At our last inspection in January 2016 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

The Villas is a Residential Care Home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Villas accommodates up to eight people in one adapted building, where people had access to communal areas along with their own individual bedrooms. At the time of the inspection there were eight people using the service.

Registering the Right Support has values which include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. This is to ensure people with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. The home was meeting the principles of this policy.

There was a registered manager 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.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Risk were assessed and planned for to keep people safe. People received support from sufficient safely recruited staff. People had their medicines administered as prescribed. People were protected from the risk of cross infection. The provider had systems in place to learn when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed and they had plans in place to meet those needs. Staff received training and were supported in their role. People’s environment had been adapted to meet their needs.

People received consistent support from staff. People could choose their meals and were supported to eat and drink safely. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being.

People had choice and control of their lives and staff were aware of how to support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service were supportive of this practice.

People were supported by caring staff and they had good relationships with staff. People were supported to make choices and staff promoted people’s independence. People’s communication needs were assessed and planned for. People’s privacy and dignity was protected by staff.

People’s preferences were understood by staff. People were supported follow their interests. People and relatives understood how to make a complaint.

Notifications were submitted as required and the manager understood their responsibilities. People were engaged in the service and felt able to approach the registered manager. Staff felt supported in their role and were involved in the service. Quality audits were in place and were used to drive improvement.

We inspected this service on 15 January 2016. This was an unannounced inspection. Our last inspection took place in July 2013 and at that time we found the home was meeting the regulations that we checked them against.

The Villas is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to eight people. People who use the service have a learning disability and/or a mental health condition. At the time of our inspection seven people were using the service.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe because risks were assessed and planned for and the staff understood how to keep people safe. People’s medicines were managed safely, which meant people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff available to meet people’s needs and promote people’s safety. Staff received regular training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

People’s health and wellbeing needs were met and advice from health and social care professionals was sought when required.

People could access suitable amounts of food and drink that met their individual preferences.

Staff showed they understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This ensured that when people had the ability to make decisions for themselves, their decisions were respected. It also ensured staff knew how to support people to make decisions if they were unable to do this for themselves.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect and staff promoted people’s independence and right to privacy.

People were involved in the assessment and review of their care and staff supported and encouraged people to access the community and participate in activities that were important to them.

People’s feedback was sought and used to improve the care. People knew how to make a complaint and complaints were managed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

There was a positive atmosphere at the home and people and staff were supported by the registered manager.

The registered manager regularly assessed and monitored the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained. The registered manager and provider were both committed to provide high quality care. The registered manager understood the requirements of their registration with us.

During our inspection we spoke with four people who used the service, two members of care staff and the registered manager. People told us they were happy with their care. One person told us, “We’re all happy here”. Another person told us, “I like living here because I get to go out every day”.

We saw that people people’s consent was sought when appropriate. When people were unable to consent staff had the knowledge required to support people to make decisions and protect people’s rights.

We saw that staff were compassionate and people were supported in a caring and professional manner.

People were given choices around the food and drinks they consumed and people were supported to eat and drink as required.

People received their medicines from staff who had the required knowledge to ensure that medicines were given safely. When concerns with medication systems had been identified through internal audits, the manager was responsive to the concerns and an action plan to improve the systems was put in place.

There was a complaints policy in place and people told us they would tell staff if they were unhappy about their care.

We spoke with three people who used the service and two of their relatives. We also spoke with three members of staff and two visiting health and social care professionals. People told us they were happy living at The Villas. Relatives told us they were happy with the care being provided. One relative said, “It’s been wonderful for X (person who used the service) at The Villa’s”. A visiting health and social care professional told us, “The proprietor is one in a million. Nothing is too much trouble”.

During our inspection we saw that people were encouraged to be as independent as possible. People told us about their weekly routines, which included activities in the local community.

We saw that people received their care in a positive and caring manner. We observed care being provided by staff who had the knowledge and skills to deliver the care that each person needed. This was because the provider had a suitable training system in place.

We saw that people were protected from the risks of abuse because the staff had received the necessary training to identify and report safety concerns.

We saw that the provider had an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the service which focussed on service improvement.

Information we hold about this service showed us that we needed to undertake a monitoring visit, to update our records and to establish that people's needs were being safely met.

Eight people live at The Villas, we saw all of them and spoke with most. When we arrived most were having or arriving for breakfast in the dining room some were assisting to prepare breakfast, others were not. There was some restriction upon access to the kitchen area by people using the service for safety reasons and later due to medication being dispensed from there.

People were open and keen to tell us about themselves and what they were planning to do that day. One person was going to a social centre, another going to visit a relative returning after tea. Someone told us that their psychiatrist was coming to see them. A planned trip to Blackpool three days after our visit was a main talking point, people clearly excited and making plans for the trip.

People told us that they liked living at The Villas, one person said "You can't get better than this".

We later spoke with relatives of a person recently admitted who said they were very satisfied with the care the home provided and that staff were "Brilliant".