This inspection was carried out on 4 October 2016 and was announced. Twenty four hours’ notice of the inspection was given because we needed to be sure that people who wanted to speak to us were available during the inspection.

12 Channel Lea provides accommodation and personal care for up to three people with a learning disability. The service is a converted house. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

The service had a registered manager in post; however, they were not currently in charge of the day to day running of the service. 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 service was led by a senior support worker with support from an acting deputy manager.

Staff were kind and caring to people and treated them with dignity and respect at all times.

The provider had oversight of the service. Staff felt supported by the senior support worker and were motivated. They shared the provider’s vision of a good quality service.

There were enough staff, who knew people well, to provide the support people wanted. People’s needs had been considered when deciding how many staff were required to support them at different times of the day. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and worked as a team to meet people’s needs.

People had been involved in selecting staff who worked at the service. Checks had been completed to make sure staff were honest, trustworthy and reliable. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks had been completed. The DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and helps prevent unsuitable people from working with people who use care and support services.

Staff had completed the training and development they needed to provide safe and effective care to people and held recognised qualifications in care. The senior support worker met regularly with staff to discuss their role and practice. They supported staff to provide good quality care.

People’s care and support was planned and reviewed with them, to keep them safe and help them be as independent as possible.

Plans were in place to keep people safe in an emergency. Staff knew the signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with the senior support worker, the provider and the local authority safeguarding manager. Complaints were investigated and responded to.

People were supported to manage their own medicines and received the medicines they needed to keep them safe and well. Action was taken to identify changes in people’s health, including regular health checks. People were encouraged to eat a balanced diet.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Arrangements were in place to apply to the supervisory body for a DoLS authorisation when necessary. People were not restricted and went out when they wanted to. Some people went out without staff support.

The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) had been met. Staff supported people to make decisions and respected the decisions they made. When people lacked capacity to make a specific decision, decisions were made in people’s best interests with people who knew them well.

People enjoyed a variety of activities, with support when needed. Possible risks to people had been identified and were managed to keep them as safe as possible, while supporting them to be independent.

The senior support worker worked alongside staff and checked that the quality of the service was to the required standard. Any shortfalls found were addressed quickly to prevent them from happening again. People and staff were asked about their ex