Meadow Acres is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a care home without nursing. It provides care, support and accommodation for up to eight people who live with a learning disability. At the time of this inspection there were eight people using the service.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us they felt safe living in the service. Risks to people’s lives and well-being were appropriately planned for and managed. People who used the service told us there were enough competent staff to provide them with support when they needed it. Concerns in relation to medicine storage in warm weather had been acknowledged by the registered manager and systems were being implemented to address this.

Staff had received appropriate training, support and development to help them carry out their role effectively. The service was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People received appropriate support to maintain healthy nutrition and hydration.

People told us and we observed that they were treated with kindness by staff who respected their privacy and upheld their dignity.

People were given the opportunity to feed back on the service and their views were acted on. People received personalised care that met their individual needs. People were given appropriate support and encouragement to access meaningful activities and follow their individual interests.

People told us they knew how to complain and were confident they would be listened to if they wished to make a complaint.

The registered manager had created an open, transparent and inclusive atmosphere within the service. People, staff and external health professionals were invited to take part in discussions around shaping the future of the service. There was a robust quality assurance system in place and shortfalls identified were promptly acted on to improve the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The inspection took place on 21 July 2015 and was unannounced.

Meadow Acres is a care home without nursing. It provides care, support and treatment for up to eight people with a learning disability. There were seven people accommodated at the home at the time of this inspection.

We last inspected the service on 14 August 2013 and found the service was meeting the required standards at that time.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

CQC is required to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves or others. At the time of the inspection we found that applications had been made to the local authority in relation to the people who lived at Meadow Acres.

People felt safe at Meadow Acres and were confident to approach the staff. People had health care and support plans in place to ensure staff knew how people liked their needs to be met. Risks to people’s safety and welfare had been identified and care had been planned to enable people to live as safely and independently as possible. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. People’s medicines were managed safely.

Staff members understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported by the manager to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge. People enjoyed a varied healthy diet and their health needs were well catered for.

The atmosphere in the home was welcoming and there was a warm interaction between the staff and people who used the service. People were involved in all aspects of their care and support as much as they were able. People were supported to access support from external advocacy services to help them make decisions about matters in their daily lives. Relatives and friends were encouraged to visit at any time and people were actively supported to maintain family relationships. Staff promoted people’s dignity and treated them with respect.

People were supported to be individuals. Their care and support was planned around their needs and they, along with family members and professionals, were involved in decisions about their care. The provider had made arrangements to support people and their families to raise concerns and meetings were held for people to discuss all aspects of the care and support provided at the home.

The manager promoted a positive culture within the home that was transparent and inclusive. The manager and provider had robust systems to continuously check the quality of the service provided. Staff felt valued and were encouraged to contribute any ideas they may have for improving the service.

People told us that they liked living at the house and two people said, "We are a family". Another person said that there were lots of things to do each day and that, "The staff are friendly but can be very busy". Staff told us that it was a nice place to work and one person told us, "That it was very busy but always rewarding".

We saw that staff were always supporting the people who lived at the house and worked with people who had high needs. We observed that this was done with respect for people's privacy and dignity. We gained some feedback from a visiting professional who complimented the staff and the support they gave to people at all times. Parents and friends had complimented the service although one had said the house can be full of noise at times.

During our visit to Meadow Acres on 04 September 2012 six of the eight people who lived at the home were available for us to meet with. Because of the limited verbal communication of some of the people it was difficult to discuss their care with them in any depth. Therefore we also used a number of different methods including observations and talking with staff, to help us understand the experiences of these people.

People told us that they were well cared for and we noted that they were relaxed in the presence of the staff team. One person said, “I am very happy here, I don’t ever want to leave” and another person showed a thumbs up sign when we asked about the care the home and the staff who worked there provided.

People told us that they were supported to be independent and the staff helped them to carry out personal care and household tasks according to their needs and ability. One person said, “I can now go to the bank on my own and sometimes to the shops”.