About the service: Glebe Road is a residential care home. It provides accommodation and personal care for up to two adults with autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection there were two people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The care service had 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 were supported by a small but consistent team of long-term staff who were kind and caring. Because people had lived at the service for many years and staff had worked there for a long time, staff had good relationships with people and knew them well. Staff knowledge in relation to people’s condition, their needs, and how to support them was thorough.

Care plans were person centred and included people’s personal goals for the year. There was a focus on providing people with a clear timetable and consistent support. This resulted in people being relaxed and being able to enjoy doing things they wanted to do.

There was an open culture where staff and people could raise concerns or issues. People told us they felt safe at the service and felt happy to speak up.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: Good (July 2016).

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

This was an announced inspection which was completed on 6 and 13 July 2016. The reason the inspection was announced was to ensure the people living in the home were available for us to speak with and to provide them with assurances about our visit. This was because some people with Asperger’s syndromes become anxious when in the company of unfamiliar people. We gave 24 hours notice of this visit.

Glebe Road provides accommodation and personal care for two people. There were no vacancies. The registered manager told us people had a diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome in the completed provider information return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they planned to make.

Glebe Road is situated in the village of Minchinhampton close to local shops and amenities. The design, layout and decoration of the home met people’s individual needs. Bedrooms were single occupancy with a shared bathroom. All areas of the home had been furnished and decorated to a good standard.

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. The registered manager had responsibility for three other homes owned by Gloucestershire Group Homes Ltd.

People told us they were happy with the care and support they were receiving. They told us they liked the staff team. Care plans were in place that described how the person would like to be supported. This included how the person’s Asperger’s syndrome impacted on their day to day live. The care plans were tailored to the person and provided staff with information to support the person effectively. People had been consulted about their care needs and their views sought about the service.

People were supported to make decisions and take proportionate risks. Systems were in place to ensure that complaints and any concerns in respect of abuse were responded to. Systems were in place to ensure people were safe including risk management, checks on the environment and safe recruitment processes. People received their medicines safely.

People were supported to access the community either with staff support or independently. People told us they were always going out and they could choose what they wanted to do. There was usually one member of staff working in Glebe Road providing 24 hour support. People were happy with the staffing arrangements. They told us extra staff worked in the home to enable them to do the activities they enjoyed. Other health and social care professionals were involved in the care of the people living at Glebe Road.

The staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and caring in their approach. Staff commented positively about the management support. Staff received training relevant to their needs. There was a training plan in place which was being monitored by the senior management team. Staff were receiving regular one to one meetings with their line manager. However, there were no records maintained to enable senior management to monitor on going progress or concerns.

Systems were in place for monitoring the quality of the service. This included seeking the views of people and their relatives through annual surveys.

We carried out an inspection at Glebe Road. This helped us to answer our five key questions; Is the service caring? Is the service responsive? Is the service safe? Is the service effective? Is the service well led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, their relatives, the staff supporting them and from looking at records.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People told us they felt safe and relaxed with staff. One person told us, "I made one complaint and they (the staff) listened to me" and "staff understand me now". The other person said "Although I worry about things I feel safe and I know all the staff". The provider had policies and procedures for staff to follow with regard to safeguarding of adults and whistle blowing. The staff were trained to recognise when the safeguarding of adults was required and the policies clearly outlined the duty of staff to report concerns.

People were assessed and their care and support was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. We saw the service had identified and managed risks in relation to the health and safety of people. The care plans we looked at contained detailed risk assessments and the action taken to minimise risk.

Is the service effective?

We looked at the care plans in detail for the two people who lived at the home. We saw there was sufficient information to enable staff to meet individual needs and minimise risks to people's health and welfare. People told us they had freedom to do what they liked and told us about the activities they liked doing. They told us they kept in touch with their family. The staff gave individual person centred care and support which had given one person confidence to try new activities.

Is the service caring?

People told us, "I love living here, I am very happy" and "the staff are kind they look after me". We observed support staff interacted with people in a caring and respectful manner. We found anxiety for one person was minimised as staff remained calm and supportive.

Is the service responsive?

We saw that staff maintained records of the support they provided. Appointments were planned and recorded. Support plans were updated where necessary. People told us that they had choice and freedom to eat what they liked, go to bed and get up when they liked and go out in the community. Monthly checks of people's health and wellbeing were recorded and annual health checks and changes to medicines were completed.

Is the service well led?

Peoples care plans identified their personal goals and they were reviewed every six months. It was clear that the staff spent time talking to people and staff told us that every week they asked people about any concerns they may have while out with them alone. This was an informal discussion where people could raise concerns. A monthly quality assurance audit report was completed by a representative of the provider which looked at various aspects of the home and records. Action plans were completed for improvements to the home and people's comments were recorded.

We spoke with both of the people who were living at the home. They told us they were "very happy" with the care they were receiving. They told us they could make decisions and they could talk to the manager and staff at any time.

Both people told us that they had been involved in developing their care plans and we found that they had signed these. We observed that both people were happy and relaxed at the home and in the company of staff. There was open communication with the staff who knew the people living in the home very well. Both people told us they could have the meals they wanted and participate in activities of their choice.

Both people told us they felt safe in the home and they received support from the staff and the provider. Both of the people we spoke with had lived at the home for several years and clearly viewed it as their home.

Both people living at Glebe Road can be assured that the administration, recording and handling of medicines was done in a safe manner.

We found that both people were supported by sufficient skilled and experienced staff.

We spoke with both of the people living at Glebe Road who told us that they were always treated respectfully. Their comments included: "The staff are polite and are always kind to me" "I get on well with all of the staff, I have been here a long time and they know me and how to support me". During our visit we saw that staff spoke to people in a kind manner and with respect. People told us that their opinions were sought so that they were involved in decisions and that they had choice.

We observed staff providing reassurance, care and concern to people. People told us that they were satisfied with the care provided. Their comments included: "I really like it here, the staff are alright and support me to do the things I want to do" and "I have a key worker, they keep a special eye on me and make sure I am well looked after".

We found that staff were very clear about what action they would take if they saw or suspected any abuse. People told us that they felt "very safe" living in the home and had no worries or concerns. They all said that if they had any concerns or worries they would speak to the staff.

Appropriate recruitment checks had been undertaken before staff began working at Glebe Road. Staff had received training in order to support people that lived at the home.

We found evidence that the service regularly assessed and monitored the quality of their service.