This inspection took place on 9 May 2017 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in November 2015 the service was rated as good.

Walsingham Support - 49 Essex Park is a six bed care home for people with learning disabilities. On the day of our visit there were six people living in the home.

People experienced good care and support. They were supported to live safe, fulfilled and meaningful lives in the way they wanted to.

People were supported with healthy eating and to maintain a healthy weight, with specialist diets when required. People who needed assistance with meal preparation were supported and encouraged to make choices about what they ate and drank. The support staff demonstrated an excellent knowledge of people’s care needs, significant people and events in their lives, and their daily routines and preferences. They also understood the provider’s safeguarding procedures and could explain how they would protect people if they had any concerns

Staff told us they really enjoyed working in the home and spoke positively about the culture and management of the service. Staff told us that they were encouraged to openly discuss any issues. They said they enjoyed their jobs and described management as supportive.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was safe and there were appropriate safeguards in place to help protect the people who lived there. People were able to make choices about the way in which they were cared for. Staff listened to them and knew their needs well. Staff had the training and support they needed.

Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs. Recruitment practices were safe and relevant checks had been completed before staff worked at the home. People’s medicines were managed appropriately so they received them safely.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that as far as possible people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. The service was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Appropriate mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions had been undertaken by relevant professionals. This ensured that decisions were taken in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, DoLS and associated Codes of Practice.

People participated in a range of different social activities and were supported to access the local community. They also participated in shopping for the home and their own needs. The registered manager and staff ensured everyone was supported to maintain good health. Staff took a very proactive approach to ensuring people's complex health needs were always met, and consistently ensured that when people needed specialist input from health care professionals they got it.

Staff were caring and always ensured they treated people with dignity and respect. They had a good understanding of the care and support needs of every person living in the home . People had developed very positive relationships with staff and there was a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in the home.

Staff were well supported with training, supervision and appraisal which helped them to ensure they provided very effective care for people.

People and those important to them, such as their relatives or professionals were asked for feedback about the quality of the service.

The registered

We inspected Walsingham Support - 49 Essex Park on 3 November 2015. This was an unannounced inspection. Walsingham Support - 49 Essex Park is a six bed care home for people with learning disabilities. On the day of our visit there were six people living in the home.

People told us they were very happy with the care and support they received.

People who needed assistance with meal preparation were supported and encouraged to make choices about what they ate and drank. The care staff we spoke with demonstrated a good knowledge of people’s care needs, significant people and events in their lives, and their daily routines and preferences. They also understood the provider’s safeguarding procedures and could explain how they would protect people if they had any concerns.

Staff told us they enjoyed working in the home and spoke positively about the culture and management of the service. Staff told us that they were encouraged to openly discuss any issues. Staff said they enjoyed their jobs and described management as supportive. Staff confirmed they were able to raise issues and make suggestions about the way the service was provided.

The registered manager had been in post since April 2014. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was safe and there were appropriate safeguards in place to help protect the people who lived there. People were able to make choices about the way in which they were cared for. Staff listened to them and knew their needs well. Staff had the training and support they needed. There was evidence that staff and managers at the home had been involved in reviewing and monitoring the quality of the service to make sure it improved.

Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs. Recruitment practices were safe and relevant checks had been completed before staff worked at the home. People’s medicines were managed appropriately so they received them safely.

The service was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

(DoLS). Appropriate mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions had been undertaken by relevant professionals. This ensured that the decision was taken in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005, DoLS and associated Codes of Practice.

People participated in a range of different social activities individually and as a group and were supported to access the local community. They also participated in shopping for the home and their own needs, and some people had recently been on holiday together with staff support.

The registered manager provided good leadership and people using the service, relatives and staff told us the manager promoted high standards of care.

A single inspector carried out this inspection. The focus of the inspection was to answer five key questions;

Is the service safe?

Is the service effective?

Is the service caring?

Is the service responsive?

Is the service well-led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, the staff supporting them and from looking at records.

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If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People are treated with respect and dignity by the staff. People told us they felt safe. Safeguarding procedures were in place and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported. Training records showed that most staff had completed safeguarding adults training within the last six months. There were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. This ensured that the staff were of good character and were competent enough to meet the care and welfare needs of people.

Is the service effective?

People's health and care needs were assessed. Specialist dietary, mobility and equipment needs had been identified in care plans where required. People said that they had been involved in the care planning process and that they were happy with the care that was provided.

Is the service caring?

People were supported by kind and attentive staff. We saw that care workers showed patience and gave encouragement when supporting people. One person told us, "staff are so kind.'' People using the service, their relatives, friends and other professionals involved with the service completed an annual satisfaction survey. Where shortfalls or concerns were raised these were addressed. People's preferences, interests, aspirations and diverse needs had been recorded and care and support had been provided in accordance with people's wishes.

Is the service responsive?

People completed a range of activities in and outside the service regularly. People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy. The provider had a complaints procedure that was accessible to people who use the service. There had been no complaints since our last inspection.

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Is the service well-led?

The service worked well with other agencies and services to make sure people received their care in a joined up way.

The new manager had only been in post for 2 weeks on the day of our inspection. Staff told us that the manager was "much better'' and “she listens and provides advice.” Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities, and had a good understanding of the ethos of the home and quality assurance processes were in place. This helped to ensure that people received a good quality service at all times.

When we inspected on 14th September 2012, we found that people's support plans and risk assessments had not been regularly reviewed and that where this had happened, records were not always updated. As a result, records did not always reflect people's care needs and preferences. The provider sent us an action plan to address this concern.

When we inspected again on 21st May 2013, we saw that people’s support plans had recently been reviewed and updated. Person centred risk assessments had been undertaken for tasks like cooking and making tea.

We also saw that care records were kept securely and could be readily located.

The manager had been in post for approximately five months. They told us they felt supported in their role and that they had had undergone a structured induction programme. This included a “buddy” system offering peer support in areas like IT systems and conducting audits.

The home was clean, warm and had a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We saw that people seemed content and had a good rapport with staff. We used a number of different methods such as observations, examining records and talking to staff to help us understand people’s experiences of living in the home, because they had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences.

We observed that staff treated people using the service with respect and dignity. People were appropriately dressed and seemed well cared for. People were encouraged to make choices regarding their food and drinks.

However we were concerned that the systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service were being used irregularly and were ineffective.