The inspection took place on 7 and 13 February 2017. The inspection was unannounced.

Ellens Court is registered to provide accommodation with nursing or personal care for up to 9 people. There were eight people living at the home on the day of our inspection.

Ellens Court supported people who had a learning disability, sometimes as a result of an acquired brain injury. Most of the people living at Ellens Court had lived at the home for a number of years. People had varying care and support needs, some requiring staff support for most of their needs and others who needed relatively minimal support.

Ellens Court is situated in the countryside in between Sittingbourne and Maidstone. The home has a mini bus to help people to get to the places they need to go and staff also used their own cars to drive people. The home had a lovely garden and three and a half acres of land surrounding the property. The property was homely but required updating. The registered provider had taken over the management of the home in November 2015 and planned refurbishments to enhance the facilities for people.

There was a registered manager based at 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 provider and registered manager had processes in place to safeguard people from experiencing forms of abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding people and understood their responsibilities in keeping people safe. They were confident that they could raise any matters of concern with the registered manager and these would be acted on. Staff knew they could go outside of their organisation and raise concerns with the local authority safeguarding team if necessary.

There were sufficient staff with a mix of skills on duty to support people with their needs. Staff had received the training they required to be able to support the people living in the home, although some refresher training was necessary. Staff were supported by the registered manager and felt able to raise any concerns they had or to make suggestions to improve the service for people.

The provider and registered manager had robust recruitment practices in place. Applicants went through an assessment process to make sure they were suitable for their job role. All staff received induction training at the start of their employment and had to pass a probationary period to show they were suitable for the role.

Medicines were managed safely. The processes in place ensured that the administration and handling of medicines was suitable for the people who lived in the home.

People were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible. They were involved in all aspects of the home, from planning and cooking meals to choosing how they furnished and decorated their bedroom or what activities and interests they wanted to take part in.

People were fully involved in the assessment and planning of their care and support, deciding how they wanted staff to support them. Their relatives were also involved where appropriate and if people wanted this. Individual risks were identified when planning people’s care and control measures put in place to manage risks, keeping people safe from harm without compromising their independence.

People had choice and control over food planning, shopping for food and the preparation of meals. Where people had specific nutritional support needs, these were assessed and managed well. People were supported to access health care professionals to be able to maintain their physical and mental well-being.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The provider and staff understood their responsibi