Chaffinches is a care home without nursing that provides a service to up to three people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at the service.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and had continued to meet all the fundamental standards of quality and safety.

Why the service remained Good:

Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and protect them from abuse. Personal and environmental risks to the safety of people, staff and visitors had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Recruitment processes were in place to make sure, as far as possible, that people were protected from staff being employed who were not suitable. There were sufficient numbers of staff and medicines were stored and handled correctly.

People benefitted from a staff team that was well trained and supervised. 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 and drink enough and their health and social care needs were met.

The staff team were caring and respectful and provided support in the way people preferred. People’s right to confidentiality was protected and their dignity and privacy were respected. People were encouraged and enabled to live as full a life as possible, maintaining their independence where they could.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. People were supported to maintain relationships with those important to them. They led busy lives, participating in work, education and activities. They enjoyed and were encouraged to try new activities where they wanted to. People knew how to raise concerns and felt confident they would be listened to if they did.

People were relaxed and happy and there was an open and inclusive atmosphere at the service. Staff were happy in their jobs and there was a good team spirit. They felt supported by the management and said the training and support they received helped them to do their job well. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered and the running of the service.

This inspection took place on 29 October 2015 and was announced. We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 April 2015. A breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements. Those requirements were in relation to carrying out recruitment checks on staff to ensure they were suitable to work with people living at the service. We also checked the action the provider told us, at the last inspection, they were going to take to improve the safety of the premises and equipment.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the service had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those areas. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Chaffinches on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Chaffinches is a care home without nursing that provides a service to up to three people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was present for the inspection.

The provider had addressed the concerns identified at the last inspection. Robust recruitment procedures had been developed and put in place to ensure, as far as possible, that staff recruited were suitable to work with people living at the service.

People were protected from risks related to the premises and equipment. Action had been taken to reduce/remove the risk of injury related to hot water, hot surfaces and unrestricted windows.

This inspection took place on 8 April 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected the service on 20 November 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the essential standards that we assessed.

Chaffinches is a care home without nursing that provides a service to up to three people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at the service. All were mostly independent with personal care, only needing minimal support, if any. They had all lived at the service for many years.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was present for the inspection.

People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was promoted. Staff were caring and put the needs of people they supported at the centre of their work. Staff sought people's consent before working with them and encouraged and supported their independence.

Staff were well trained and available in enough numbers to meet the needs and wishes of the people they supported. People's health and well-being was assessed and measures put in place to ensure people's needs were met in an individualised way. Medicines were managed well and staff administering medicines were only allowed to do so after passing their training and being assessed as competent. One person was supported to manage their own medicines. A relative told us they thought staff had the skills they needed when providing support to their family member.

People worked with the staff, planning and ensuring their diets were nutritious and took account of individual likes and dislikes. People were able to participate in activities of their choice and had jobs in the local area. They were supported to be involved in local community activities.

Staff were happy working at the service and told us they were a close team that worked well together. The registered manager oversaw and managed practice at the service and encouraged an open and inclusive culture.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider had not made sure that all recruitment checks, required by regulation, had been carried out on staff to ensure they were suitable to work with people living at the service. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

There were three people resident at Chaffinches when we visited.

We spoke with all the people who used the service and they told us they were happy at the home. One person told us “things are fine”, another said “they help us a lot, it’s a nice home”. Another said, “I am happy here, it’s awesome”. We found that each person’s care and welfare was important to staff and the care plans were being followed. People were encouraged and supported to achieve maximum independence.

People were safeguarded from abuse because staff were trained to identify, prevent and to respond to events relating to safeguarding incidents.

One worker was on duty throughout each day and and one each night doing a “sleeping night”. If there was a need because of a special event another worker would be called in to help support people.

Staff were recruited safely and effectively, using standard procedures and checks. They were then trained to a minimum standard and above. This meant that people using the service were supported by suitable people who were well trained.

Staff, care and management records were up to date, reviewed and stored in a secure place. Action had been taken where necessary as a result of audits.

People living in the home had a range of individual communication and behavioural needs and were able to provide their views about their experiences of living in the home. We saw that people were involved with their care and the running of the home with the support of staff as far as they were able. One person told us that “It's nice here, I do things I like”.

We were told by staff and people living in the home that independence and individuality were promoted within the home. People living there were supported and enabled to do things for themselves as far as they were able. They were encouraged to express their views participate in making decisions relating to their care and treatment. One person said “I go through my care plan with staff”.

We looked at a range of records, spoke with the team leader on duty and spoke with two people living in the home in private. We saw the communal areas of the home, two people’s bedrooms and observed interactions between staff and people living in the home.

People told us that they liked living in the home. Staff were kind and they could talk to them if they had concerns. People were involved with their care and the running of the home. They told us that there were house meetings where they could put forward ideas and make requests for things such as meal choices, holidays and activities.