Community Places

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 82 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The service had a positive culture that was person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering. The management and staff put people's needs and wishes at the heart of everything they did.

The registered manager was passionate about improving people’s quality of life and it was clear staff shared this vision and were proud to work for the service.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Good oversight by the registered manager meant they were alert to any poor practice that may affect the quality of people’s care and have a detrimental impact on staff. Senior staff had the knowledge and/or experience to ensure people always experienced person-centred care.

The management team were extremely motivated and enthusiastic and were constantly looking for areas they could improve and develop. People and relatives had confidence in the whole staff team. In a recent survey one relative commented, "They [staff] keep me well informed and ring me even if it is only for a chat. They [staff] are like gold.”

All managers and staff we spoke with displayed a passion for the home and for what they were aspiring to achieve high quality person centred care. The management team demonstrated an open and transparent management style and were fully engaged with people and staff at the service. A focus on developing and encouraging staff, had resulted in high staff retention rates, which meant people were supported by a consistent, knowledgeable and experienced staff team. The provider had introduced a clear career pathway to support staff with continuous professional development by progressing into more senior roles within the organisation. For example, by gaining additional qualifications and taking on additional duties. The registered manager said, “We actively promote internal development and progression from home grown talent and strive to upskill and develop into senior roles.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Staff spoke well of the registered manager and deputy saying they felt supported. They also spoke highly of their colleagues. They had staff meetings which were conducted openly and encouraged feedback. Staff told us they felt at ease to speak with the management team and felt listened to. We observed that there was a system in place to support staff to speak up and raise concerns relating to the care of people and the running of the service.

Staff we spoke with told us they were actively involved in developing the service provided at the home. One staff member told us; “We have staff meetings, and we can make suggestions about what needs changing or what we would like to see changed.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The provider ensured the policies and procedures supported equality, diversity and human rights. There was a fair employment process in place which did not discriminate against the protected characteristics, such as age, gender or disability.

Staff felt respected, supported, and valued. They said the service promoted equality and diversity in daily work and provided opportunities for development and career progression. They could raise any concerns without fear.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver high-quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They always act on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and share this securely with others when appropriate. Internal governance procedures were in place with a range of quality monitoring systems and audits. These had helped identify where actions were required and areas for improvement.The provider was supported in their governance procedures by the directors of the service.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

We received positive feedback from partners and stakeholders. They told us the service worked collaboratively with them, and they had no concerns for people’s welfare. Staff and leaders worked exceptionally well with local groups to ensure people using the service were part of their community. Staff and leaders had worked extremely well to make links with the community and had several good initiatives. For example, people were supported to access the local autism allotment and were instrumental in developing a sensory garden. Other people accessed a health and fitness service and enjoyed participating in Zumba sessions, bowling, and using the gym. This supported people to maintain their physical well-being, alongside the feeling of achievement and benefits exercise provides from an emotional point of view. The home had established positive relationships with a local pub where people enjoyed playing pool, attending charity events and joining in a recent pride day. A pride day is a celebration of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender queer) community. Anotherperson was supported to access a hydrotherapy pool in partnership with their continuing healthcare, as part of their physiotherapy to meet their specific needs.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

Managers worked hard to develop a culture that valued reflection, learning and improvement and they were receptive to challenge and welcomed fresh perspectives. The management team were proactive in using information from audits, complaints, incidents and safeguarding alerts to improve the service. The managers worked with staff to understand how things went wrong and involved them in finding solutions.

Staff asked people and their relatives for their opinions on the quality of the service through surveys and regular meetings with the managers. This information was then used to improve service delivery. Staff told us the provider encouraged them to be innovative and empowered them to access additional training and professional development.

The registered manager and the quality assurance lead described how they were continuously looking to improve the quality of care people received. In addition to the auditing process, the registered manager and providers quality assurance leads told us they held regular meetings to discuss the findings from their audits to identify any concerns and agree actions.