The inspection took place on the 19 October 2016 and was unannounced.

The Oaks provides care and accommodation for up to eight people. On the day of the inspection eight people were living in the home. The service provides care for people with learning and or a physical disability.

At the time of our inspection there was 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.

People were able to do things they enjoyed and keep in touch with those people who were important to them. Risks to people's safety were understood by staff and people benefited from receiving care which took into account their safety needs.

Staff understood what actions to take if they had any concerns for people's wellbeing or safety. People were supported to take their medicines so they would remain well and there were enough staff to meet people's care and safety needs.

The provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staff worked with other organisations and relatives so that people's right to make decisions and their freedom was protected. Some people enjoyed making their own meals and drinks, other people received help from staff to enjoy a range of food and drinks.

Staff assisted people to attend specialist health appointments and followed the advice given by specialist health services so people would receive the care they needed as their health needs changed.

People enjoyed spending time with the registered manager and staff and people were given encouragement and reassurance when they needed it. People's need for independence and privacy was understood and acted upon by staff. People were encouraged by staff to make their own choices about what daily care they wanted.

Where concerns had been raised these were dealt with in a timely manner.

Regular checks were undertaken on the quality of the care provided by the provider and the registered manager.

The Oaks provided support to eight people with a learning disability. We spoke with five of the people who lived at The Oaks. Due to the nature of people's learning disability we were not always able to ask direct questions to people. We did however chat with them and were able to obtain their views as much as possible. We also spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff.

We used this inspection to answer our five key questions; is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what we observed, the records we looked at and what people who used the service and the staff told us.

Is the service safe?

None of the people we spoke with had any concerns about the support they received.

We saw care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's safety and welfare. All of the care plans we looked at had risk assessments in place to help minimise any risk that had been identified.

The provider and staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Care plan files contained information regarding to consent to care and treatment. We saw information was in place regarding people’s capacity to consent and the needs for capacity assessments and best interest meetings to be carried out where necessary.

There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies. We saw the service had an agreement with another home operated by Dolphin Homes Limited which was nearby. This would provide initial temporary accommodation if people could not return to the home after an evacuation

Is the service effective?

Each person had a plan of care and support. We saw support plans explained what the person could do for themselves and what support they needed from staff. Staff told us the care and support plans gave them the information they needed to provide the level of support people required.

We observed staff supporting people. Care staff we spoke with were aware of people's needs and preferences. They knew how people wanted their care to be delivered. We saw they offered advice and support but they enabled people to make their own choices and decisions.

Is the service caring?

We observed staff speaking to people appropriately and they used people’s preferred form of address. We saw people and staff got on well together.

We observed staff consulted people as much as possible when supporting them. Staff spoke to people clearly and explained to people what they were doing. We saw people were happy with the support they received and people we spoke with confirmed this.

Is the service responsive?

We saw people had regular reviews of the care and support they received. We saw review notes showed alterations had been made to people’s plans of care as people’s needs had changed.

We saw people were able to participate in a range of activities both in the home and in the local community. Staff told us they encouraged and supported people to participate in activities to promote and maintain their well-being.

People who used the service were asked for their views about how the home was meeting people’s needs and any concerns or ways to improve the service were acted on. .

Is the service well led?

The Oaks had a policy and procedure for quality assurance. The provider organisation employed a Quality Manager who ensured annual audits on the quality of the service provided was carried out. The provider organisation also employed an area manager who carried out regular visits to the service.

Regular staff meetings took place and minutes of these meetings were kept. Staff we spoke with confirmed this and said the staff meetings enabled them to discuss issues openly with the manager and the rest of the staff team.

Meetings with people who used the service also took place weekly and these were used to discuss any issues in the home and also to plan activities and menu's for the following week.

The manager told us that all staff received supervision every six to eight weeks where staff performance issues were discussed and additional staff training was identified as necessary. The manager also told us staff received annual appraisals. Staff we spoke with confirmed this.

We spoke with five of the eight people who lived at The Oaks. Due to the nature of people’s learning disability we were not always able to ask direct questions to people. We did however chat with them and were able to obtain their views as much as possible.

We found that all people had a plan of care that gave staff the information they needed to support people effectively. Care plans we saw contained information regarding people's preferences for the care and support they received.

People were able to show us how they made choices and we saw that people had a care plan regarding choice and consent. The plans contained information on how people made choices and gave their consent to the care and treatment they received.

We observed and people told us they were well cared for and that they got on well with all the staff. There was a friendly atmosphere in the home throughout our visit.

We spoke with the registered manager, a senior support worker and three members of staff. They said that they enjoyed working at the home and that everyone worked well as a team.

Staff said they were well supported and that they were provided with the training and information they needed to support people effectively. They told us that management were supportive and approachable.

We saw that The Oaks had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experience of people using the service, because the people using the service had limited verbal communication and were not fully able to tell us about their experience.

During our visit we spoke with the four members of staff on duty and the registered manager.

We looked at four care plans and medical files.

People using the service were protected from abuse as they were supported by a staff team who had received appropriate training on safeguarding adults. People told us if they had any concerns they would report them to the manager.

On the day of our visit we saw that there were enough staff working in the home to support people when they needed it.

Records showed that staff received ongoing training and supervision which provided them with the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the people they were supporting.

Due to the nature of people’s learning disability we were not always able to ask direct questions to people. We did however chat with them and were able to obtain their views as much as possible.

People told us they liked living at the home. One person said, “I am very happy here”. Another person said he attended a course at a local college, which he enjoyed.

People said that the food provided was plentiful and good and that the home was warm and comfortable.

We spoke with a social worker who supported two people who live at the home and he/she told us the service follows up all decisions made at review meetings. The service keeps in contact with the family of their service users and any Incidents are discussed promptly. They went on to say “I am entirely satisfied with the service”.

We also spoke with a member of the local Learning Disability team who told us that the home was proactive in contacting them for advice and support and that they worked well with the team and responded positively to any advice and support given.

Staff told us that they got on well with the people they supported and said that they enjoyed working at The Oaks.