Stephendale Road is a six bedded care home for adults with a learning disability. Each person is provided with a single occupancy bedroom, which does not have en-suite facilities. Accommodation is arranged over three floors and there is a passenger lift. The communal areas include a lounge overlooking the back garden, a combined kitchen and dining room, toilets and bathrooms.

At the last inspection in May 2015 the service had an overall rating of Good.

We rated Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led were as Good and Safe was rated as Requires Improvement.

At this inspection we found the service continued to be Good.

There were safe systems in place to assist people with their prescribed medicines and make sure medicines were correctly stored and administered, and returned to the pharmacist if there were surplus supplies. At the previous inspection we found that a person was being supported to administer their own medicines; however the provider had not ensured that the medicines were securely kept in the person’s own room. At this inspection we found the person was being supported to keep their medicines in a secure manner.

People using the service felt safe. Staff understood about how to identify different types of abuse and report their concerns, in line with the provider’s safeguarding policy and procedure. Risk assessments were conducted to enable people to live as independently as possible, while ensuring that any risks associated with their social interests and health needs were minimised.

Sufficient staff were deployed in order to meet people’s needs within the home and support people to access community facilities. Robust recruitment practices were in place and checks were carried out to make sure prospective employees were suitable to work at the service. Staff were supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities through the provision of induction training, supervision and other training to meet the needs of people who used the service.

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. Staff were knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and always asked people for their consent before providing care.

The staff team encouraged people to contribute to the planning and preparation of meals and people were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

People received appropriate support to meet their health care needs as staff attended appointments with them and assisted them to follow professional guidance related to their health and wellbeing.

People and relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. They were supported by staff to maintain important friendships and relationships, pursue favourite and new interests, and celebrate special occasions in accordance with their own wishes.

Personal care and all other aspects of people’s care and support was provided in a respectful and dignified way.

People were consulted about how they wished to be supported and were provided with information about how to access independent advocacy, if they wanted external support to express their views or make a complaint.

People were encouraged to participate in the planning and reviewing of their care and support, and were advised of their entitlement to invite friends as well as relatives to their annual review meetings.

The registered manager and staff team assisted people to find out about local amenities and resources so that people could engage in meaningful activities and try out new ventures.

People had been provided with an accessible complaints leaflet and knew how to make a complaint. They were asked for their views during the residents’ meetings and during their one to one time with their key worker.

A range of quality monitoring practices took place to check that people received a good standard o

A single inspector carried out this inspection. the focus of the inspection was to answer our five questions: Is the service safe? Is the service effective? Is the service caring? Is the service responsive? Is the service well-led?

The detailed evidence supporting our summary can be read in our full report.

Is the service safe?

CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The relevant staff were aware of the policies and procedures relating to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and understood when an application should be made.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and wellbeing. Risk assessments were put in place if the service identified that someone was at risk, for example risk assessments were carried out before people went on holiday.

Appropriate procedures and staff training was in place to safeguard people from abuse.

Is the service effective?

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the care and support they received to meet their needs and wishes. We observed that staff interacted well with people and understood their needs. One person told us, " I like living here. My [relative] comes to see me, I like making cakes and I go to literacy and music classes." Staff had received training, supervision and support to meet the needs of people living at the home.

Is the service caring?

People received care from supportive and caring staff. One person using the service told us, "people are very, very nice. They take us out and we go to some nice places like Oxford Circus and ride in a taxi." During our observations we saw that staff encouraged people to take part in activities and assist with household tasks, and they gave people positive feedback. One relative told us, "we have looked at other services and I would recommend this one."

Is the service responsive?

People were provided with information about the service in an east to read format. We found that people's interests had been identified and they were supported to go out to activities that were important to them, for example people attended weekly religious services. People were also supported to visit friends and family members as well as receive visitors. People were asked for their views informally, and through review meetings and surveys.

Is the service well-led?

The service had a registered manager in post, who was experienced and qualified for their role. The manager had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, including spot checks, audits, surveys and regular visits from senior managers. Staff were supported to develop through staff training, supervision and appraisals. The manager and staff appeared motivated and interested in improving the support and opportunities offered to people using the service.

People we spoke to had lived at Stephendale Road for three to five years. One said "I am very happy living here" and another said, "I like the staff". Feedback from a survey of relatives' views indicated that they were happy with the service. We were not able to communicate verbally with all the residents. However, we saw people involved with staff in a number of different activities during our visit, and the staff communicated with them in their preferred way and responded well to residents' needs, preferences and abilities. Each resident had furnished their room in their own style.

We saw the timetable of residents' individual activities outside the home which were tailored to their needs and interests. Some residents liked to take part in musical activities and some attended day centres. Most people had family or friends whom they saw regularly.

People told us they were happy living at Stephendale Road. Comments included "I love living here staff are really good” “staff are really good to me and we go out all the time" "I am very happy living here."

We were told by three people that if they were unhappy with anything they would talk to the management team and the provider.

The majority of people we spoke to were happy with the care they were receiving at the home. They found staff to be polite and helpful and felt they were treated with respect.

The people living at the home were happy with the food and had input into the meals they had.

The majority of people living at the home were very happy with their activity plans.

This inspection took place on 26 and 28 May 2015. The first day of the inspection was unannounced and we told the deputy manager we were returning on the second day. At our last inspection on 28 April 2014 we found the provider was meeting regulations in relation to the outcomes we inspected.

Stephendale Road is a six bedded care home for men and women with a learning disability. Each person is provided with a single occupancy bedroom, which does not have en-suite facilities. Accommodation is arranged over three floors and there is a passenger lift. The communal areas include a lounge overlooking the back garden, a combined kitchen and dining room, toilets and bathrooms.

There was a registered manager in post, who has managed the service for several years. 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 said they felt safe living at the service. Staff had attended safeguarding training and demonstrated that they understood the provider’s policies and procedures to protect people from harm or abuse, including how to use the whistleblowing policy.

A range of risk assessments had been completed for each person. They provided guidance for staff in regards to how to support people to have independence and control over their lives while promoting their safety, comfort and wellbeing. For example, there were risk assessments in place to support people to take their chosen holidays.

There were enough staff deployed to support people with their personal care and their chosen activities. Recruitment records showed that thorough measures were taken to make sure that suitable staff were appointed to work with people using the service.

Medicines were stored, administered and disposed of safely, apart from the storage of one person’s medicines. Staff had received medicines training and their competency was assessed every year.

Staff received regular one-to-one formal supervision, training and an annual appraisal. The training programme included mandatory training, such as food hygiene and infection control, as well as specific training about how to meet the individual needs of people using the service.

People were supported to have a healthy and balanced diet, which included foods and drinks they had chosen at their menu planning meetings. Staff supported people to access and follow guidance from healthcare professionals such as dietitians and speech and language therapists.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report upon our findings. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is deemed necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, to protect themselves or others. Staff had received training and were aware of how to protect people’s rights.

People said they felt respected and consulted by staff. During the inspection we saw that staff interacted with people in a caring manner. One person told us, “I love it here. This is my home and the staff are all lovely.” Another person told us that staff had supported them to switch to a different community resource centre in accordance with their wishes and were now supporting their decision to make further changes with their social activities programme.

People said that their care and support was provided in a way they liked. For example, one person told us that staff always checked what time they wanted to get up in the morning and how they wished to spend their day. Care plans demonstrated that people, and their relatives and friends if applicable, were actively involved in the care planning and reviewing process. People accessed community medical and healthcare facilities, and staff attended appointments with them.

People and their relatives confirmed that the provider had given them information about how to make a complaint. They expressed their confidence that the registered manager and the senior staff team would take their complaints seriously and rectify any problems.

People said that they liked living at Stephendale Road and got on well with the registered manager. Relatives informed us that the registered manager kept in touch with them and they thought the service was well managed. The registered manager and the provider had mechanisms to measure and monitor the quality of the service and learn from accidents and incidents.