We carried out the inspection of Festing Grove on 12 January 2017. At the time of our inspection, there were three people using the service. This was an unannounced inspection.

Festing Grove provides care and accommodation for four people who have a learning disability. People who also have a physical disability can be accommodated on the ground floor.

The service had not had a registered manager in place since December 2016. However at the time of our inspection there was a manager in place who had the intention to register themselves with the Care Quality Commission. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The manager and regional manager were present from mid-morning and stayed throughout the remainder of the inspection.

Risks to the health and safety of people using the service were assessed and reviewed in line with the provider's policy.

Medicines were managed, administered and stored safely. Staff were trained and had their competency regularly checked to help ensure safe administration of medicines.

There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and there were safeguarding adult's policies and procedures in place.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and acted on appropriately. Care plans were reviewed following accidents when necessary.

There were safe staff recruitment practices in place and appropriate numbers of staff to meet people's needs.

There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the home were inducted into the service appropriately and existing staff received regular training, supervision and appraisal.

There were systems in place which ensured the service complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). This provides protection for people who do not have capacity to make decisions for themselves.

People's nutritional needs and preferences were met and people had access to health and social care professionals when required.

People were treated with respect and were consulted about their care and support needs. Staff respected people's dignity and privacy.

People's support needs and risks were identified, assessed and documented within their care plan.

People were provided with information on how to make a complaint. Management demonstrated they knew how to deal with complaints should they be received.

There were robust systems and processes in place to monitor and evaluate the service provided.

People's views about the service were sought and considered through service user meetings and satisfaction surveys.

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time. We spoke with four people who used the service, four members of staff and the registered manager. Although unable to give detail on the service they received, we observed that everyone who used the service appeared happy and they told us they liked living at the home. Throughout the day we saw all people were engaged in planned activities. We observed good interaction between staff and people that used the service.

We looked at four people's care records and saw each person's needs were assessed and updated regularly. Care plans contained a risk assessment and we saw these had been reviewed regularly. We looked at staff personnel and training records and saw all staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults. The staff we spoke with were able to identify different types of abuse and were aware of how to report any concerns. We were told by all staff we spoke with that they would speak to the manager if they had any concerns and the regional manager if the manager was not available.

Staff told us they were well supported by supervisions and training they received. They said the manager was approachable and always available to talk to. We reviewed a number of records relating to the management of the service. These were consistent and regularly updated.

During our visit we inspected the storage and records of medicines held in the home. We saw that all medicines were stored in a locked cabinet. This meant that medicines were kept safely

We spoke to two people living at Festing Grove. They said they liked living there. Although people did not talk to us in detail about their care they were able to tell us that they liked the staff and we observed a good rapport between people living and working in the home. People were also able to tell us and show us some of their hobbies and interests. It was evident from the interactions we observed and the records we viewed that people were supported and encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests and were actively encouraged to express their individuality.

We saw that staff the processes for recruitment protected people from being supported by unsuitable staff. We observed staff to be confident and competent and saw that the training and development supported them in their jobs.