We inspected this service on 15 February 2018. Oak Tree House is a care home.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this 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.

Oak Tree House provides accommodation and or personal care for up to three people with learning disabilities and autism. . The accommodation is provided in an adapted detached house with a garden. At the time of our inspection, three people were living at the home.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People continued to receive safe care. People were protected from the risk of avoidable harm by staff who understood their responsibilities to identify and report any signs of potential abuse. We saw that incidents and accidents were investigated thoroughly to ensure lessons were learnt. Risks associated with people’s care and support were managed safely and relatives were confident their family members were safe and well cared for. People received their medicines when needed and there were suitable arrangements in place in relation to the safe administration, recording and storage of medicines. There were sufficient, suitably recruited staff to meet people’s needs.

People continued to be cared for effectively. People enjoyed a wide range of food and drink and were encouraged to be involved in meal preparation. Staff received training to meet the needs of people at the service and were supported and encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The care people received remained good. People had positive, caring relationships with the staff who were kind and caring and supported people to make choices about their care. People’s privacy, dignity and independence were promoted at all times. People were encouraged to maintain their important relationships.

The service remained responsive. People received personalised care that met their individual needs. Staff understood people’s diverse needs and encouraged them to achieve their goals and aspirations. People and their relatives were able to raise and concerns or complaints and were confident these would be acted on.

The service remained well led. There were suitable systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. The provider encouraged people, their relatives and professionals involved in the service to give feedback on how they could make improvements in the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected this service on 10 February 2016. We contacted the home on the morning of the inspection because it is a small service and we wanted to make sure somebody would be in. At the last inspection on 11 October 2013, the service was meeting the standards we checked.

Oak Tree House provides personal care for up to three adults with a learning disability and associated conditions. There were two people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

There was a registered manager at the home. 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.

Staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. There were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff received the training and support they needed to meet people’s needs and an induction programme was in place to support new staff to understand their role. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and checks were made to confirm staff were suitable to work in a care environment. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People made decisions about their care and staff helped them to understand the information they needed to make informed decisions. People were supported to eat and drink enough and staff monitored people’s health to ensure they had access to other health professionals when needed.

Staff had caring relationships with people, supported their privacy and dignity and encouraged them to maximise their independence. People had opportunities to work and were supported to follow their interests both at home and in the local community. People were supported to maintain relationships with people that mattered to them.

There were processes in place for people to raise any complaints and express their views and opinions about the service provided. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to enable the provider to drive improvement.