The inspection took place on 12 December 2017 and was announced.

Sunnyside House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Sunnyside House is registered to accommodate up to fourteen people who have learning disabilities who require nursing or personal care. The service does not provide nursing care. The service specialises in working with people towards developing independence with a view to them moving on into the community. Sunnyside House is a large detached property situated close to the centre of Aveley.

The service 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 requires and did 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.

At our previous inspection in August 2015, the service was rated Good in all five domains. At this inspection we rated the key question ‘Is the service Responsive?’ as Outstanding. The other four key questions remained Good.

Staff at Sunnyside House were exceptionally responsive to people's individual care and support needs resulting in positive outcomes for people using the service. Significant emphasis was placed on providing person centred care to enable people to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives. This included, supporting people to acquire independent living skills to enable them to move on from Sunnyside House to more independent living settings. People, including where appropriate their relatives and health and social care professionals, were actively encouraged to be involved in the planning and review of their care and support needs.

Staff had a good understanding and knowledge of people’s backgrounds and the goals they wanted to achieve whilst living at the service. People were actively encouraged and supported by staff to follow their hobbies and interests and pursue educational and job opportunities. All activities were tailored around people's likes, choices and abilities.

People told us they felt safe and well supported by the staff at Sunnyside House. Robust recruitment systems were in place which ensured staff were of good character and suitable for their roles. There were sufficient numbers of staff to help keep people safe, meet their needs and protect them from harm and abuse. Staff had received safeguarding adults training and understood the various types of abuse and how to report any concerns.

The service took a positive approach to risk taking to enhance the quality of peoples life's and people were encouraged to be independent and to take everyday risks. Where risks to people's individual health and well-being had been identified, these had been appropriately managed. Where appropriate, people were supported with their medicines by staff who had received training in the safe management of medicines.

People were supported by staff who had completed and received on-going training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge required to provide effective care. Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how this applied to their role and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and to acquire the skills to maintain a balanced and healthy lifest

We inspected Sunnyside House Limited on the 26 August 2015.

The service provides accommodation and support for up to 14 people who may have learning difficulties and complex needs. There were 14 people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

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.

People were cared for by staff that had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks were completed. There were enough staff available to support people.

Records were regularly updated and staff were provided with the information they needed to meet people’s needs. People's care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare.

Staff and the manager were able to explain to us what they would do to keep people safe and how they would protect their rights. Staff had been provided with training in safeguarding adults from abuse, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People were relaxed in the company of staff. Staff were able to demonstrate they knew people well and treated people with dignity and respect.

People who used the service were provided with the opportunity to participate in activities which interested them; these activities were diverse to meet people’s social needs.

The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. Where appropriate, support and guidance was sought from health care professionals, including people’s G.Ps, psychiatrists and community nurses.

People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint; any complaints were resolved efficiently and quickly.

The manager had a number of ways of gathering views on the service including holding meetings with people, staff and talking with relatives.

The manager and provider carried out a number of quality monitoring audits to ensure the service was running effectively.

People told us that they had received good information about the care that would be provided for them. They said that the staff treated them well. One person said, “The staff are brilliant and always help me." People’s needs had been fully assessed. The care plans were detailed and informative. They included risk assessments and management plans for all areas of identified risks. People told us that they were very happy with the care they received at Sunnyside House.

People told us that they felt safe. They said that the manager and the staff were very friendly, caring and kind. Staff interaction throughout our inspection visit was good. Staff had been given information and training on safeguarding adults and they showed a good awareness of the procedures.

The provider had good quality assurance processes. Regular audits of the service’s systems and practices had taken place. People received safe, effective and compassionate care from a well-led service that responded quickly to their changing needs.

We found that staff had been well trained and saw that they had a good understanding of people's individual needs. People were treated respectfully, their individuality and diversity understood. People enjoyed good levels of activity and were able to get out and about in the local community.

People that use the service told us that they were happy living at Sunnyside House, one person told us, "Yes the staff are very kind." Another person told us, "They help us here."

Sunnyside House is a home that promotes independence at all times. People who use the service are offered a training scheme called 'My Life' which encourages and assists them to achieve a higher level of independence. Sunnyside House had two flats on the premises, one was aimed at someone with a diagnosis of Autism and the other was a transitional flat. Staff told us there are three people up to the date of our visit who had completed 'My life' training and are now living in the community.

People with whom we spoke, told us that they were satisfied with the staff, the food and their activities. They told us that they were able to choose the colour schemes in their rooms and were involved in the purchase of new items in their rooms. People also said that they were fully involved in making up and reviewing their support and independent living plans.

Some people using the service accessed the community independently, others told us that staff supported them in accessing the local and wider community, so that they could take part in their chosen interests and activities. People also told us that they were satisfied with the way the home is run and with staff attitudes towards them.