This inspection took place on 8,13 and 16 August 2018 and was announced. This was the first inspection since a change in the existing providers registration following a move of the provider’s offices. However, Grace Eyre Shared Lives Sussex was not a new service. It was still owned and managed by the provider as at our previous inspection. We last inspected the service on 17 May 2016 and rated it as Good with Outstanding in Caring.

The Grace Eyre Foundation provides support to people who have a learning disability and/or a mental health need, through shared lives services, day care, housing, and domiciliary support where people were supported in their own homes and in supported living.

Grace Eyre Choices Sussex provides personal care and support for adults with a learning disability, autism or mental health need in the community, living in their own home and in supported living accommodation in the Brighton and Hove and West Sussex areas. 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. At the time of our inspection around 200 people were receiving a service, of which 64 received the regulated activity of personal care. The staff team also help people to develop their skills for greater independence. They can help with people learning to cook, budgeting, managing medication, accessing the community and aim to promote healthy lifestyles, through a varied range of enjoyable leisure activities.

On the day 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. The registered manager was supported by two general managers, nine service managers and nine team leaders with dedicated administrative support.

Since the new registration there had been several changes. Staff spoke of a move to new offices and the provider taking over the care and support provided in a number of new supported living sites. The service had grown quite quickly due to this. There had also been changes in the structure of the management team to support the larger service, which had not yet been fully embedded. A new computer system had been introduced and information was being transferred over with the view of being a paperless service. Although senior staff were auditing the care and support provided, some of the quality assurance for example, spot checks could not be fully evidenced as had not always been recorded. Information on the new system was not always complete and was still being updated, for example, staff supervision records. Feedback from staff was not always consistent as to the process to be followed or the forms to be completed. Recording, to give senior managers a clear oversight of the quality assurance which had been completed had not been fully maintained and there was a lack of oversight of the quality assurance process.

The organisation was outstandingly caring as they strove to ensure the service was ‘service user led.’ There were a range of work opportunities, forums and accessible information to support and enable people to give their views on the care and support provided, and to be actively part of the development and running of the service. People were enthusiastic and committed to the roles they had taken on. They spoke of being valued and enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the running of the service.

Care and support provided was personalised and based on the identified needs of each individual. People we