This inspection took place on 24, 28 August and 6 September 2018 and was announced.

St Anne's Community Services - South Tyneside, provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes or in a 'supported living' setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

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.

The care service had 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.

The service had a 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People and their relatives we spoke with told us they felt safe and well cared for. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities regarding keeping the people they cared for safe. Safeguarding alerts that had been raised had been dealt appropriately and in line with the provider’s own policy.

Robust recruitment checks were carried out prior to any new staff commencing employment. Staff had the appropriate skills and had received training for their role. Training records however, showed that for some staff certain areas of training had lapsed. The registered manager told us that all outstanding training would completed by the end of September 2018. Staff confirmed they had regular supervision sessions and yearly appraisals.

The process of handling of people’s medication was safe. Records showed that staff carried out regular health and safety checks at people’s homes to make sure they were safe. Risk assessments were in place for people who used the service and described potential risks and the safeguards in place to mitigate these risks.

People contributed to the development of their care plans which were written in a person-centred way and were clear to understand. Person-centred is an approach that ensures the person is included in their support and their preferences are respected. Care plans also demonstrated involvement from other healthcare professionals to ensure that people’s ongoing and any emerging health needs were met. Care plans were assessed on a regular basis to ensure people received care and support that was appropriate to their needs. Staff understood the needs of people and that was evidenced when we visited people in their homes.

Where possible, people were supported and encouraged to lead as independent a life as possible. Social activities and involvement with the local community are a great focus for the service and this was confirmed when we spoke with people, staff and relatives. People were also supported to maintain and develop relationships that were important to them.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff were able to describe to us the importance of ensuring that people’s nutritional needs were met.

People and relatives told us that staff treated people

We carried out an inspection of St Anne's Community Services – South Tyneside on 19 and 30 November 2015. The inspection was announced. This was to ensure there would be someone present in the office to assist us. This was the first inspection of St Anne's Community Services – South Tyneside since it moved to its current location. We inspected the service at its previous location in February 2014 and found the service was meeting the legal requirements in force at that time.

St Anne's Community Services – South Tyneside provides personal care and support to people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection, services were provided to 12 people who lived in shared houses with support.

The service had 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.

People told us they felt safe and were well cared for. Staff knew about safeguarding vulnerable adults. The alerts we received during the past year had been dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe. We were told staff provided care safely and we found staff were subject to robust recruitment checks. Arrangements for managing people’s medicines were also safe.

Staff obtained people’s consent before providing care. Arrangements were in place to assess people’s mental capacity and to identify if decisions needed to be taken on behalf of a person in their best interests.

Staff had completed relevant training for their role and they were well supported by the management team. Training included care and safety related topics and further topics were planned. Staff understood the needs of people and we saw their needs were assessed and reviewed regularly. Staff developed care plans with sufficient detail to guide care practice. They were person centred. People’s and their relatives spoke highly about the care provided.

Staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs and made sure they were supported with meal preparation and food shopping where necessary. People’s health needs were identified and where appropriate staff worked with other professionals to ensure these were addressed.

People had opportunities to participate in activities and in accessing local facilities; maintaining a local community presence. People and their relatives confirmed staff had a kind and caring approach. Staff explained clearly how people’s privacy and dignity were maintained. People’s views were sought and acted upon, through annual surveys, care review arrangements and the complaints process.

People receiving a service and staff expressed confidence in the registered manager. They felt there was good leadership. A clear set of values underpinned the service. We found there were effective systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service, which included feedback from people receiving care and those acting on their behalf.