The inspection took place over two days on 28 February 2017 and 2 March 2017. The inspection was unannounced on the first day.

Little Orchard is located in the village of Hordle, near Lymington. It is run by Care Management Group who provide a number of other similar services. It is registered to provide accommodation and support for up to six adults with a learning disability. Little Orchard supports people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, communication and sensory impairments and complex health needs. At the time of the inspection there were six people living at the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was no longer in day to day charge of the service, however a new manager had been appointed who had worked in the service for a number of years. She was in the process of applying to CQC to register. People spoke very highly of her and she demonstrated she had a good knowledge and understanding of the needs of people living at the service.

Most people had lived at Little Orchard for a number of years and many of the staff team had worked there for a considerable time. This meant people knew each other well and there was a good family atmosphere in the home. People and their relatives were involved in developing the service, for example there was a large project underway to improve the garden area. All people we spoke with demonstrated great commitment to make this happen and the service had involved people living nearby both for fundraising events and to invite them to contribute their skills and knowledge.

People and their relatives were positive about the care and support they received. Staff understood how to meet their individual needs in a person centred way. We observed positive relationships between staff and people living at the home. Staff were kind and caring and respected people's privacy and dignity.

There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's health care and social needs. Recruitment practices were safe and relevant checks had been completed before staff worked unsupervised. These measures helped to ensure that only suitable staff were employed to support people in their home.

Staff had a good understanding of the signs of abuse and neglect. Staff had clear guidance about what they must do if they suspected abuse was taking place. Individual risk assessments had been completed for people who used the service and covered a wide range of activities and tasks. This helped to protect people from avoidable harm and ensured people were safely cared for.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. Where people’s liberty or freedoms were at risk of being restricted, the proper authorisations were either in place or had been applied for.

New staff received a comprehensive induction which involved learning about the values of the service, the needs of people using the service and key policies and procedures. The induction also introduced staff to the fundamental standards and aimed to ensure that the new staff member had a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities within the organisation.

Staff completed a range of essential training which helped them to provide effective care. More specialised training specific to the needs of people using the service was also provided, for example in the management of epilepsy. This helped to ensure that staff were equipped with the right skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and their care plans included guidance, whi