Sherbrooke is a small family run supported living service based in Banstead, Surrey. The provider is Caprani Care. They personal care for up to four people who have a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder and mental health support needs.

This inspection took place on 14 September 2017. We announced the inspection so we could gain permission to visit the people who use the service at the house they lived in. This was the first inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission.

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 incredibly positive feedback about the home and caring nature of staff from people and relatives. One relative said, “Our family wish all supported living was managed to Caprani Care standards.” A health care professional said, “The service excels in treating each service user as an individual. There is no one size fits all.” Everyone we spoke with told us they felt the service gave an outstanding level of care and support to people.

The registered manager, who is also the provider, had a clear vision and set of values for this service. These were based on dignity and respect, reflective learning, working together and a commitment to providing quality care and support. They were also focussed on getting to know the people they support and growing the service they received together with them. This compassionate and clear message was clearly shared by the staff team. This had a positive impact across all five of the key questions we asked (Is it safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well led) and the lives of the people who used this service.

The service strived to be known as outstanding and innovative in providing person centred care based on best practice. The registered manager had established a culture that put people at the centre of the service. This resulted in people taking back control of their lives, either from being institutionalised for their whole lives, or overcoming obstacles due to their disabilities. Staff were confident and knowledgeable in their ability to support and care for people. Their passion for supporting people to live a fulfilled life and overcoming obstacles was evident throughout the inspection.

The staff were exceptionally kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect. Good interactions were seen throughout the day of our inspection, such as staff asking people’s advice about how to proceed with tasks, or having a laugh and a joke with them. People were relaxed and happy with the staff and it was clear that caring relationships had developed between them. People’s relationships with family and friends and dramatically improved due to the support and guidance given by the staff.

People’s safety was paramount at Sherbrooke, as was their involvement in keeping themselves and others safe. People’s interests in health and safety had been identified, and training given to equip them with the skills needed to lead on safety checks around the house they lived in. Through an understanding of people and their support needs staff worked with them to manage risks and enable them to live their lives in the way they wanted. Risks of harm to people had been identified and clear plans and guidelines were in place to minimise these risks, without restricting people’s freedom. Staff worked on the premise of how people could be supported to do fun, but risky activities, rather than trying to stop people doing things they liked.

Although there was a small staff team there were sufficient staff deployed to meet the needs and preferences of the individual people that they supported. The provider had imple