The inspection took place on 24 June 2018 and was unannounced. Ellenborough Court is registered to provide accommodation without nursing for up to five adults with a learning disability, mental health or who may experience autism. At the time of the inspection five people were living at the home in individual self-contained flats.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall. Why the service is rated Good:

There was 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 service consistently conducted sufficient checks to ensure prospective staff were safe to work with vulnerable people. The service had effective recruitment procedures in place and conducted background checks of all prospective staff. References were obtained and criminal background checks were recorded ensuring staff were suitable for their roles.

People remained safe living in the service. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and staff had time to spend with people.

Risk assessments were carried out and promoted positive risk taking which enabled people to live their lives as they chose.

People received their medicines safely.

People continued to receive effective care from staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them and meet their needs.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice.

People were supported to access health professionals when needed and staff worked closely with health and social care professionals to ensure their health and well-being was monitored.

People's nutritional needs were met.

The service continued to provide support in a caring way. Staff supported people with kindness and compassion. Staff respected people as individuals and treated them with dignity.

People were involved in decisions about their care needs and the support they required to meet those needs. People had access to information about their care and staff supported people in their preferred method of communication.

Staff also provided people with emotional support. The service continued to be responsive to people's needs and ensured people were supported in a personalised way. People's changing needs were responded to promptly and their views were sought and acted upon.

The service was well led by a registered manager who promoted a service that put people at the forefront of all the service did. There was a positive culture that valued people and staff and promoted a caring ethos.

The service had strong links with the local community.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the service and strived for continuous improvement. There was a very clear vision to deliver high quality care and support and promote a positive culture that was person-centred, open and inclusive. This achieved positive outcomes for people and contributed to their quality of life.

The registered manager was effectively supported by the providers’ senior management team.

We inspected this service on the 11 April 2016. This was an unannounced inspection. At our last inspection in July 2013 no concerns were identified.

Ellenborough Court provides accommodation and personal care for up to five people who had a learning disability, autism and or mental health needs. It does not provide nursing care.

At the time of this inspection there were five people living at the home. Ellenborough Court has five individual flats that have their own bathrooms, toilets, kitchens, lounges and bedrooms. There is also a staff room, staff sleeping in room, staff toilet, office and storage room. There is a front garden which has an outdoor seating area.

There was 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 registered manager was not present during the inspection.

People, staff and relatives felt the home was safe and incidents and accidents were audited with actions taken when required. People received their medicines safely and when required by staff who had received training. People had detailed risk assessments and guidelines in place for staff to follow.

People were supported by staff who had appropriate checks in place prior to commencing their employment. People were supported by adequate staffing levels and staff supported people in a kind and caring manner. Staff demonstrated they knew people well and felt supported and able to raise any concerns with the registered manager and the deputy manager.

People received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes to people’s needs were identified with referrals to appropriate health professionals when required. People felt able to make requests about their care and express their wishes. People who were unable to consent to care and treatment had completed assessments and best interest decisions paperwork in place that involved significant others.

People were able to receive visitors whenever they wished. Relatives were able to visit as often as they liked; people often visited their parents at weekends. People were supported by staff who received regular supervision and training to ensure they were competent and skilled to meet their individual care needs. The service and staff put people central to the care and support they provided. This was reflected in staff values and practice.

People, relatives, staff and health professional’s views on the service were sought so that improvements could be made. People and their relatives felt happy to raise a complaint with the provider or the deputy manager. There was a quality assurance system that monitored the service and identified areas for improvement.

We visited the service and spoke with four of the five people who lived at the service. We were told by people that they were happy and enjoyed the independence offered by having their individual flats. We observed people were supported and enabled to undertake meaningful activities and to make choices about their daily lives. We heard people tell us that they could and did invite people into their flats indicating they exercised decisions about thier personal environment.

We observed support being provided in a way that promoted choice and dignity. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service because they could see the positive impact on people’s lives. We observed there were sufficient staff to support people in their chosen lifestyle.

Staff told us “we work with people toward their independence”. We heard from the manager that the ethos of the service is based on “Pro-social modelling” which respects the views of people and acts as a positive re-enforcement of behaviour.

We saw that people's support was reviewed regularly with them. We read about how people had developed their skills and reached planned goals toward being independent.

We found that the service had talked with people about the care and support they wanted to receive. We found the service provided opportunities for people to be involved in decisions about their care and respected their rights to privacy and independence.

We found that people's needs had been comprehensively assessed so that care needs could be effectively met. There was a person centred approach in the provision of the service. We found that there was an environment where individuals were enabled to undertake daily living tasks. We saw that people were enabled to make choices about their lives and enabled to undertake tasks where risks were assessed and steps taken to alleviate identiifed risks. There was a focus on providing meaningful activities and involving people with the local community.

We found that the service provided an environment where people were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff illustrated an understanding of the nature of abuse and the protection of vulnerable adults. The service had responded professionally when concerns about possible abuse had been raised.

We visited Ellenborough Court on 15 August 2011. We met four of the five people who were living there on the day of our visit. We talked at length with two of the people who use the service about their experiences of living at Ellenborough Court. We were told that "I like living here" and "yes, I feel safe". We were told that people are "always busy" and have "lots to do". On the day we visited, people were out shopping, going to line dancing, and looking forward to going to play basketball, and visit the local social club.

We were told that members of staff were supportive of people and helped them learn new skills, like cooking and cleaning. People were supported to be as independent as possible. One person had a job in the community and had recently undertaken a training course to be able to expand their work opportunities.

We saw three people's flats, which were decorated with their own pictures and furniture they had chosen themselves. We saw a book called 'This is Me' which had been created for one of the people who had impaired verbal communication. The book included photographs of events and activities that the person had taken part it. It also included sections 'about me'; 'how you can help me'; 'what I love'; 'what I hate'; weekly activities; 'how I communicate'; and 'things I do'.

The flats we visited were clean and tidy and suited for the needs of the people living in them in that they were of a good size and had all the facilities to allow independent, but supported living. People had their own folders in their rooms with all the essential information about them. We saw care delivered with patience, respect, dignity and kindness.