This inspection was carried out on 1 February 2017 and was announced.

St Gabriel’s House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to eight people. There were six people living at the service when we visited. People had a range of learning disabilities. Some people were living with autism and some people required support with behaviours that challenged. Some of the people were living with hearing loss and all used British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.

The service is in a quiet road, close to local shops and the sea. The service is based across two flats, which are in the same building as a day service run by the provider. Each flat has large living/dining areas, a kitchen, four bedrooms and several bathrooms.

The service is run by a registered manager who was present on the day of the 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 registered manager shared their time between St Gabriel’s House and another residential service for five people nearby that they also managed. They were supported to do this by two deputy managers and senior support workers.

The care plans gave staff guidance on what support people needed and how they liked staff to support them. Care plans were not always available in a format which was accessible to people. A member of staff was piloting a new person centred plan using pictures but this had not yet been completed. The registered manager agreed this was an area for improvement.

Some staff told us that they could contact the registered manager for support but other staff told us that the management team was distant and they did not feel supported. Some staff felt that their opinion was valued but others stated that they were not listened to and their ideas were dismissed. There had been a number of changes at the service and this had resulted in a period of uncertainty, long standing staff leaving and staff vacancies which appears to have led to low staff morale. The registered manager told us, after the inspection, that they were meeting with staff to try to address their concerns.

There were enough staff to support people and the number of staff available was based around people’s activities and needs. Staff had been recruited safely and had received a variety of training for their role. Staff had not always received the training required to meet people’s individual needs, especially related to supporting people whose behaviours could challenge. The registered manager had requested further training for the staff before our inspection but did not have a date for when this would happen. All staff were completing the care certificate to refresh their knowledge. The care certificate is an identified set of standards that social care workers work through based on their competency.

Staff knew people well and talked about people’s personalities and favourite things to do. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends, through visits and the use of technology including email. Each person had a keyworker who co-ordinated their care and support. People had keyworker meetings weekly which were recorded, this gave people a chance to discuss any worries or concerns and what had gone well in the past week.

People and staff seemed very comfortable in each other’s company. Staff adapted their way of working for each person, and treated people with dignity and respect. Family members and visitors said they always felt welcomed at the service

Risks relating to people had been assessed and plans put in place to minimise the impact of the risks. People were supported to develop new skills and to look after their home. People had weekly residents meetings