This inspection was carried out on 19 January 2017 and was announced.

Dane End House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to five people. There were five people living at the service when we visited. People had a range of learning disabilities. Some people were living with autism and some people required support with behaviours that challenged. Some of the people were living with hearing loss and all used British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.

The service is in quiet road, close to local shops and the sea. The property is a detached house with a secure garden. There are three bedrooms, a bathroom, a quiet lounge area and kitchen/dining room on the ground floor. With a further two bedrooms, a bathroom and a large lounge on the first floor.

The service is run by a registered manager who was present on the day of the inspection. 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 shared their time between Dane End House and another residential service for eight people nearby that they also managed. They were supported to do this by two deputy managers and senior support workers.

People’s creativity and achievements were celebrated. The service was decorated with pieces of art created by people, alongside photographs of people taking part in activities. Everyone looked happy in the photographs. Each person’s bedroom was personalised to them, with posters of things they liked and photographs of themselves with friends, family and staff.

People had a real say in how the service was run and were clearly in control of their own lives. Staff encouraged people to make their own decisions and choices with the right balance of support to help when needed, without taking over. One relative told us, “My relative sees Dane End House as home and the people they share with as their friends.”

There were enough staff to support people and the number of staff available was based around people’s activities and needs. Staff had been recruited safely and had the skills and training required to meet people’s needs. All staff were completing the care certificate to refresh their knowledge.

Staff knew people well and were excited to talk about people’s personalities, skills and achievements. Each person had a keyworker who co-ordinated their care and support. People had keyworker meetings weekly which were recorded, this gave people a chance to discuss any worries or concerns and what had gone well in the past week.

People’s care plans were written with them and were in a format they understood. The care plans gave staff guidance on what support people needed and how they liked staff to support them. People looked at their care plans with their keyworker on a regular basis and updated them as needed.

People were supported to live as independently as possible. People took part in a variety of activities, including voluntary work. People were supported and encouraged to take risks and try new things. Staff worked with people to manage the risks and keep them safe in the way they preferred.

People were supported to develop new skills and to look after their home. People were excited to show us around their home and tell us about what they enjoyed doing. People had weekly residents meetings to discuss any issues and plan the menu each week.

People were supported to have a varied and balanced diet. People could access the kitchen whenever they liked and could prepare their own snacks or meals. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends, through visits and the use of technology.

People had health action plans in place detailing their health needs and the support they needed. There