The inspection took place on 13 July 2016 and was unannounced. The Larches provides accommodation for up to six people. People living at the home had a wide range of complex well-being and physical needs. There were six people living at the home at the time of our inspection. People had their own rooms and the use of a number of communal areas including lounges and dining areas and a garden.

We spent time with people who lived at the home and spoke with five people about the care and support they received. The examples we have given are therefore brief because we respect people’s right to confidentiality.

A registered manager was in post 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.

Risks to people's safety were understood by staff and people benefited from receiving care which took into account their safety needs. There were enough staff to care for people and staff knew what actions to take if they had any concerns for people's wellbeing or safety. People were supported to take their medicines so they would remain well.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and who used their skills and knowledge so people’s health and well-being would be promoted. People received help from staff to enjoy a range of food and drinks and to obtain help form health professionals so they would remain well. Staff worked with other organisations so people's rights to make decisions and their freedoms were protected.

People enjoyed spending time with the registered manager and had built caring relationships with staff. People were given encouragement to make their own decisions about their day to day care when they needed it. People's rights to dignity and privacy was understood and acted upon by staff.

People’s care was planned in ways which took into account how they liked their care to be given. Staff took action when people's needs changed. People and their relatives had not needed to raise any complaints about the service, but were confident action would be taken if complaints were made.

Staff understood what was expected of them and were supported by the registered manager and senior staff to care for people. People were supported by staff to make any suggestions they had about the care provided. Regular checks were made on the quality of the care by the provider’s representative and registered manager. Actions were taken to further improve people’s experience of living at the home.

On the day of our inspection we spoke with two people who lived at the home, the director of care and four staff. Following our inspection we also spoke with a relative.

We saw that people were supported by health and social care professionals to ensure they had care tailored to meet their individual needs. Two people who lived at the home told us that they had regular meetings with staff about their care. One person said: “I love the food here, they ask on a daily basis what we want to eat and if I don’t like the choices they will cook something else for me.” Another person told us: “Basically I can go where I want when I want to.” One relative told us: “Everything that is done for X (person’s name) is first class."

One member of staff that we spoke with told us they were happy working at the home and felt well supported by their colleagues and the manager. We saw that there were regular planned training opportunities to ensure staff had sufficient knowledge to meet people's needs. This included training which helped staff to recognise and report any allegations of abuse so that people were protected from the risk of harm.

We found that the provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the care and treatment provided. For example, there was continuous monitoring of people’s views about their care so that these could influence improvements. One family member stated in a survey: “We have no complaints, he’s happy very happy in every way, the staff look after him well.” A professional who visited the home commented: “Very helpful and tolerant staff, sensitive to the needs of the residents.”

We inspected the service and spoke with two people who lived there, two care staff, the manager and director of care. We found people were able to express their views and had been involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

People were complimentary about the care and support they received. One person told us, “They care for people, they are nice”. Another person said, “I love it here”.

Staff were visible throughout our inspection. There were care staff on hand to provide care and support to people who required it.

We found staff respected people as individuals and knew about their personal lives, background, families and preferred choices. Staff knew people’s current care needs and provided appropriate support.

People were safeguarded as the provider had taken steps to ensure any potential instances of abuse could be identified and reported. Staff we spoke to told us they felt supported by the manager and provider to take the appropriate action where required.

The provider had a system in place to make sure staff recruited had the required documents and checks in place to protect people. People knew how to make a complaint and felt supported in that process.

We did this review because we received concerns from a whistleblower about the lack of care and support people were given by the providers Sunnycroft Homes Ltd, at their care homes that included The Larches. The concerns expressed were about a lack of attention to some people’s care and that people were not engaged in enough meaningful and appropriate activities that reduced their quality of life. The whistleblower claimed that because of recent staff redundancies The Larches did not have enough staff working each shift to give people the care and support they required.

When we visited the home we met people who lived at The Larches and staff who worked there. We asked people about the care and support they received and they said they ‘like living here’, ‘it’s a great place to live’, and they were ‘happy with the staff’ and the support staff gave them.

We saw that staff interacted with people in a friendly, courteous and respectful manner. Staff demonstrated they were aware of and provided for people’s care and support needs and this was confirmed when we talked about how care needs were being met.

When we arrived some people were having their breakfast and others were busy preparing for a day out in the Cotswolds. We saw that people were very relaxed and at ease with staff and within their home environment. Although people were busy preparing to go out the atmosphere in the home was calm, relaxed and very homely.

We looked at care records for three people who lived at the home and found their records provided clear and up to date information. This information was used by care staff to help them give people the care and support they needed.

We discussed the reason for our visit and our concerns with both the Manager of the service and the Director of Care for Sunnycroft Homes Ltd.