Ashtead House is a residential care home for 10 people with learning disabilities. The home provides permanent placements and a respite service. At the time of our inspection, there were 7 people living at the home.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People were kept safe by staff who knew their role in safeguarding them. Incidents were responded to appropriately. Risks to people were assessed and measures were put in place to keep people safe whilst encouraging their independence. There were sufficient numbers of staff present to meet people’s needs and checks had been carried out to ensure staff were appropriate for their roles.

People’s nutritional needs were met and they had access to a range of healthcare professionals. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Staff were trained to carry out their roles effectively.

Staff were caring and knew people well. Independence was encouraged by staff. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted by respectful staff. Staff involved people in their care and created an inclusive atmosphere.

There was a wide range of activities on offer for people. Care plans were person centred and information was kept up to date with frequent reviews. There was a complaints procedure in place, complaints were responded to and acted upon appropriately.

The registered manager was accessible to people and staff. Staff had opportunities to be involved in the running of the service. The registered manager carried out regular audits to assure the quality of the care that people received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Ashtead House provides care and support for up to ten people who have a learning or physical disability. At the time of our visit there were six people living at the home.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. The registered manager was present during the inspection.

People were treated in a kind and caring manner by staff. People were encouraged by staff to have daily involvement in the running of the home and to be independent as much as they could.

People were safe living at Ashtead House. Staff assessed any risks in relation to people and put suitable plans in place to enable people to continue with their daily life in a safe way.

Staff had followed legal requirements to make sure any restrictions that were in place were done in the person’s best interests. Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staff were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse and could tell us what they would do if they had any concerns. In the event of an emergency or the need to evacuate the house, people’s care would not be interrupted as there was guidance in place for staff.

It was evident all staff had a good understanding of the individual needs and characteristics of people. Staff were able to communicate with people effectively. This was confirmed by relatives and our observations on the day.

There were enough suitably trained staff deployed in the home and there were enough staff to enable people to go out each day. Staff were supported in their training and professional development.

People were encouraged to eat a healthy and varied diet and were involved in choosing the food they ate. People received their medicines when they needed them and staff followed proper guidelines in relation to medicines management.

Appropriate checks were carried out to help ensure only suitable staff worked in the home.

Professional involvement was sought for people when appropriate and staff responded to people’s changing needs.

Staff supported people in an individualised way as they planned activities that meant something to people. Relatives were involved in developing the care and support needs of their family member.

People were encouraged and supported to try different things to give them a varied and stimulating life.

A complaints procedure was available for any concerns and relatives and people were encouraged to feedback their views and ideas into the running of the home.

The provider and staff carried out a number of quality assurance checks to make sure the home was safe and people received a good quality of care.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and felt they worked together well as a team.

The service was provided for seven people with learning disabilities. Not all people could express themselves verbally so we spoke to some people, spoke to staff and observed the service.

We saw positive interactions between people and staff. We saw that staff had information about how to support each person to express themselves and what different gestures or signs meant for that person. We observed staff carrying out this guidance.

We observed that people had opportunities to be involved with their local community from getting to know neighbours, visiting local shops and amenities to attendance at specific events or programmes in the area. One person we spoke with told us about a course they were undertaking, ' I am a student at the moment, I really enjoy it'.

We found that staffing was sufficient to provide the service. We spoke with one member of staff who told us ' We plan the shift around the needs of people'.

We found that medicines were stored and managed safely and that people received their medicines when they needed them.

We found that there was the staff promoted the involvement of people in the service and in decisions about their care. One person told us that they had one to one time from their keyworker and had help to fill in forms and manage their money. They told us 'staff explain things and advise me'.

We found that the service identified and managed risks appropriately and that quality and safety was effectively monitored.

The home had seven people living there and we spoke with four of them. Two of the people who used the service had complex learning disabilities therefore they were not able to respond to our questions independently and one person was at a day centre for the day. The four people that we spoke with were positive about living at the home. They were keen to tell us the activities they could participate in. One person told us they regularly went out on a Saturday evening and had a taxi home. He told us “I enjoy going to music festivals when I can but I really enjoy my Saturday evenings.”

People told us that the staff supported them to make choices everyday about their activities, food and shopping. On the day of the inspection we observed staff ask each person individually what they wanted for lunch. One person went to the food cupboard to select their choice.

People who used the service told us they felt safe at the home because the staff were kind to them. One person told us “I would tell them if they weren’t kind to me I’d tell the staff”.