This was an announced inspection carried out on 25 April 2017. We contacted the registered provider 24 hours before our inspection as some people using this service needed to be informed of our visit in advance.

Aspire Domiciliary and Respite Support Service provides residential care for adults with learning disabilities, who may have behaviours that challenge and associated complex needs. This service is also registered to provide care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, no one in receipt of this service required personal care.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

One person and a relative told us they felt the service provided safe care. Notifications were routinely submitted to the Care Quality Commission as required as a condition of registration. However, we found one incident which took place in January 2017 had not been reported. We recommended the registered provider review systems for reporting such incidents.

Based on feedback from relatives, staff as well as our observations during this inspection, we identified there were adequate staffing levels to meet people’s needs. Recruitment was appropriately managed as relevant background checks had been completed to ensure staff were safe to work with vulnerable people.

Risks to people had been identified, assessed and reviewed. The home was clean and tidy and records showed regularly scheduled maintenance had been completed. This included all relevant fire safety checks.

Staff completed an induction and received ongoing support through a programme of supervision and training. The process for carrying out annual staff appraisals had commenced before our inspection took place.

Staff were caring and compassionate and engaged people in friendly interaction, respecting their preferences and communication style. Relatives told us staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and staff were able to describe how they managed this. People’s cultural, religious and sensory needs were met by staff at this service. People had been referred to advocacy services for additional support in decision making.

People were given choice by staff as part of their daily routines. This included meal planning and preparation. Staff encouraged people to take part in activities in the community and we saw evidence that this happened.

Mental capacity assessments and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were documented in care records. Care plans were found to be person-centred and contained details about people’s routines and their care preferences. These were regularly reviewed.

Staff were pro-active in ensuring people were supported to access healthcare services and shared recent examples with us. We looked at the management of medicines which we saw were stored and administered appropriately. Records showed staff had received medication training. The registered provider had identified the need to carry out staff medication competency checks. People received their medicines as prescribed.

Complaints were suitably managed. Feedback from a recent survey for people and their relatives showed high levels of satisfaction.

Quality management systems were effective as audits were detailed and covered the requirements set out in the health and social care regulations. Action plans were created with identified timescales and these were followed up as part of subsequent audits.