Vicarage Road (B) is a care home without nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Vicarage Road (B) provides care and support for up to 6 people. On the day of the inspection 6 people were living at the home.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

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.” Registering the Right Support CQC policy.

People remained safe using the service. Staff understood how to protect people from harm. People’s risks were assessed, monitored and managed to ensure they remained safe. Processes were in place to keep people safe in the event of an emergency such as a fire. People were protected by safe recruitment procedures and sufficient numbers of staff were available to meet people’s care needs. People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to hygiene and infection control.

People continued to receive effective care. People received care from staff that had the skills required to support them safely. 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 were supported to eat nutritionally balanced meals. People had access to healthcare professionals, when needed to maintain their health and wellbeing. Staff promoted people’s independence.

People continued to receive a service that was caring. People were supported by staff who knew their care and support needs. People’s rights to privacy and dignity were respected by staff.

People continued to receive a service that was responsive to their individual needs. Care records were personalised and contained details about people’s preferences and daily routines. People were supported to pursue hobbies and activities that interested them and processes were in place to respond to any issues or complaints.

The service continued to be well led, the registered manager understood their role and responsibilities and staff felt supported and listened to. People and staff were encouraged to give feedback, and their views were acted on to enhance the quality of service provided to people. The provider worked in conjunction with other agencies to provide people with effective care.

This inspection took place on 26 November 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected this service in April 2013 and found it complaint with the regulations we looked at.

Vicarage Road (B) is a residential home which provides support to people who have learning disabilities. The service is registered with the Commission to provide personal care for up to six people and at the time of our inspection there were six people using the service. There was a registered manager at this location. 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.

Prior to our inspection we received some information concerning people’s safety at the home. During this inspection we found no evidence to substantiate that people were at risk of harm.

People were kept safe. Staff were confident to whistle-blow when they felt someone was at risk of harm. Risks to people were identified and managed appropriately.

There were enough staff to respond to people’s needs promptly and the provider’s recruitment practices ensured people were support by suitable staff.

Staff knew how to manage people’s medicines safely. The registered manager conducted regular audits and we saw that any errors had been dealt with appropriately.

People were supported by staff who had received regular training and supervisions to maintain their skills and knowledge. Staff received additional training when people’s care needs changed.

People’s rights to receive care in line with their wishes were upheld as they were supported in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The registered manager and staff were keen to ensure that others respected the rights of people with learning disabilities and had promoted the value of the people who use the service in the local and wider community.

There was a wide choice of food available and people could choose what they wanted to eat. People had the opportunity to help with shopping and preparing meals if they wished. Meal times were promoted as social events with people who used the service and staff sitting down together.

People had developed caring relationships with the staff who supported them. People were supported to undertake activities which they enjoyed.

People felt that concerns would be sorted out quickly without the need to resort to the formal complaints process. Records showed that any issues were dealt with appropriately and to people’s satisfaction.

The registered manager service encouraged people to comment on how the service operated and to be involved in directing how their care was provided and developed. The service had a well-developed understanding of equality, diversity and human rights and put these into practice.

The registered manager worked with other locations within the organisation to promote good practice. The registered manager actively sought ways to develop the service.

There were processes for monitoring and improving the quality of the care people received. The provider conducted regular audits and we saw that action plans had been put in place when it was identified improvements were needed.

People could not give us their views of the service because of their complex needs and conditions. We observed the care and support that people received. We found that people were comfortable with the staff that supported them, actively engaged in their environment and were responsive to staff interaction with them.

People's needs were assessed to establish the care that they needed and care was planned and carried out to meet those needs. Staff knew people well, understood how people communicated and interacted with them continuously.

We found that people were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment. We looked around the home and saw that communal areas, bedrooms and bathrooms were clean and tidy. People were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed. An infection control policy was in place and was recently updated. Staff followed the organisation's procedures that were in place for cleaning the home.

We visited the service on 25 September 2012 and we met all six people who lived there at that time. People were not able to give us their views on the service because of their complex needs and conditions.

We used a variety of methods to understand people's experience of the service including reviewing records and talking to workers. We spent two hours in the communal areas of the home observing how workers cared for and supported people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection method to understand how people who could not answer our questions experienced the service.

We saw that care workers and managers treated people with respect and spoke to them with warmth, friendliness and good humour. Workers were able to communicate with people because they knew them well and people looked at ease with their care workers. People were supported to actively participate in their daily living arrangements and they were engaged in what was going on in the home.

One person told us that they were "alright."

We met all of the six people who currently live at 264 B Vicarage Road during our inspection, although everyone was busy with planned activities both in the home and the local community. We found that each person had been supported to dress in a style that was comfortable and met their individual needs and preferences. One member of staff said to us,"People get a lot of good care here." Another member of staff told us how people are supported to stay clean and fresh throughout the day as they need.

Four people were unable to share with us their experiences of the home, as they had a communication need as part of their learning disability. We saw that people looked happy and relaxed, and there was a lively, friendly atmosphere in the home.

We found that people were being supported to meet their health and care needs, and there were opportunities each day to do something interesting.

The registered manager had worked in the home for a long time, and they and the staff had a good knowledge of people and what they needed and liked. We found the registered manager was making sure that everything was being done to keep the home comfortable and safe.