Leeds Learning Disability Community Support Service - South and South East Leeds provides care and support to people living in four main ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. As well as supported living, the service also provides outreach support to people living in their own homes. This includes assistance with accessing the community as well as support at home. The service currently supports approximately 100 people overall.

This was the first inspection of the service since Aspire Community Benefit Society Limited became the registered provider in August 2016. The inspection was to check the provider was meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to provide a rating for the service. This comprehensive inspection took place on 5, 10 and 19 October 2017 and was announced.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

People received good care and support and they were encouraged to lead lives in line with their own preferences and choices. The emphasis was on supporting people to be as independent as possible. People were involved in making decisions about their care and how the service was run.

People were supported to follow activities and interests of their choosing. There was a strong community presence and people were encouraged to participate in local events.

Care and support plans contained clear and up to date information about how people wanted their needs met. People were involved in developing their support plans and there were good opportunities for people to discuss any concerns or ideas that they had.

The service sometimes supported people at the end of their lives. This was managed sensitively and with care.

People were supported with their day to day health needs. Health services such as dentists, doctors and opticians were used as required and there were close links with other services such as the Leeds Community Learning Disability Team. Most people cooked their meals with the support of staff. For those people that had particular nutritional requirements there was clear guidance in place, which was followed by care staff.

Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of each person and how they preferred to live their lives. Staff received the training they needed and were supported through regular supervision meetings with the registered manager. There were safe recruitment practices in place for new staff and there were a sufficient number of staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

There were good systems in place to keep people safe. Staff were confident about their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and also knew who they could contact regarding any concerns they had about the service. There was a positive approach to risk taking so that people could be as independent as possible. Risks in people's day to day lives had been identified and measures put in place to keep people safe. The focus was on how each person benefited from the activity undertaken.

The supported living accommodation was suitable for the people who used the service. Checks and tests were carried out regularly to make sure the environment was safe.

The legislative requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were followed.

Staff told us that the service was well managed and there was good support. The registered manager promoted a culture of respect, involvement and independence