The inspection was carried out on 15 August 2017, and was an unannounced inspection.

Avenues South East - 492 Maidstone Road is a residential home providing care and support for four people with severe learning disabilities. People who lived in the home had autism, cerebral palsy, communication difficulties, visual impairment, challenging behaviour and PICA, which is the persistent eating of substances such as dirt or paint that have no nutritional value. The service is part of a group of homes managed by the Avenues Trust. At the time of our visit, there were four men living in the home.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection on 01 July 2015, the service was rated Good in all domains and overall.

At this inspection we found the service remained good.

People continued to be safe at 492 Maidstone Road. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. Staff recognised the signs of abuse and what to look out for. There were systems in place to support staff and people to stay safe.

Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. The registered manager had appropriate arrangements in place to check the suitability and fitness of new staff.

Each person had an up to date, personalised support plan, which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff. These were reviewed regularly. Staff received regular training and supervision to help them to meet people's needs effectively.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs. They also received the support they needed to stay healthy and to access healthcare services. Staff encouraged people to actively participate in activities, pursue their interests and to maintain relationships with people that mattered to them.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The provider and staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People's privacy was maintained particularly when being supported with their personal care needs. 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.

The registered manager made it certain that the complaints procedure was made available in an accessible format if people wished to make a complaint. Regular checks and reviews of the service continued to be made to ensure people experienced good quality safe care and support.

The registered manager provided good leadership. They checked staff were focussed on people experiencing good quality care and support. People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about how the service could be improved. This was used to make changes and improvements that people wanted.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected this service on 01 July 2015. This was an unannounced inspection.

492 Maidstone Road is a residential home providing care and support for four people with severe learning disabilities. People who lived in the home had autism, cerebral palsy, communication difficulties, visual impairment, challenging behaviour and PICA, which is the persistent eating of substances such as dirt or paint that have no nutritional value. The service is part of a group of homes managed by the Avenues Trust. At the time of our visit there were four men living in the home.

There was a registered manager at the home. 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 protected against the risk of abuse; they felt safe and staff recognised the signs of abuse or neglect and what to look out for. They understood their role and responsibilities to report any concerns and were confident in doing so.

The home had risk assessments in place to identify and reduce risks that may be involved when meeting people’s needs. There were risk assessments related to people’s needs and details of how the risks could be reduced. This enabled the staff to take immediate action to minimise or prevent harm to people.

There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs and promote people’s safety. Staff had been provided with relevant training and they attended regular supervision and team meetings. Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and the lines of accountability within the home.

The registered manager followed safe recruitment practices to help ensure staff were suitable for their job role. Staff described the management as very open, supportive and approachable. Staff talked positively about their jobs.

Staff were caring and we saw that they treated people with respect during the course of our inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. We found that the registered manager understood when an application should be made and how to submit one and was aware of a recent Supreme Court Judgement which widened and clarified the definition of a deprivation of liberty.

People were involved in assessment and care planning processes. Their support needs, likes and lifestyle preferences had been carefully considered and were reflected within the care and support plans available.

Health care plans were in place and people had their health needs regularly monitored. Regular reviews were held and people were supported to attend appointments with various health and social care professionals, to ensure they received treatment and support as required.

People were supported to have choices and received food and drink at regular times throughout the day. People spoke positively about the choice and quality of food available.

People knew how to make a complaint and complaints were managed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

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

We spoke with a person who used the service. They told us that they were happy at the service. We observed people around the home and saw that they were relaxed and were able to move freely about the home.

We looked at the care records for two out of the four people who used the service. We saw that each person had a set of care records that were individual to their needs and contained information about their mental and physical health needs.

We looked at staffing and recruitment records and spoke with staff. We saw that managers had carried out relevant checks for new staff when they joined the service to ensure that they were suitable for the role.

We looked at how the service monitored quality. We saw that there were systems in place at a local and corporate level. The service also took on board the comments from people who used the service to make improvements.

We looked at records of compliments and complaints that had been received by the service. We saw that staff had recorded what actions had been taken to follow up on comments that they had received and how they had fed back to the person making the comments.

People who use the service said that they were happy at the service and were involved in making decisions about their daily lives. They told us that they got involved in lots of activities and helped out around the home.

People who use the service appeared happy and relaxed in the home. They told us that they liked living there and got on well with the staff.

People told us that they were able to give staff their feedback about the service on a daily basis.