About the service: Autism Care and Support also known as Jubilee Court is a care home that provides accommodation with support for up to 13 people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. On the day of our visit there were 10 people using the service.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service: People we spoke with told us they were very happy living at Autism Care and Support. People told us they were involved in developing their support plan and encouraged to partake in new activities and opportunities. People were supported to have individual communication and coping strategies so their independence could be maximised.

Staff took steps to safeguard vulnerable adults and promoted their human rights. Incidents were dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe. People’s health needs were identified and external professionals involved if necessary. Information could be shared with other agencies as needed. People and staff were also supported with their well-being by the provider and management team.

People told us care staff were caring, supportive and kind. We observed staff members supporting people in a dignified and confidential manner. There was also lots of laughter and fun and people we spoke with and their relatives said that people enjoyed positive and therapeutic relationships with the staff team.

Support plans were detailed and showed people were involved in planning their own lives with staff support where able. Plans were person-centred, meaning people were at the heart of how they wanted their care and support to be provided. We discussed that individual’s plans relating to the management of incidents needed to be more detailed and specific for the staff team. The managers had already identified this following some recent training and this was in the process of being actioned.

Staff told us they felt well trained and supported and spoke of the management team in a positive light stating that people who lived at the service were now taking the lead of planning their own lives with support from the staff team. We saw staff upheld and promoted people’s rights relating to equality and diversity and the staff team and people had a strategy together to improve dignity at the home.

The service was well run. The managers carried out lots of checks to make sure that the service was effective. The service was more integrated into the local community and the vision and values of supporting people to be as independent as possible was now very much embedded. Generally people, relatives and staff said they found the management team approachable and people’s feedback with listened to and acted upon.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Rating at the last inspection: The service was rated as good and the report was published in December 2015.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

We inspected the service on 16 December 2015. Autism Care and Support is known as Jubilee Court. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 13 people living with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disabilities and mental health. On the day of our inspection there were 10 people living at the home.

The home had a registered manager who was on duty on the day of the inspection. 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.

People who used the service, and their representatives, felt safe and well supported at Jubilee Court. Staff were confident that people’s needs could be met safely both within the home and when they left the home. People who used the service felt safe and enabled them to live full and active lives.

People felt staff met their needs effectively and were all kind and caring. Staff told us enjoyed their roles and were very knowledgeable about people’s needs, preferences and life experiences. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity.

Staff had a good understanding of what constituted abuse and were confident to recognise and report it. Senior staff, including the registered manager, were aware of their roles in relation to reporting allegations to appropriate external agencies and working with them to ensure incidents were investigated.

People’s needs were met and staff were recruited through safely. Medicines were stored and administered safely and the premises were well maintained to keep people safe.

Staff received appropriate induction, training and supervision. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and all training was underpinned by a strong value base of respect and person centred support.

People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and decisions were regularly reviewed when individual’s needs and circumstances changed to ensure they still reflected their wishes.

People were provided with sufficient food and drink to maintain their good health and wellbeing, and the standard of food provided was very good.

Health professionals worked closely with people who used the service and the staff team to ensure people’s health care needs were met. Communication between staff and outside agencies was good.

People enjoyed a range of activities both at the home and in the community. Decisions they made were based on risk assessments and how people were feeling on any given day.

People and their relatives (where appropriate) were involved, in the development of the service. People felt listened to and would be confident to make a complaint or raise a concern if they needed to. People living at the home and the staff team had opportunities to be involved in discussions about the running of the home and felt the management team provided good leadership. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided.

During this inspection there were eleven people using the service. We spoke directly with two people who used the service and with two relatives. We also spoke with seven support staff, two social workers, a speech and language therapist, the quality assurance manager and the deputy manager.

We saw that people were involved in making decisions about their care and their views were taken into account and acted upon. One person who used the service told us, “The staff are really helpful; I am involved with decisions about my care.”

We saw evidence that people were consulted before receiving care. One of the people who used the service told us, “They (staff) don’t tell me what to do, they talk to me lots.”

We saw that the building was safe, clean and adequately maintained. A staff member we spoke with told us, “The building is safe, all windows have restrictors and we see management doing regular checks of the building.”

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who used the service. A social worker we spoke with told us, ““The manager assesses the risks well and then sets plans in place to manage these risks.”