This inspection took place on 19 and 22 August 2016.

Wolverton Court is a service for six people who have autism and learning disabilities. It is a specialist service for people that have anxious or emotional behaviour that has limited their quality of life and experiences. Wolverton Court is a large home providing accommodation for five people and there is a separate flat for one person. The home is set in a rural area and is surrounded by a large secure field and garden with access onto a terraced area with seating that is covered in tarmac and Astroturf for safety. There is a good sized car park to the side of the property.

A registered manager and deputy manager were based at the service. 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.

What was particularly noticeable about the service provided was the freedom that people had. People were listened to. People had the support they needed to express their needs and wishes. People were able to make decisions and choices. People were trying new experiences, going on holiday for the first time, going for trips to places and doing activities that they had previously not had the confidence to try.

A person’s relative described the service as “fantastic”, and went on to say, “I can’t praise it enough. Since [person] has been at Wolverton [person’s] life has changed completely. The difference is unbelievable.”

The difference the service was making to people’s lives was visible. People who had previously displayed anxious and emotional behaviours that had led to restrictive lifestyles were now being supported in a different way. People needed a significant amount of consistent support to make sure they felt secure and understood; to prevent the need for behaviours to make their needs known or to express dissatisfaction and they were receiving this. The warmth of the relationships with each other and the staff and the opportunities for new experiences that they were given were serving to enable people to blossom.

As a result of consistent support, good teamwork, and good planning and delivery of person centred care, people were experiencing opportunities to attend events and go on holiday that they had never done successfully before. One person was a keen football supporter. Tickets had just been booked for them to attend the England Spain match at Wembley in the autumn. This was a huge achievement considering the person’s past struggles. Another person had spent several weeks planning a holiday, going abroad for the first time. Something this person had not been able to consider and cope with before. The person spoke excitedly about their impending holiday and staff talked enthusiastically about the planning and how the person had chosen their destination.

The atmosphere in the service throughout the two days of the inspection visit was calm, bright and active. People were able to share with us their experiences through us spending time with them, through their photos and with help from staff explaining people’s lifestyles in the presence of the person who was smiling and gesturing in agreement.

There was a really positive and inspiring culture in the service. Instead of seeing people as having limitations, the registered manager and staff team found innovative and creative ways to help people overcome perceived limitations and take as much control of their own lives as possible. When talking about the work they did the registered manager commented that he was always looking at “How we can do things better?” and “How can we get people to reach their heights of potential?”

A health and social care professional commented, “I have noticed a huge change. The home appears cleaner and well

We reviewed all the information we hold about this provider, then carried out a visit on 28th May 2013. We observed how people were being cared for, talked with staff, checked the provider’s records and looked at records of people who used the service.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service, because some of the people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences. These included observing the care and interactions between the people and staff. People expressed themselves by using sounds, gestures, body language and pointing to objects and pictures. They indicated that the staff treated them with respect and that they felt reassured to be in their company. They indicated that they received the health and personal care they needed and that they were comfortable in their home.

To help us to understand the experiences people had we used our Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) tool. The SOFI tool allowed us to spend time watching what was happening in a service and helped us to record how people spent their time, the type of support they received and whether they had positive experiences.

People spoken with and observations made did not raise any concerns with regard to the quality of care received. All staff spoken with demonstrated experience and knowledge to enable them to support people who lived at the service with their needs.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service, because the people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us their experiences.

Through observation however during the site visit we were able to observe staff supporting people who use the service in a respectful way and that staff took time to explain where possible the options available and involved them in the running of the service.

People who use the service were unable to communicate and tell us what they thought of the quality of the care due to their communication difficulties. Through observation however during the site visit we were able to observe staff supporting people who use the service in a respectful way and that staff took time to explain where possible the options available and involved them in the running of the service. Examples of this were cooking, housework and shopping.