Fletton Avenue provides accommodation and personal care to six people who have a learning disability. Five people were living at the service on the day of our inspection.

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector. At the last inspection on 20 January 2015 the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Systems were in place to manage risks to people using the service and to keep them safe. Risks identified included; eating and drinking, behaviours that challenge and accessing the community. , There was sufficient numbers of staff on duty to safely assist and support people. The recruitment and selection procedure ensured that only suitable staff were recruited to work with people using the service.

The registered manager and staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to have choice and control over their lives as much as possible. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s needs were assessed, so that their care was planned and delivered in a consistent way. The management and care staff were knowledgeable and enthusiastically about the people they supported and knew their care and support needs well. Staff offered and assisted people with a wide range of choices. People were fully involved in how they wished to organise their day and weekly activities. The registered manager and staff were committed in assisting people to have a fulfilling and very active life and to enjoy activities to extend their skills, improve their health, confidence and abilities.

People experienced a good quality of life because staff received training that gave them the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People were supported and assisted with their daily routines, shopping and accessing places of interest in the community.

People received appropriate support to maintain a healthy diet and be able to choose their meals. People had access to a range of health care professionals, when they needed them.

Staff were clear about the values of the service in relation to providing people with compassionate care in a dignified and respectful manner. Staff knew what was expected of them and we observed staff putting these values into practice during our inspection.

The provider had a range of systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the service. People had been consulted about how they wished their care to be delivered and their choices had been respected. People, their relatives and staff were asked for their feedback about the quality of the service provided. Feedback was used to recognise good practice and to drive improvements where shortfalls were identified.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Fletton Avenue is registered to provide accommodation, support and care for up to six men who have a learning disability. At the time of our visit six people were using the service. The home, which is situated in a suburb of Peterborough, is a domestic style building and is arranged on two levels with a small garden to the rear.

This unannounced inspection was undertaken on 20 January 2015. At our last inspection on 23 May 2013 the provider was meeting all of the regulations we looked at.

A registered manager was 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.

There was a sufficient number of staff to look after people and provide them with the individual support and care that they needed. Pre-employment checks were completed on staff before they were judged to be suitable to work at the care home. People who lived at the care home were encouraged to interview job candidates and their views were taken into account before the person was employed.

People’s risks had been assessed and these were managed. This included risks associated with unhealthy eating and independently going out into the community.

Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities in reporting incidents that had placed people at risk of harm.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected at all times. They were also encouraged and supported in developing and reviewing the care plans and programmes of activities. All of the staff were kind and caring and took into account what people needed and wanted.

There was a process in place to ensure that people’s health care needs were assessed and action was carried out to meet people’s individual needs. This included the management of their behaviours in relation to eating and incentive programmes to encourage socially acceptable behaviours.

Staff were supported and the standard and quality of their work was kept under review. New staff received induction training to ensure they understood their roles and responsibilities. Staff training and development needs were identified.

People were supported to engage in hobbies and interests that they enjoyed taking part in. People were supported to maintain relationships with their relatives and make friends with each other.

A complaints process was in place which was accessible to people, relatives and others who used or visited the service.

People shared their views and suggestions in relation to food and their hobbies and interests. They were also encouraged and supported to work and take part in fund raising schemes. People had a voice where they were able to improve the range of social activities in the community and talk about their experiences of this on the local radio. Staff were enabled to make suggestions to improve the quality of people’s care.

During our visit to Fletton Avenue on 23 May 2013, we observed a calm and relaxed atmosphere.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the individual needs for each person living at Fletton Avenue and we spoke with three people who used the service who told us that they liked living at Fletton Avenue.

The provider had a robust system to manage medication safely and there was a policy in place for staff to follow.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. We saw training records that showed staff had received appropriate training to provide care to people who used the service

On the day of our visit, staff were supporting people to access activities outside of the home environment. We spoke with three people who lived in the home who told us they enjoyed living there and they had the opportunity to choose their activities and to contribute to planning the weekly menus. One person said they had had, “A cracking Christmas this year” at the home.

We found that staff were respectful of people's right to make their own decisions and give consent to care and treatment.

People had access to a range of activities to meet their needs and were also supported to pursue their hobbies and interests such as painting and walking in local parks.

We checked two sets of care records and found that care plans and risk assessments were detailed and reviewed regularly. Risk assessments included the risk of experiencing abuse and how to protect people.

Safeguarding alerts had been investigated by relevant health and care professionals and appropriate actions had been taken.

We found that staff received appropriate development and support to care for people who used the service.

Staff and people who lived at the home used the complaints procedure that was in place. However, records of the investigation and outcome were not always recorded in the complaints log in accordance with the provider's complaints policy.

During our visit on 02 November 2011 people we spoke with told us they had been involved in all aspects of their care planning and in making decisions about how they wanted their assessed needs to be met. One person shared their care file with us and said, "This is my care plan and it is what I have decided about my support". They each told us that they had set themselves specific aims to be achieved and that they had consented to and wanted the care and treatment that was being provided for them.

People advised us that felt safe living at Fletton Avenue and that they were able to talk to staff members if they were not happy with something.