Wardley Street provides respite care and support for up to seven people with learning disabilities. The service provides respite care for people usually living at home with family but sometimes within Shared Lives care to provide some respite for carers. People typically stayed over a weekend or for a week. There were six people using the service at the time of the inspection, four respite and two emergency placements.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a new manager at the service who had submitted an application to become registered. 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.

Relatives praised the caring attitude of staff. They said their family member enjoyed going to stay at the service and they were satisfied they were well looked after whilst they were there. They said the service kept them regularly updated about any changes during the stay. We received similar comments from health and social care professionals. Care workers were aware of people’s preferences, their likes and dislikes and how they liked to spend their day.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to live independent lives and continued to enjoy the activities they participated in whilst at home during their respite stay at the service. People were encouraged to help staff with daily chores such as their laundry or help prepare meals if they wanted to.

People continued to be supported to take their medicines on time, staff completed medicine administration record (MAR) charts when they administered medicines to people. People’s healthcare needs were met by the provider, referrals were made when required and specialist support plans were in place to support people for health conditions such as epilepsy. People were supported in relation to their eating and drinking support needs.

Staff told us they felt supported and worked well together as a team. New staff received a thorough induction in the minimum accepted standards expected of care workers and also into the values and behaviours expected of them. Staff received regular training, supervision and appraisal.

The provider carried out an assessment of people’s needs and their risks before they came to use the service. This meant that the provider had appropriate information to support people. Individual care plans were in place for each person. Care plans included a personal information and contact sheet, support plans, professional guidance and end of stay reports. End of stay reports included social and recreational activities that took place, if there were any health concerns, behavioural issues and night reports. This was given to carers when people went back home.

Care plans were person-centred. A person centred profile was available giving information about how best to support people, their qualities and important things to them. People’s communication, cultural and spiritual support needs were included in care plans.

People were given information about their care and support in a format that was easy to understand. Pictures of staff were on display in the entrance to the service, menus were available in a pictorial format and cupboards were labelled with their contents.

There was an open culture within the service with an emphasis on support and transparency. Quality assurance and governance systems were effective and used to drive continuous improvement. Debriefs were held demonstrating the providers commitment to on-going learning.

We conducted an unannounced inspection of Wardley Street on 3 November 2014. The service provides respite care and support for up to seven people with learning disabilities. There were five people using the service when we visited. This was our first inspection of the service.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Safeguarding adults from abuse procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard people they supported. Staff had received safeguarding adults training and were able to explain the possible signs of abuse as well as the correct procedure to follow if they had concerns.

Staff followed safe practices for administering and managing medicines. People had their medicines as required and staff recorded these clearly and accurately.

All staff were trained in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and senior staff were trained in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to this legislation and protecting people’s rights.

People using the service and their relatives gave excellent feedback about the staff at the service. Staff demonstrated an understanding of people’s life histories and supported people to meet their individual needs in a caring way. People using the service and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care and how their needs were met. People had care plans in place that reflected their assessed needs.

Recruitment procedures ensured that only staff who were suitable, worked within the service. There was an induction programme for new staff, which prepared them for their role. Staff were provided with a range of appropriate training to help them carry out their duties. Staff received regular supervision and appraisal. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs. The service operated a flexible rota to ensure enough staff were available to meet people’s individual needs on each shift.

People were supported to maintain a balanced, nutritious diet and their nutritional needs were monitored. People were supported effectively with their health needs and had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

People using the service and staff felt able to speak with the registered manager and provided feedback on the service. They knew how to make complaints and there was an effective complaints policy and procedure in place. We found complaints were dealt with appropriately and in accordance with the policy.

The service carried out regular audits to monitor the quality of the service and to plan improvements. Where concerns were identified action plans were put in place to rectify these.