This was an announced inspection carried out on 1 December 2016.

St Andrew’s Drive can provide accommodation and personal care for six people who have a learning disability or who have special needs due to autism. It can also support people who have sensory needs and younger adults. There were six people living in the service at the time of our inspection all of whom were younger adults who had a learning disability.

The service was owned and operated by a charity. 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. In this report when we speak about both the charity and the registered manager we refer to them as being, ‘the registered persons’.

Staff knew how to respond to any concerns that might arise so that people were kept safe from abuse, including financial mistreatment. People were assisted to prevent avoidable accidents and there were reliable arrangements for managing medicines. There were enough staff on duty to provide people with the support they needed and background checks had been completed before new staff were appointed.

Staff had been provided with support and guidance and they knew how to support people in the right way. People enjoyed their meals and had enough to eat and drink. Staff had supported people to obtain all of the healthcare assistance they needed.

Staff had ensured that people’s rights were respected by helping them to make decisions for themselves. The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor how registered persons apply the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and to report on what we find. These safeguards protect people when they are not able to make decisions for themselves and it is necessary to deprive them of their liberty in order to keep them safe. In relation to this, the registered persons had taken the necessary steps to ensure that people only received lawful care that respected their rights.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff recognised people's right to privacy, promoted their dignity and there was provision for confidential information to be kept private.

People had been gently encouraged to be as independent as possible while also receiving all of the practical assistance they needed. When people became distressed they received the individual support and reassurance they needed. People had been supported to pursue occupational interests and to enjoy hobbies and social activities. There was a system for quickly and fairly resolving complaints.

Quality checks had regularly been completed to ensure that the service continued to meet people’s needs and expectations. People had been invited to suggest improvements to their home. The service was run in an open and inclusive way, good team work was promoted and staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns. People had benefited from staff acting upon good practice guidance.

St Andrews Drive provides care and support for up to eight people with a learning disability and/or autistic spectrum disorders whilst they attend local education college placements. Four people were living there at the time of our visit, all of whom were out at their college.

We were invited to the college and we spoke with three people about life at the home. One person said, "It's a really good house to live in. Another person said, "The food is really good and the staff are lovely." All three people said they liked living with the other people who lived there.

We saw that people's support plans and risk assessments reflected their needs and were up to date. Staff that we spoke with were aware of the contents of the support plans, which enabled them to deliver appropriate and safe care. The provider had a range of quality monitoring systems in place to ensure that care was being delivered appropriately by staff in line with individual care plans, and that people were satisfied with the service they received.

The accommodation was adapted to meet the needs of the people living there and was appropriately maintained. The home was warm, clean and was personalised to the people who lived there. The provider had systems in place that ensured the safe receipt, storage, administration and recording of medicines.

We used a number of different methods to help us to understand the students’ experiences. As well as talking with them we looked at records. These included care plans, minutes of meetings and quality assurance reports.

Students told us St Andrews Drive was a nice place to live. They told us the staff team provided the support and care they needed and had choices in their lives.

Students were able to personalise their rooms and brought as many personal items with them as they liked.

The students said they were looked after well and if necessary visited the GP or other health professionals when it was necessary.

They told us they felt safe living at the service. They also said they would tell the manager or a member of staff if they didn’t and were sure their concerns would be dealt with.

Students told us they thought the staff knew what they were doing. Staff were supported by the manager and received appropriate levels of training and supervision to do their job.

Students were asked for their views about the running of the home and reports about the surveys were published.