as a procedures manual, although it does carry information about where procedures information is located and the detailed information on documentation requirements for essential procedures e.g. document control, control of records, internal audit, etc.

2.THE ISSUE STATUS

The issue status is indicated by the version number in the footer of this document. It identifies the issue status of this Quality Manual.

When any part of this Quality Manual is amended, a record is made in the Quality Manual Amendment Log shown below.

The Quality Manual can be fully revised and re-issued at the discretion of the Management Team.

Please note that this Quality Manual is only valid on day of printing.

Issue / Page(s) / Issue Date / Additions/Alterations / Initials
1.0 / 31Jan 2015 / PP Quality Manual First Authorised Issue / NC

3.THE QUALITY POLICY

It is the policy of PP to maintain a quality system designed to meet the requirements of ISO9001:2008 in pursuit of its primary objectives.

The company’s Quality Manual defines our quality objectives and key procedures.

Customer service is an essential part of the quality process and to ensure this is fulfilled, all employees receive training to ensure awareness and understanding of quality and its impact on customer service.

To ensure the company maintains its awareness for continuous improvement, the quality system is regularly reviewed and is subject to annual audit.

The requirements of the company’s quality system are mandatory and all company personnel have a responsibility and obligation to it.

PP Board of Directors

4.OVERVIEW OF Peterborough Plus

PP, established in 2014, is a consortium of over 40(and this number is growing all the time as the consortium develops) voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations across Bradford that deliver children and young people’s service. These organisations vary in size, overall remit and capacity, ranging from small, grass roots organisations through to city-wide specialist service providers. What binds all of the consortium members is a commitment to addressing children and young people’s disadvantage and vulnerability within the local community.

The consortium’s shared vision revolves around improving the quality of life of children, young people and families, and strengthening local communities, by bringing together the diversity and expertise of the voluntary and community sector.

The range of services provided through the consortium includes:

  • Provision of vocational and employability skills training programmes and work placement opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs)
  • Performing and visual arts activities that facilitate the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes in children and young people that enable them to contribute fully to society and lead positive and productive lives
  • Volunteer-based support interventions to enable children and young people with a disability to participate in and benefit from mainstream activities
  • A range of sports and leisure activities design to improve health, personal wellbeing and socialisation skills
  • Team building activities
  • Crime and anti-social behaviour prevention initiatives
  • Provision of support, friendship and practical help to parents with young children, within local communities, enabling children to get the best possible start in life
  • Person-centered counselling and play therapy designed to restore wellbeing

PPhas become established as a company limited by guarantee and is the process of securing registered charity status. It is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from the consortium membership.

It is based on a hub and spokes operating model, with the hub being a central staff resource and the spokes being the consortium member organisations delivering frontline services within the community.

The concept of PP arose out of a desire amongst local voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to work together more effectively. Its members felt that as small VCS organisations, they would have a better chance of achieving this goal through forming a consortium, as there is a greater prospect of securing contracts and having enough money to deliver much needed services.

The key advantages to the consortium approach include:

  • The increased opportunity to develop services through heightened access to statutory funding
  • Joint service planning and delivery leading to improved services for beneficiaries
  • Enhanced training and development support for smaller members

5.THE SCOPE OF REGISTRATION

The provision of bid management and project planning services on behalf of members within the voluntary sector in Bradford.

exclusions

The Quality Manual shall conform to all the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, with the exception of clauses 7.3 Design and Development and 7.6 Control of Monitoring and Measuring Devices which are not applicable to any of our activities.

6. OUR QUALITY OBJECTIVES

We aim to provide a professional and ethical service to our clients. In order to demonstrate our intentions, we have identified the following Quality Objectives and associated KPI’s..

Objectives / KPI’s
We will endeavour to deliver our services to specification / No contracts are terminated during the year by the commissioner/purchaser due to poor performance/failure to deliver
We will endeavour to deliver our services on time / we experience no claw-back on contracts due to delays in project delivery
Less than 5% of all members’ trainingand other capacity building activities are postponed or cancelled during the year
We will endeavour to deliver our services to the price quoted / All prices are fixed in advance and agreed with the commissioner/purchaser
We will induct and train all PPstaff in Quality Assurance requirements / 100% of staff report on an annual basis that they are sufficiently and appropriately briefed on QA requirements as part of their supervision/appraisal
We will endeavour to make a modest surplus on our activities in order to fund ongoing development and growth, and to reinvest into our social objectives, including into strengthening consortium members to deliver quality services / A minimum of 25% of overall consortium hub income annually is spent on QA (including monitoring and evaluating performance)
Our Management Team will analyse customer feedback, financial performance data and business performance data to ensure that our Quality Objectives are being met / Customer feedback processes are audited annually
Business and financial performance data will be published as part of the company’s Annual Report, and therefore subject to public scrutiny
Quality Objectives are audited annually
We will commit to undertaking an internal evaluation on an annual basis / As a minimum, the Management Team will produce a brief internal evaluation report (linked to the Annual Report); however, the ideal will be to ring-fence sufficient funding each year to pay for an external evaluation to guarantee independence and objectivity of evaluative perspective
We will conduct our business in an ethical and professional manner / We will be subject to no investigations by the Charity Commission for breach of Charity Law, and no investigations by Companies House for breach of Company Law
All staff, volunteers and trustees will undergo DBS checks
We will endeavour to satisfy our clients’ requirements and get things right first time / Our target is to receive nil complaints
We aim for a minimum 80% satisfaction rating for our provision overall (i.e. at least 80% of customers rate provision as either good or excellent)
Should we make a mistake, we will admit it and rectify the situation as quickly as possible / In the unfortunate event of receiving a complaint, we will satisfactorily deal with that complaint within 20 working days.

Additionally:

  • PP will build on the high-quality QA systems and practices that already exist across the provider network.
  • The keystone of the PP Membership Prospectus is a series of membership eligibility criteria. These criteria include requirements relating to quality assurance.
  • The consortium will require full member organisations to already have in place, or be in the process of adopting, an externally validated QA system/kite mark
  • The consortium will not prescribe which externally validated systems should be adopted by organisations, as it recognises that use of QA systems will vary according to the precise nature, size, remit and operating circumstances of providers
  • The consortium, as a legal entity in its own right, will secure an appropriate externally validated QA system/kite mark
  • The consortium will develop a user-friendly, fit-for-purpose system of Self-Assessment Reporting (SAR) for member organisations that (a) feeds into the consortium’s overarching externally validated QA system and (b) encourages members to develop an internal culture of assessment, development planning and continuous improvement
  • The SAR system will focus on the quality of the end user/beneficiary experience and the evidencing of beneficiary outcomes
  • The consortium will endeavour to make capacity building funding available to support such QA development within member organisations
  • Rigorous contract management systems and procedures will be put in place. To begin with, only appropriately quality-assured providers will receive sub-contracts. Also, the attainment by sub-contractors of the appropriate quality standards will be reviewed at key census/evaluation points (this will include visits to providers to carry out provider reviews, based on a sampling system). This process will identify cases of under-performance.
  • A key feature of how the consortium overall will operate is the use of joined-up capacity to drive up standards. This will involve, for example, proven high quality providers mentoring and supporting other providers that have identified weaknesses, as part of a collective quality improvement strategy.
  • PP will operate with an Oversight and Contract Steering Group, including a non-delivery partner, with the purpose of quality controlling the work of the organisation undertaking contract management functions on behalf of Greater Together.

7.MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

The management structure of PP is shown as an organisation chart (see Appendix 1) the chartshows functional relationships and responsibilities.

Management ensures:-

  • The company has a designated Quality Representative who is responsible for the maintenance and review of the Quality Management System.
  • That the ongoing activities of PP are reviewed regularly and that any required corrective action is adequately implemented and reviewed to establish an effective preventative process.
  • Measurement of our performance against our declared Quality Objectives.
  • Employees have the necessary training, skills and equipment to effectively carry out their work.
  • Internal audits are conducted regularly to review progress and assist in the improvement of processes and procedures.
  • Quality Objectives are reviewed, and if necessary amended, at regular Review meetings and the performance communicated to all staff.

Management planning and review meetings are held monthly and are minuted.

We have designated Leonie McCarthy as our Quality Representative who is responsible for the maintenance, measurement and review of our Quality Management System.

8.RESOURCES

8.1Human Resources

All employees have the training and skills needed to meet their job requirements. All employees are monitored on an ongoing basis to identify any training and development needs.

The recruitment and selection process is set out in the PP staff handbook (Recruitment and Selection Policy & Procedure).

8.2Infrastructure

All of our administration is conducted at our Head Office. This includes:-

  • Management of financial matters
  • Handling of client orders
  • Personnel records

9.PRODUCT REALISATION

9.1Planning of Product Realisation

PP is responsible for the planning and delivery of its services. We work closely with our partner suppliers and customers to satisfymutual requirements.

We have 2 flow charts ([a] membership recruitment and [b] supply chain and resource allocation - see overleaf) to illustrate our core business process which is maintained by our Quality Management Representative, as part of the PPMembership Policy and Internal Resource Allocation Policy.

PPMembership Recruitment Process Flowchart

PP secretariat

acknowledges

receipt

PP Supply Chain Development & Resource Allocation Flowchart

NO – YES NO – Feedback Sought YES NO – Feedback Sought YES

Feedback

Sought

YES

9.2Complaint Management

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing excellent service, we have a policy of dealing with all complaints to the satisfaction of the complainant.

Any complaint received is initially recorded on a Complaints Report and handled by the PPChair/Locum CEO. Should the complaint not be resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction, our escalation procedure means that it is then immediately referred to the PP Board.

We recognise that despite having robust quality control procedures in place we may still encounter problems that generate complaints and we ensure that in such cases records are kept (including any correspondence).

Details of any complaints are recorded in the company’s Action Log that is located in the ISO folder.

9.3Purchasing

PP applies the followingpurchasing procedure for all purchases.

PP’s main buyers are the local statutory sector agencies/public service commissioners, while its suppliers are the consortium member organisations (see Supply Chain Development & Resource Allocation Flowchart in section on Service Realisation). Members are required to meet a range of due diligence criteria to supply services; being in sound financial health, having suitable policies in place, having appropriate QA systems and governance arrangements, and possessing adequate technical capacity to fulfil data management and reporting requirements.

10.MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS AND IMPROVEMENT

The flow chart below shows our ‘Measure, Analyse and Improve’ Quality Process.


10.1Measurement

The Company Quality & Environmental Action Log and Internal Audits support the Quality Manual and also define the actions required to generate relevant data for analysis. Data is collected from, but not restricted to:

  1. Company Action Log – OP01
  2. Internal Audits – OP02
  3. Client Feedback

10.2Analysis

The data is collated and analysed to determine:

  • The ability to achieve the Quality Objectives
  • The ability to satisfy client requirements
  • Customer and staff perception of the company
  • The effectiveness and efficiency of the company’s personnel.
  • The effectiveness and efficiency of the quality system
  • The level of performance achieved/required

10.3Improvement

The Agenda for the regular Management Review meetings shall include, but not be restricted to:

  • Follow-up from previous meetings
  • Review of company Quality Policy
  • Review and setting of Quality Objectives/Customer Survey
  • Action Log entries and follow- up actions
  • Customer Feedback
  • Audit Results
  • Process Performance
  • Staff Performance
  • Changes that could affect the quality system
  • Recommendations to improve the quality system and their implementation

11.Office Procedures

11.1OP01 - Corrective/Preventative Action & Control of Non Conforming Product

Purpose

  1. The PP Quality Management Action Log is used to identify non-conformances and any actual or potential shortfalls in quality standards or internal processes/ procedures, suggest improvements and track any actions to ensure improvements have taken place, or potential problems are avoided.

Steps

  1. The Quality Representative maintains and monitors the Action Log.
  1. If any person discovers a shortfall, or potential shortfall in the written processes/procedures or a problem in the practical application of them, the details must be documented in the Action Log. The relevant person who is responsible for the action is informed. Action required as a result of Customer Feedback, Customer Complaint or Management Review is also logged and tracked via the company Action Log.
  1. Each entry in the Action Log to include:
  1. Sequential numbering
  2. Person/Date recorded
  3. Overview of the issue, problem or concern
  4. Person responsible
  5. Action taken
  6. Date completed
  7. Initialled when complete

Responsibility

The Quality Representative is responsible for checking the Action Log and ensuring that people with allocated responsibilities are aware of them and actions are progressing.

Once all actions on a log sheet have been completed the Quality Representative archives it as a Quality Record

Related records

Company Action Log

Management Review meeting records

11.2OP02 – Internal Audits

Purpose

To ensure internal audits are conducted at a sufficient frequency to measure the effectiveness of thequality and environmental processes/procedures.

Responsibilities

The Quality Representative has responsibility to ensure all audits are planned, adequately communicated and executed.

The Quality Representative may conduct additional unannounced checks to ensure that all PP staff are applying processes/procedures as required.

Scope

The scope, detail and focus of each audit are determined by previous suggestions for improvement from internal audits, management reviews and external audit suggestions, status and importance of the activity within the quality process and PP business.

Records

An Internal Audit Report form is used to track the overall scope of the audit against the quality criteria. All criteria are checked over a one-year period.An observation is completed for each audit activity, which details the type of check conducted, an overview of audit findings, and any items requiring further review.

Suggestion for improvement and actions will be communicated by the QualityRepresentative, to the person responsible for action and recorded on the company Quality & Environmental ActionLog (see OP01 Action Log).

11.3OP03 – Control of Records

Purpose

To define those records that are deemed as Quality. These records will be stored in clearly marked folders or electronic files. All records must be recorded and tracked for reference and audit purposes.