We inspected the service on 13 September 2017. Twenty four hours’ notice of the inspection was given because the service is small and people living there are often out, and we wanted to be sure people would be at home. The Coach House provides accommodation and personal care for up to four people with a learning disability. The home is located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. On the day of our inspection three people were using the service and one person was on holiday with their family.

At our last inspection in June 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found that the service remained ‘Good’.

People continued to receive a safe service. People told us they felt safe living at The Coach House. Staff had attended safeguarding training and were aware of their role and responsibilities in protecting people from avoidable harm and abuse. Risks associated with people’s needs had been assessed and staff had detailed and up to date information about how to assist people in managing any risks. The environment was regularly checked for health and safety, including security. Staff had information available about how to manage any event that could affect the safety of the service. People were supported by appropriate staffing levels to meet their dependency needs. The provider had safe staff recruitment procedures and these were followed. The storage and management of medicines were found to be safe.

People continued to receive an effective service. Staff received an appropriate induction, ongoing training, support and opportunities to review their work. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards that protected people’s human rights. People were involved in the development of the menu and their nutritional needs were known and understood by staff. People were supported to attend health appointments with primary and specialist healthcare services, and staff worked well with external healthcare professionals.

People continued to receive good care. People were positive about the staff who supported them and described them as being kind, caring and supportive. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs, and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had detailed, and up to date information to support them to meet people’s individual’s needs and aspirations. People had access to independent advocacy information if they required this support.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People received an assessment of their needs and support plans were developed to support staff on how to meet their needs. People were supported to contribute to their community and participate in opportunities important to them. People had access to the provider’s complaint policy and procedure. Where concerns had been raised they had been responded to appropriately.

The service continued to be well-led. People, relatives, external professionals and staff were positive and complimentary about the service. People and their relatives received opportunities to give feedback about the service and its development. The provider had arrangements in place for monitoring and assessing the quality and safety of the service including the care people experienced.

We inspected the service on 30 June 2015. Twenty four hours notice of the inspection was given because the service is small and people living there are often out and we wanted to be sure people would be at home. The Coach House provides accommodation and personal care for up to four people with a learning disability. The home is located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire. On the day of our inspection four people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 felt safe in the service and the manager knew what information should be shared with the local authority when needed. Staff knew how to respond to incidents and how to escalate concerns. This meant there were systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.

Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. Staffing levels were matched to the needs of people who used the service to ensure they received care and support when they needed it.

People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care and support.

People were supported to make decisions and where there was a lack of capacity to make certain decisions, people were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were supported to maintain their nutrition and staff were monitoring and responding to people’s health conditions.

Staff valued people and empowered people to achieve their goals and aspirations. People’s independence and choice in the way they lived their life on a daily basis was achieved through

Innovative and creative methods.

People lived in an open and inclusive environment and were supported to develop their daily living skills and to make their own decisions about how they were supported and by whom.

People were involved in giving their views on how the service was run and involved in decisions about the service. The systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided was effective.

We considered all of the information we hold about this service before we did this inspection and this did not raise any concerns. We had not received any information of concern from stakeholders in relation to this service.

We saw that staff supported people to maintain and develop their independence, encouraging them to get involved in talks around the house. When we asked people what they liked most about the home one person told us, “I get to be independent and I like that.”

We saw people’s needs were assessed and planned for. We spoke with three people who were using the service during our visit and received positive comments about the support provided. One person told us, “I like it here. The staff are good.”

People were protected from the risk of abuse and staff had guidance and training to ensure they responded appropriately to any incident which might require a referral to safeguarding vulnerable adult’s teams. People we spoke with felt safe with the staff working in the home.

Staff were given training and development to enable them to do their job safely. They were given formal supervision to discuss how well they were working.

We spoke with two people who were using the service who told us, “I can choose how I spend my days. The staff are very nice and always check before doing anything.”

We spoke with two people who were using the service during our visit. Both people told us they liked living at The Coach House and that they received all of the support they needed.

We checked the quantities of the medication that was in use at the time of our visit. These tallied with the MAR sheets which showed that people had received their medication at the appropriate times. The people we spoke with indicated that they received their medication and did not raise any concerns in this area.

The people we spoke with felt that there were always enough staff available to meet their needs. One person said, “Generally I’m independent but I know staff are there to support me when I need it. They always check on me at night as well which I like.”

We spoke with four people who live at the Coach House, and asked about the care that they were receiving. We were told: “They look after me like one-o!” “The staff are nice.” “Most of the staff are alright, but I have a bit of a personality clash sometimes, but most of them are nice.”

We asked people who live at the care home about their care files. We were told: “I can see it if I want.” “I’ve written my name in there when my key worker told me what was written in the file, to say that I agreed with it.” “The staff write in the files, but they tell us what they write, and we can see it at any time.”

We asked if people felt safe living at the Coach House, and they all said that they did. We also asked for people’s opinions of the staff, and we were told that the staff were: “They are alright the staff, I get on very well with everyone.” “The staff are nice, they look after me very well.” “I’m very happy here, I like it.” “The staff are nice, yes very nice.”