This inspection took place on the 21 June 2018 and was announced. The previous inspection took place on the 22 August 2017. At that time, we had insufficient evidence to give the service a rating. We did not find any breaches of regulations at that time.

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. Two people were using the service at the time of our inspection.

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.

The service had a registered manager in place. 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.

We have made one recommendation in this report, that the service seeks ways to provide people support with activities in line with their stated preferences and assessed needs.

There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. Procedures had been developed to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service to determine if those needs could be met. Staff received on-going training and supervision to support them in their role. People were able to make choices for themselves and the service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us they enjoyed the food. They were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity. We saw staff interacting with people in a caring manner. Steps had been taken to promote people’s right to confidentiality.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. They were subject to regular review. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and people spoke positively about the senior staff at the service. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of support provided. Some of these included seeking the views of people who used the service.

This inspection took place on the 22 August 2017 and was announced. This was the first inspection of the service since it became operational on the 9 June 2017. The service is registered to provide accommodation and support with personal care to a maximum of six adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection one person was living at the service on a permanent basis and one person was using the service on a respite basis for a two week period. As a result of this we were not able to provide a rating for this service due to the limited evidence available.

The registered manager resigned from their employment at the service the day before our inspection. An acting manager was in place and had undertaken a period of employment working alongside the outgoing registered manager. The acting manager told us they planned to apply to register with the Care Quality Commission before the end of August 2017. 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.

There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner.

Staff received on-going training to support them in their role. People were able to make choices for themselves and the service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were able to make choices about what they ate and drank. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were kind. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to engage in various activities. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

The acting manager had plans to implement various quality assurance and monitoring systems. However, as the service had only been operational since June 2017 these were not yet in place at the time of our inspection.