Southleigh is a care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 15 adults predominantly with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people living in the home. At the last inspection in June 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

The service is required to have a registered manager. 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. A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection, however they were on leave and not available during the inspection. In the absence of the registered a senior member of the care staff had taken on the role of manager supported by an area manager who visited during the inspection.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were enough staff to provide care and support to people to meet their needs. People were consistently protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision, training and on going professional development as required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

People had positive relationships with the staff who were caring and treated people with respect, kindness and compassion. People had detailed personalised plans of care in place to enable staff to provide consistent care and support in line with their personal preferences. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had effective systems in place to manage any complaints received.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was approachable and spent time with staff and people in the home. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service.

This unannounced inspection took place on 4 June 2015. The home provides support for up to 15 people with Learning Disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people living at the home.

There was 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.

People told us that they felt safe in the home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that on the day of our inspection there were sufficient staff on duty. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work at the home.

Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People were actively involved in decision about their care and support needs 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). People felt safe and there were clear lines of reporting safeguarding concerns to appropriate agencies and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults.

Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did. Pictorial formats of care plans, reviews and hospital passports were in place.

Staff had good relationships with the people who lived at the home. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The registered manager was visible and accessible. Staff and people living in the home were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.

We found that people were encouraged to express their views and involved in decisions about their individual needs. One person we spoke with said, ‘’They support me to do what I want. Today I made key rings at the day centre. I go there almost five times a week.’’ A visitor we spoke with said, ‘’I know my relative is in good hands because they always look out for my relative’s needs as they cannot always express themselves and they talk to me if necessary.’’

People's physical and emotional needs were clearly reflected in their care plan and staff we spoke with had good understanding of people's needs.

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Staff had undergone training in safeguarding and they were clear in their responsibilities to report concerns.

Staff felt well supported and appropriately trained and were provided with regular supervision.

The provider had systems in place for monitoring the quality of the service and this included asking people who used the service for their views.

People who used the service were encouraged to express their views and make choices. One relative we spoke with said ‘’they look after them like family’’. They said carers always helped people in a way that took account of their specific needs and which promoted people’s independence. A person who used the service told us ‘’they are nice and always help me’’ and ‘’I get to go out often, last week I went dancing’’.

We saw that people’s support plans were detailed and took account of people’s individual needs and how this would be supported but they lacked activities that involved them to pass the time. We saw that the provider needed to make improvements to protect the people they cared for and their carers from harm.

We saw that the provider’s quality assurance programme which made sure the safety and comfort of the people they cared for needed improvements. This was particularly in the way it monitored the availability of carers, staff training and the maintenance of the building where people lived.

People told us that they felt that they were well looked after at Southleigh. They told us that the staff knew how to take care of them.

People told us that they felt safe living at Southleigh and that they would know how to raise any concerns. They told us that they were confident that they would be listened to and have their concerns addressed. They told us that they liked the staff, that they were kind, respectful and considerate towards them.

People told us that they were able to make decisions for themselves in all aspects of their lives including their preferred routines and decisions about how to spend their time. They told us about the activities that they enjoyed at Southleigh and that they were engaged in meaningful activities within the home.

People told us that they thought that the service was well run and that they were able to participate in decisions about the running of the home and that their views were listened to.