This inspection took place on 7 December 2016 and was announced. The inspection was announced to ensure the people who lived at the home were available for us to speak with. The Hollies is a small care home which provides care and support to three people who have learning disabilities and/or autism.

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.

The Hollies is a family run home and people who lived at the Hollies lived alongside adult members of the family who supported them, and the children of the adults who lived at the home. The three people who lived at the home had lived at the Hollies for many years and felt safe with the family members who supported them.

The family members,’ who supported people, saw people as an extension to their own family and were very responsive to them. People were involved in a range of activities and interests which met their differing needs and wants.

People were provided with support when they were ill to make sure they received effective treatment when necessary. Visits to health care professionals were made as and when necessary.

People’s risks were well understood by the family who supported them. They ensured actions were taken to minimise any potential risks so people remained as safe as possible.

The person in the family, who provided most support to people, had undertaken relevant training to meet people’s needs. They had cascaded this training to others to support them in their work. They understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

People were involved in decisions about meals and what they wanted to eat during the day. They were encouraged to have a healthy diet. The provider was looking to improve independence skills by encouraging people to be more involved in food preparation.

Checks were made to the premises to ensure they were safe for people to live in. Where people required adaptations and equipment to support them, this had been provided.

The family worked well as a team to provide people with high quality care and a good life experience.

We visited The Hollies on 7 January 2014. During our visit we spoke with the registered manager, a support worker and two of the three people living at the home.

We saw the owner/manager of the home and his wife lived in the home alongside the people they supported. The support worker was the daughter of the owner/manager. It was a family home, and the people living there were treated as members of the family. We were told one person had lived at The Hollies for 24 years, one had lived there for 20 years, and the third person had lived there for 13 years.

Two of the three people living at the home were available to speak with us. They both told us they liked living at The Hollies. The third person was on holiday in France with the owner's wife.

We observed good relationships between the family and the people they were supporting. We saw the family were very caring and supportive. They demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of the people living in the home.

We looked at the premises. We saw people lived in a comfortable, well maintained, clean, and safe environment which met their needs.

We looked at the care and support given to people. Care records demonstrated people received good support on an on-going basis.

We checked medication. We were satisfied medicines were being managed safely.

We carried out this inspection to check on the care and welfare of people using the service. We visited the Hollies on 21 June 2012. There were three people living in the home at the time of this visit. No one knew we would be visiting. We spoke with the respite carer and two of the people who lived in the home.

We saw that The Hollies was a family home registered as a care home. The registered provider was also the registered manager and owned and lived in the home with his wife. They provided the care and support for the people who lived there.

The people who lived in the home had lived there between 12 and 22 years. None of them had close family connections. The registered manager and his family were regarded as their extended family. In essence the service was run as a family home.

On the day we visited, one of the people who lived in the home was on holiday in France with the registered manager and his wife. The home was being run by a respite carer who was the daughter of the registered manager. The respite carer knew the people well as she also lived in the home and helped care for them on a daily basis.

The respite carer told us, “It is family orientated. They get so much choice. They are supported by me, my parents and other family members.”

One person told us, “I have been here for 12 years.” We asked if they liked it at the home. They replied, “Yes I do.” Another person told us, "I do everything I want to do."

Whilst we saw this was a small and homely service run as a family unit, the registered provider must ensure there are policies, procedures and records in place to meet the essential standards of quality and safety.