This inspection took place on the 29 September 2016 and it was announced.

Supporting Independence Findon is a supported living service providing care to people in their own homes in Littlehampton and Findon and surrounding areas in West Sussex. At the time of our visit, they were supporting 15 people with personal care. Supporting Independence Findon has a registered office in Findon village, where records are kept, and a further two office ‘hubs’ which are the base and meeting place for two separate staff teams, managed by two different managers. Mortimer House staff team in Littlehampton supports nine people with predominantly mental health needs who live in their own flats. Ivy Cottage staff team in Findon supports six people, three people who live in a shared house and three people in self-contained flats. People supported by Ivy cottage staff have learning disabilities, autism and other complex needs.

The service had a registered manager in post who is also the registered provider and had started the service in 2004. 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 Supporting Independence provided a safe service. Staff understood local safeguarding procedures. They were able to speak about what action they would take if they had a concern or felt a person was at risk of abuse. Risks to people had been identified and assessed and information was provided to staff on how to care for people safely and mitigate any risks.

People and relatives spoke positively about the support they received from the service and records reflected there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. The service followed safe recruitment practices. People’s medicines were managed safely.

Staff felt confident with the support and guidance they had been given during their induction and subsequent training. Staff also told us they were satisfied with the level of support that they were given from the management team. Supervisions and appraisals were consistently carried out for all staff supporting people.

People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to be involved with determining the care they received. Staff understood the requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and about people’s capacity to make decisions. Some people received support with food and drink and they made positive comments about staff and the way they met this need.

Staff spoke kindly and respectfully to people, involving them with the care provided. Staff had developed meaningful relationships with people they supported. Staff knew people well and had a caring approach. People were treated with dignity and respect.

People received personalised care. Each person was involved with their own care plan, supported by keyworkers and managers. Care plans reflected information relevant to each individual and their abilities including people’s communication and health needs. They provided clear guidance to staff on how to meet people’s individual needs.

Staff were vigilant to changes in people’s health needs and their support was reviewed when required. If people required input from other health and social care professionals, this was arranged. Staff often supported people with their healthcare appointments.

People’s views about the quality of the service were obtained informally through discussions with the registered manager and formally through satisfaction surveys. Relatives were also asked for their feedback and this was positive. Two people who used the service had been given specific roles assessing the quality of the care provided they were called 'quality checkers'.

A range of audit processes overseen by the registered ma

We visited Supporting Independence to look at the care and welfare of people who use the service. We spoke to six members of staff and two support/key workers. We also spoke to two relatives, five people who use the service and a community psychiatric nurse (CPN).

We visited a supported living service where we observed people being treated with respect and kindness.

We looked through people’s care records and found that comprehensive assessments and care plans were in place and signed. The people who use the service told us they understood their care plans and gave us examples of their day’s activities.

We saw evidence that carers were actively involved in their relative’s care.

We found a wide range of medication management policies and procedures in place to ensure medication was stored and administered in a safe and effective manner. We looked in staff records which showed us that all staff were trained in medication management.

We found that when recruiting staff, the provider had policies and procedures in place to ensure potential staff have the necessary skills and experience to fulfil the requirements of their role. We found that all staff had received an induction programme and relevant training. We also found evidence to show how performance issues were identified and resolved. All staff we spoke to told us they were happy working for Supporting Independence and felt well supported.

We were not able to speak with many people who used the service during our visit because they were engaged in therapeutic activities and it wasn’t appropriate to interrupt them. We gathered evidence of people’s experiences of the service by reviewing questionnaires, comments documented during reviews, stakeholder feedback and information provided by relatives. We observed people’s interaction with staff to help us to understand their experience of the service.

We found that people were happy with the service and felt the staff supported them well. Relatives spoke of how much people had improved since moving to Ivy Cottage and having the care and support from the service. One relative fed back that since moving to Ivy Cottage the person has been “So happy, more content, assured and of a happy disposition.”

We found that people's care had been assessed and there was clear guidance for staff about how to best support people. People's care needs and risks were documented and planned to ensure their care was adequate and safe. We found that people and their relatives were involved in their care planning and their wishes were respected. People were treated with kindness, respect and dignity and consulted in their care needs and preferences.

Staff had access to training and supervision to maintain their knowledge and skills, which ensured they provided safe and appropriate care to people. There were systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care offered.