The inspection took place on 17 November 2018 and was announced.

Sturts Community Trust is a domiciliary care agency. It provides a service to younger disabled adults. This service provides care and support to people living in nine ‘supported living’ settings, 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.

Sturts Community embedded holistic Camphill values and practices which were to work and create communities in which people with additional needs can live, learn, and work with others in healthy social relationships based on mutual care and respect. The nominated individual told us that involving people was fundamental to the service they deliver.

The care service has 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.

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.

Sturts Community provided very good person centred care and examples of this were observed throughout our inspection. Feedback from people, relatives and professionals was that the level of care was “amazing” and “very good”. Independence was actively promoted and embedded in the homes which in turn gave people roles, taught them new skills and gave them a real sense of purpose. Communication needs were understood and met by staff who thought of creative and innovative ways to respond to these. Disability was not seen as a barrier to people living fulfilled, purposeful lives.

Staff were compassionate, kind and highly motivated in their roles. The service was mindful of and creative with matching people and staff. Staff were sensitive when people needed caring and compassionate support. The involvement of an advocacy service was promoted at Sturts Community and a person had been working with a local advocate to set up an independent advocacy group at the service. People were supported positively and safely to form friendships and intimate relationships with others of their choice.

People were protected from avoidable harm as staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and the actions needed if abuse was suspected. There were enough staff to provide safe care and recruitment checks had ensured they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. When people were at risk of seizures or behaviours which may challenge the staff understood the actions needed to minimise avoidable harm. The service was responsive when things went wrong and reviewed practices in a timely manner. Medicines were administered and managed safely by trained staff.

People had been involved in assessments of their care needs and had their choices and wishes respected including access to healthcare when required. Their care was provided by staff who had received an induction and on-going training that enabled them to carry out their role effectively. People had their eating and drinking needs and preferences understood and met. Opportunities to work in partnership with other organisations took place to ensure positive outcomes for people using 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.

People had their care need

The inspection took place on 6 July and was announced. The inspection continued on 7 July 2016. It was carried out by a single inspector.

Sturts Community Trust provides personal care to 28 people with learning disabilities. People lived in nine houses spread across farm land. There was also an onsite creamery, a farm shop and a working farm. The houses varied in size from two to eight people living in shared supported living environments.

Sturts Community embedded holistic Camphill values and practices which were to work and create communities in which people with additional needs can live, learn, and work with others in healthy social relationships based on mutual care and respect. The nominated individual told us that involving people was fundamental to the service they deliver.

Medicines were not always stored or recorded safely. This meant that people were at potential risk of receiving spoilt medicines. We discussed this with the management who put an action plan in place to address these.

Whilst reviewing medication files in one home we noted that records dated back to 2013. This made files very lengthy and could cause confusion to new and experienced staff regarding the correct medication people are taking and which Medication Administration Record sheet is in use. We discussed this with the service manager who archived and created new medication folders there and then. This demonstrated positive leadership.

There were detailed care and support plans in place based on individual preferences, likes dislikes and people’s needs. Goals were set and broken down into steps appropriate for people to achieve them.

There were enough staff in place to meet peoples care and support needs who had received appropriate pre-employment checks on their suitability prior to them starting work at Sturts Community. Staff told us they received enough training to enable them to do their jobs. They felt supported by senior staff and one staff member told us they enjoyed working at the home and felt management were approachable. They experienced the team as friendly and welcoming. There was a system for ensuring staff completed mandatory training and staff had an annual appraisal and further learning was supported.

Only staff who had received appropriate medicines training were able to administer medicines. We noted that medicines were dispensed into small glass dispensing pots and or egg cups. This posed a small risk to people if they were dropped and smashed. We discussed this with the registered manager who told us that these would be replaced with disposable dispensing pots.

People had access to healthcare when they needed it. People’s care records demonstrated contact with a variety of health and social care professionals.

People’s views were obtained in a number of ways. The registered manager told us they had regular contact with people and their families and had informal discussions with them. This meant the care and support people received was audited and improvements made.

People were supported to maintain contact with people who were important to them and there were no restrictions on visiting times. People had different interests and liked to spend the day in ways which suited them. There was a range of vocational, social and leisure activities which included farming, cheese making, college, swimming, shopping and bowling to name a few. People had active timetables which reflected the activities they had an interest in.

There were good relationships between the management and the care workers who worked closely together. The management team provided formal supervision as well as day to day supervision. All new staff had completed or were working towards completing the care certificate.

People and staff we spoke to told us they felt the service was well led and that the management was very approachable and open to suggestion and learning. Regular quality checks took place. These ensured that Sturts Community pr