This unannounced inspection took place on 9 March 2017.

Shining Star is a four bedded service providing support and accommodation to people with a learning disability. It is a large house in a residential area close to public transport and other services. The house does not have any special adaptations. A ground floor bathroom and shower are available, which can meet the needs of a person with limited mobility.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Systems were in place to minimise risk and to ensure that people were as safe as possible. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people were safe and knew what action to take if they had any concerns. They were confident that the registered manager would address any concerns.

People were protected by the provider’s recruitment process which ensured that staff were suitable to work with people who need support.

The staff team worked with other professionals to ensure that people were supported to receive the healthcare that they needed. People received their prescribed medicines safely.

Staff received the support and training they needed to give them the necessary skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s assessed needs.

People were supported to be as independent as possible and to make choices about what they did. Systems were in place to ensure that their human rights were protected.

People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was maintained. They were supported by a consistent staff team who knew them well.

The registered manager and the provider monitored the quality of service provided to ensure that people received a safe and effective service that met their needs.

People lived in a safe environment that was suitable for their needs.

People chose what they wanted to eat and drink. They were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs.

Systems were in place to respond to any concerns or issues that affected people who used the service.

Due to their complex care needs, people who used the service were unable to verbally tell us what they thought about the service. We observed that they appeared happy and were supported to choose their preferred activity. A social worker said that the "home has improved over the last year" and that it was "a positive place with caring individuals."

We saw in practice that consent was sought before an activity was undertaken. Staff understood the importance of getting consent before they delivered care.

Each person had their own bedroom which allowed privacy. Care plans demonstrated that people's individual needs, likes and dislikes were addressed and met where possible. We observed one person being supported in getting ready to go out for the day in a way that was appropriate to their needs.

We found that the people who were using the service were protected from abuse as the provider had procedures in place for the staff to follow if the suspected anyone was at risk from abuse and staff told us that they understood theses policies and procedures. We were shown the protocols and systems for the safe storage and supply of medicines, which were all followed and records were complete. This demonstrated that there were processes in place designed to keep people safe from harm.

There were systems and procedures in place for monitoring and improving quality and we saw examples of improvements made. There was a comprehensive complaints procedure in place.

We spoke with three of the four people who use the service but due to the degree of their learning disabilities they were not able to give us feedback about the quality of the service. We observed how people were supported by the staff team and we contacted two people’s relatives and a social worker for feedback on the service. Relatives told us that they were happy with the service provided. One relative said “they do a really good job. No complaints.” The social worker informed us that they had been happy with the placement but were concerned about a recent medication error.

People were treated with respect and their care and welfare needs were met. A relative told us “they are good at getting my relative the healthcare that they need.” People were supported to be as independent as possible and to use community facilities. Staff received the training and support that they needed to meet people’s needs. There were systems in place to ensure that people received their prescribed medication appropriately. Following medication errors the provider had taken appropriate action to make the procedure more robust to ensure that people received their prescribed medication as safely as possible.

This unannounced inspection took place on 22 December 2014. We returned to the service on 21 January 2015 to review additional records and documents. This is a summary of what we found.

Shining Star is a 4 bed service providing support and accommodation to people with a learning disability. It is a large house in a residential area close to public transport and other services. The house does not have any special adaptations. A ground floor bathroom and shower are available which can meet the needs of a person with limited mobility. People lived in a clean, safe environment that was suitable for their needs.

The service had a manager in post and she had applied to be the registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe at the service. They were supported by kind, caring staff who treated them with respect.

The staff team worked closely with other professionals to ensure that people were supported to receive the healthcare that they needed.

Staff had received Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) training. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards is where a person can be deprived of their liberties where it is deemed to be in their best interests or for their own safety. Staff were aware that on occasions this was necessary. We saw that there was a DoLS in place for one person to keep them safe.

People chose what they wanted to eat and drink They were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs.

Staff received the support and training they needed to provide a safe and appropriate service that met people’s needs.

Systems were in place to respond to any concerns or issues that affected people who used the service.

Although the provider monitored the quality of the service this had not been robust in the six months prior to the new manager being in post. However, the new manager was working with the staff team to ensure that the necessary checks and audits were carried out and that any outstanding actions were identified and addressed.