Weelsby View is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 10 people with learning disability and/or autism. The home is a detached house which has been extended. Accommodation is provided over two floors with stairs access to the first floor. Local facilities and amenities including the organisation’s college facility are within walking distance. On the day of our inspection there were three people living at the service, all male.

We last inspected the service on 22 May 2015 and the service was rated as Good with one area rated as Outstanding. At this inspection we found the service remained Good with one area rated as Outstanding.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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 staff team had an excellent understanding of people's complex needs. The way staff responded to people's needs, and approached them with compassion and consistent care, had led to them being able to participate in meaningful activities and having an outstanding quality of life. The staff team were very responsive to people's individual needs and had been flexible in organising a wide range of community-based activities to enable people to feel part of the wider community. All staff were dedicated to providing exceptional person-centred care and helping people to achieve their potential and develop their independence. A relative told us, “Yes, without doubt [Name of person] has grown since he moved to Weelsby View. He continues to be happy and settled. This is due to the trust he has in those who work with him. Without the support he receives at Weelsby View he wouldn't have progressed as he has. He has his own personality and the staff respond and interact well with him.”

The service was a safe place for people to live. Recruitment procedures were thorough and there were sufficient staff, used in a flexible way to support people’s needs. Staff knew how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and harm, had received training and also had procedures to guide them. There were procedures in place to manage risk which helped to ensure people were safe whilst not being too restrictive.

People’s health and nutritional needs were met. People were supported to attend appointments and access community health care professionals for advice and treatment when required. Medicines were managed effectively and staff ensured people had their medicines as prescribed. The menus were developed with people where possible and provided them with a variety of nutritious meals.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. When restrictions on people's liberty were necessary the manager had ensured the correct applications had been made to protect each person's legal rights.

There was a strong emphasis on key principles of care such as compassion, inclusion, respect, dignity and enablement. Staff approach was observed as kind, caring and compassionate. They treated people with dignity and respect whilst still maintaining a friendly and professional manner.

Staff received training appropriate for their development, supervision and appraisal. Staff told us the registered manager led by example and were supportive of them. They felt listened to, able to make suggestions and were confident in supporting people who used the service.

There was a quality monitoring system in place which consisted of audits, checks, the management of complaints and obtaining people’s views about the service.

Weelsby View is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 10 people with learning disability and/ or autism who are in further education. The home is a detached house which has been extended. Accommodation is provided over two floors with stairs access to the first floor. Local facilities and amenities including the college are within walking distance.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

This inspection took place on 22 May 2015. At the last inspection on 22 January 2014, the registered provider was compliant with all the regulations we assessed.

Each person received continuous support from staff and needed to be supervised whenever they went out. The service promoted an ethos of learning and individuality. They worked with people to develop and equip them with skills for life.

The people who used the service had complex needs and were not all able to tell us about their experiences. We relied on our observations of care and our discussions with people’s relatives and staff to form our judgements.

We found people lived in a safe environment. Risk assessments were completed to help minimise risk in specific circumstances such as when supporting people in the community or with day to day support within the home.

There were policies and procedures in place to guide staff and training for them in how to keep people safe from the risk of harm and abuse. In discussions, staff were clear about how they protected people from the risk of abuse.

There were sufficient staff on duty day and night to meet people’s needs. There were additional staff on specific days to support people with activities outside the service. There was a range of training and support systems in place to ensure staff were knowledgeable and skilled in supporting people who used the service. Pre-employment checks were completed on staff before they were judged to be suitable to work at Weelsby View.

We observed people being treated with dignity and respect and enjoying interaction with staff. Staff knew how to communicate with people and involve them in how they were supported and cared for. People’s independence was encouraged and supported. We found the staff approach to be caring and friendly.

People had their health and social care needs assessed and personalised support plans were developed to guide staff in how to care for people who used the service using the least restrictive options. People received their medicines as prescribed and had access to a range of professionals for advice, treatment and support.

People who used the service were encouraged to make their own decisions. Staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when there were concerns people lacked capacity and important decisions needed to be made.

People’s nutritional needs were met. Staff monitored people’s food and fluid intake and took action when there were any concerns. Some people were supported to shop for food supplies and some people were assisted to prepare meals.

People participated in a range of vocational, educational and personal development programmes at the organisation’s college facility. They also accessed a range of community facilities and completed activities with the service. They were encouraged to follow and develop social interests and be active and healthy.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, such as observations of staff practices, audits and surveys. A complaints process was in place which was accessible to people, relatives and others who used or visited the service.

We used a number of different methods to help us to understand the experiences of the people who used the service. This was because the people who used the service had complex needs, which meant they were not able to tell us their views and experiences.

We found that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.

We saw the complaints procedure was available to people who used and visited the service. Staff told us how they would support people to raise concerns if they could not do so themselves.

People were happy with the care they received and told us they saw a range of health professionals for advice and treatment.

People who used the service were provided with a balanced and varied diet. Health professionals provided guidance and treatment when required.

We found that staff helped to make sure health and social care was well coordinated and provided by a range of professionals.

We found that staff had completed training in the safe handling and administering of medication and that audits of the medication systems were carried out, to ensure accurate records were maintained.

We found that the numbers of staff provided was based on people’s individual need and regularly reviewed to ensure there was adequate support available to meet the needs of the people who used the service.

We found people were able to express their views about the service via daily activities of living, surveys and meetings. Audits and checks were completed to monitor the quality of the service. Where any further improvements were found to be required, this was put in place in order to improve services.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service, because the majority of people who used the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences.

We observed that people were able to convey their views to staff and had developed their own ways of communicating.

During our visit we spoke with three people who used the service. Everyone spoken with expressed satisfaction with the care and service they received.

People felt their privacy and dignity was being respected and said that staff were always very patient and encouraged them to do what they could for themselves. People told us about the range of activities they were supported to take part in and how staff were helping them develop their daily living skills. Some of the comments we received included: “I like going to the youth club and playing pool”, “We go out at weekends, we go to nice places.”

During our inspection we observed that people who use the service appeared confident in approaching staff and staff treated them with respect and patience.

When we spoke with people they told us they felt safe and trusted the staff. Some of the comments we received included: "Yes, I feel safe here. The staff are nice” and "I like it here, the staff help me.”