This inspection took place on 24 November 2016 and was announced. At the last inspection on 31 January 2014 the provider was meeting all the standards we inspected.

New Horizons provides family support and individual personal care to people in their home environment and on a one to one basis in the community. On the day of our inspection eight people were receiving personal care.

There was a registered manager in post who was also one of the providers. 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 were kept safe from harm because staff understood their responsibility to protect them from abuse and poor care. People’s risks were assessed and staff were provided with management plans to support people in the least restrictive manner. Staff maintained a consistent approach to support people when they became anxious or presented with behaviours that challenged their safety. There were processes in place to ensure staff were suitable to work with people in a caring environment. The provider maintained a flexible approach to staffing to support people and their families.

People received their medicines and staff had recorded them accurately. Staff understood the importance of supporting people to make choices for themselves and recognised how they expressed themselves. Staff provided people with food and drink which met their needs. People were supported to maintain their mental, physical and psychological wellbeing.

Staff developed kind, caring and considerate relationships with people which recognised their independence and promoted their dignity and respect. People and their relatives were supported to maintain their relationships.

Staff provided personalised care which reflected people’s likes and dislikes because they knew them well. People were encouraged to try new activities and staff recorded what they did or did not enjoy to ensure what they did met their preferences.

Relatives were asked for their views on the service, supported to raise concerns and felt they were listened to by a provider who cared for them. Staff were provided with information about people and supported to raise queries. There were processes in place to ensure the service improved when shortfalls were identified. The registered manager understood the requirements of their role.

We visited the office and spoke with the Registered Manager and staff. People who used the service were unable to tell us about the service they received so we spoke with five people's relatives. All the people we spoke with were happy with the service they received.

People's relatives told us that they had been involved in planning their relatives care and had given their consent for the support provided. One person commented, “We have used New Horizons for a long time. We met and discussed what support was needed and it is reviewed every so often”.

We saw that support plans which were personalised, regularly reviewed for their effectiveness and kept up to date to reflect the changing needs of the people using the service. People told us that the care and support needed was reviewed regularly to assess people’s changing needs.

The provider had effective recruitment and selection procedures in place and carried out relevant checks on staff. Staff were supported to deliver care and support safely and to an appropriate standard through training and one to one supervision.

People told us that they had been asked for feedback on the service they received at their reviews and we saw that surveys were carried out. People said that they felt confident that they would be listened to if they raised an issue and that it would be acted on. One person told us, “I would phone the manager if there was a problem. I know they would deal with it straight away”.