This inspection took place on the 10 March 2017 and was unannounced. The service is registered to provide personal care and support for up to 18 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection 16 people were using the service. At the last inspection in August 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’ and at this inspection we found the service remained a ‘Good’ service.

People continued to receive safe care. People were consistently protected from the risks of harm; staff knew how to manage risks, whilst promoting people's rights to take risks. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to continuously meet people’s needs.

The care that people received continued to be effective. The staff support, training and professional development systems ensured staff had the right skills, knowledge and experience to effectively meet people’s needs on a daily and long term basis. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition. The medicines administration systems ensured people consistently received their medicines safely.

People were supported and cared for by staff that showed them kindness and treated them respectfully. People were involved in making decisions about their care, were enabled to access the wider community, and maintain contact with family and friends.

People had individualised support plans in place to enable staff to provide people with the care they needed that was in line with their personal preferences and capabilities. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider responded appropriately to any concerns or complaints.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager had good oversight and leadership of the service.

This inspection took place on the 24 March 2015 and was unannounced. The service is registered to provide nursing and personal care to 18 people with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people living there. The premises comprise two converted residential properties that have been adapted to provide facilities for people with disability.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

The provider had robust recruitment systems in place; which included appropriate checks on the suitability of new staff to work in the home. Staff received a thorough induction training to ensure they had the skills to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. There was a stable staff team and there were enough staff available to meet peoples’ needs.

Systems were in place to ensure people were protected from abuse; staff had received training and were aware of their responsibilities in raising any concerns about people’s welfare. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Peoples’ care was planned to ensure they received the individual support that they required to maintain their health, safety, independence, mobility and nutrition. People were supported to access appropriate health care services and had access to appropriate equipment to meet their needs.

People received support that maintained their privacy and dignity and systems were in place to ensure people received their medicines as and when they required them. People were able to participate in meaningful activities and there were individual and group activities that were taking place in the home. People were involved in making decisions about their care and had opportunities participate in the running of the home.

People had confidence in the management of the home and there were systems in place to assess the quality of service provided. Records were maintained in good order and demonstrated that people received the care that they needed.

Many of the people who lived at 2/8 Kingsthorpe Grove were unable to recall their experiences or express their views; in these circumstances observation was used to inform the inspection.

We spoke with four people who used this service, they told us staff explained their individual care needs to them and they were asked for their consent before staff provided any care. All of the people we spoke with said they were well looked after at 2/8 Kingsthorpe Grove and the staff knew how they needed and wished to be supported.

All of the people we spoke with told us they had plenty to eat and drink and that the food was good at 2/8 Kingsthorpe Grove. One person said “We choose the food we want to be on the menu”.

We received two anonymous allegations about the way people were spoken to which were being investigated by the local authority safeguarding team. However during our inspection people told us they liked the staff; that they were kind to them and they felt safe in their care. We also saw that people were comfortable and relaxed within their environment. The staff that we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the safeguarding vulnerable adults.

During our inspection visit we spoke with five people who used the service as well as four members of staff. Some of the people who used the service were unable to verbally communicate with us so we undertook observation skills to help understand their experiences. Throughout our visit we saw staff treating people with respect and involved them in activities .The body language and facial expressions of people showed that they were happy and relaxed at the home.

People we spoke with told us that they were happy living at the home and with the care they received. One person told us “staff help me keep calm and help me do things”. They said they had meetings where they talked about activities and the food they liked. Another person told us that they helped at the home by getting the milk and papers for the home. They also said “its lovely here and the staff are nice” and they liked the people living at the home.

People told us that the meals provided by the home were very good and they had a choice of meals and drinks each day. One person told us if they did not like what was on the menu; they could choose an alternative option.

Both of the people we spoke with told us they liked living at Kingsthorpe Grove. They told us they felt they were well looked after and that the staff knew how they needed to be supported. They also told us the staff were nice to them, that they felt safe and knew how to raise any concerns should they need to do so.

Both people told us they were regularly involved in house meetings where they were able to make decisions about the running of the home, such as planning events, holidays, celebrations, activities and domestic issues such as the choice of food that was included in the menu.

People told us the food was very good, that they had plenty to eat, that the staff knew what they liked and that there were always alternatives if they did not want what was on the menu.

People told us they were supported to maintain links with family and friends either through telephone calls or visits and that they were happy with the quality of the service provided at Kingsthorpe Grove.