We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Outreach on 8 March 2018.

Outreach is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides support to adults and younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and to people in supported living arrangements.

Supported living is where people receive support so that they can live in their own home 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.

Not everyone using Outreach received regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people being provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where the service does provide any wider social care, we also take this into account. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting one person with personal care.

Outreach has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service had a registered manager 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.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in December 2016.

There were systems and processes in place to keep people safe from abuse and avoidable harm. The person using the service told us, “I feel very safe”. People using the service had support to know what abuse, including discriminatory abuse, could look like and how to get help.

Staff had received safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report abuse. The registered manager reviewed and investigated any safeguarding incidents or concerns and took action to keep people safe. People had risk assessments in place and any control measures needed to minimise risks were put in place in the least restrictive manner. Staff reported accident and incidents and the service took appropriate action to prevent future incidents from occurring.

There service had enough staff with the right skills and experience to meet people’s needs. Rotas were written so staff matched the needs of the people they supported. There were safe recruitment practices and all staff had a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Staff had received training in infection control and food hygiene best practice and provided support for people to maintain a clean and hygienic environment and to store, prepare and handle food safely.

People’s physical, psychological and social needs had been assessed so staff knew the support they needed and how to help them achieve their preferred support outcomes. The person using the service and their relative told us they had been actively involved in this process. The provider promoted equal rights for people with learning disabilities and was committed to helping people overcome any form of discrimination to achieve the support outcomes they wanted.

The provider operated a number of other different services within its organisation to help people achieve good outcomes and have a good quality of life. Staff worked with these internal services to co-ordinate people’s support, so their needs could be effectively met. The person using the service told us they were encouraged to attend the evening social events at the provider’s drop in cen