This inspection took place on 21 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 20 June 2016 and rated the service as Good with Outstanding in Caring.

The Grace Eyre Foundation provides support for people who have a learning disability and/or a mental health need, through shared lives services, day care, housing and domiciliary support.

Grace Eyre Shared Lives Sussex is registered to provide personal care for children sixteen years and above, adults and older people living in Sussex and Brighton and Hove. 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.

In shared lives, people who need support and or accommodation become a regular visitor to, or moves in with, an approved shared lives carer. Together, they share family and community life and in many cases the individual becomes part of a supportive family. Shared lives carers and people they care for are matched for compatibility and can develop real relationships. The shared lives carer acts as ‘extended family’, so that someone can live at the heart of their community in a supportive family setting. Care and support was offered for long-term and short-term respite placements. A ‘day share’ facility was also available where people can go to a shared lives carers home for the day who provide care, support and activities. A kinship arrangement was also in place. This was where shared lives carers provide, ‘Long arm’ care and support to people living independently in their own homes. Approximately 80 people, of which 43 received the regulated activity personal care, were supported by 66 approved shared lives carers in the scheme. Not all the shared lives carers provided the regulated activity of personal care at the time of the inspection. But were supporting people with developing access into their local neighbourhood and helping develop people’s life skills towards improved independence. Shared lives carers were supported and managed by shared lives staff employed by the scheme.

As part of the scheme staff were working on a pilot project to support care leavers from the age of 16 years plus within West Sussex. Shared lives staff had been collaboratively working with another local authority scheme also in the pilot. They were working with Shared Live Plus, the UK network for shared lives schemes on the policy and procedures to be followed. Staff were in the process of being recruited and trained. The pilot was not up and running at the time of the inspection so was not looked at on this occasion.

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. There was a clear management structure for the service with identified leadership roles. The registered manager was supported by three coordinators, a transition manager and administrative support.

Since the new registration there had been several changes with a new registered manager and changes in the senior staff team. A shared lives carer told us, “There have been a lot of changes and it has improved a lot. I did not feel very well supported. Now if I tell them anything they follow it up to see if the people or I need anything. (Registered mana