Quality
What is 'quality'?
The term 'quality', in its organisational sense, refers to the principle of having policies and procedures in place to ensure that services are delivered to the highest standards, and in a fair and equitable manner. Quality is about making sure that good working practices are based on clearly stated and easily understandable systems, rather than relying on habits or assumptions which may vary or be open to interpretation. A good quality system should be transparent to all involved, and should be reviewed on a regular basis.
What is OSW's role in relation to quality?
As a co-ordinating body OSW is in a unique position to be able to assist and support partner agencies in developing and implementing their quality policies. We maintain a central overview of policy and practice amongst our partners and are thereby able to share good practice across the partnership as appropriate. We also keep abreast of wider developments and trends in quality, and interpret and disseminate these to our partners where relevant.
The role of the OSW central team role in relation to quality is therefore as encouragers and enablers. As a partnership of agencies our aim is to be continually improving our systems and policies, as well as our skills, knowledge, and expertise. Through doing this we can ensure that we provide the best possible services to our clients.
Our specific objectives are to help our partners to:
- Minimise drop out rates and deliver high completion and achievement rates, and appropriate progression
- Ensure competent and appropriately qualified staff deliver and assess learning
- Offer equality of access to learning opportunities and close equality gaps in learning and outcomes
- Have good management systems in place to ensure effective learning for the clients
- Provide a safe, healthy and supportive environment, which meets the needs of the clients
OSW's Baseline Quality Standard
As a minimum baseline OSW follows the Guidance Council's quality standard: The MATRIX. The MATRIX is a self-assessment system, working on an 'evidence-based' approach, covering appropriate policies, procedures and practices. The main aim of the system is to assist organisations in the process of identifying aspects of their service delivery which could be developed and improved.
Download OSW Quality Self-Assessment Pack (214KB)
For more information check the MATRIX website.
OSW's Baseline Health & Safety Standards
All OSW provider agencies carry out a self-assessment of their provision periodically. Within the health and safety element, this is essentially a review of all systems and procedures for ensuring the ongoing health, safety and welfare of clients and staff.
OSW have implemented H&S baseline standards in the form of a "2 stage self-assessment process" to ensure that:
- Providers are meeting the legal requirements relating to the health and safety of our clients
- Providers are working towards the implementation of good practice in this area.
Download OSW H&S self assessment stage 1 (247KB)
Download OSW H&S self assessment stage 2 (102KB)
Equal opportunities means being fair, reasonable and just in all service activities, taking positive steps towards removing barriers and discrimination, and ensuring that individuals are meaningfully involved in the development and ongoing improvement of the services that they access.
Diversity means valuing differences and the unique contributions that individuals bring to organisations. Diverse organisations support and encourage these differences in order to make their services more accessible and approachable. A diverse organisation benefits from the widest possible range of views and experiences, so that it represents the needs of all its users, staff, partners and supporters.
Equality and Diversity
OSW and partners have developed an Equality and Diversity philosophy consisting of five principles:
1. Parity of access, customer service and outcomes for clients. Parity of access means that there is a representation of a range of clients accessing services. This principle ensures that organisations' equal opportunities policies cover equal access to all potential service users.
2. Sharing of information and data transparency around client impact to make improvements to services. This means that partners agree to provide OSW with relevant data, to determine whether parity of access and achievement (e.g qualifications or jobs gained by clients) is being met. OSW collects the information and disseminates reports to partners to review, and sets future targets for monitoring.
3. Going beyond minimum requirements. This means working towards measures which promote diversity rather than simply working towards the achievement of equal opportunities. This principle requires partners to comply with minimum standards set out in the OSW equality and diversity questionnaire. Through the development of action plans and one-to-one support, partners then continue to work towards achieving the good practice standards.
4. Delivering coordinated services which best meet the diverse needs of homeless people. This means identifying suitable courses for clients to enable effective progression through services. OSW uses recruitment and progression information to identify any gaps or disparity in service provision, and supports coordinated approaches to plan future services.
5. Programme beneficiaries should be able to influence the programme and delivery of services. This principle requests that partners work towards the Matrix quality standards to ensure client involvement and feedback.
OSW has also developed a good practice guide on this subject, which you can download by clicking on the link below: