- Care home
The Old Post Office Residential Home
Assessment report published 21 July 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
The service is a care home. There were 5 people using the service at the time of the inspection.
Who the service is for
This is a specialist service for people with a physical disability, learning disability and autistic people. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence, and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
Our view of the service
We carried out this assessment on 01 July to 13 July 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People received safe, effective and person-centred care from staff who understood their needs and were committed to helping them live fulfilling lives. One staff member told us, “I love working here, helping people to live their best lives.” Risks were managed safely, safeguarding processes were effective, medicines were administered appropriately and there were enough skilled staff to meet people's needs. A culture of reflection and learning supported continuous improvement. One staff member said, “Following any incident we always have a debrief…it’s good for reflection, discussing what went well or how staff could have handled the incident better.”
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. One staff member said, “Mental capacity assessments are important to assess whether someone has capacity to make their own decisions, or whether they need additional support and best interest decisions to be made.” DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.
People's needs were regularly reviewed and staff worked effectively together to support positive outcomes. One staff member said, “Mental capacity assessments are important to assess whether someone has capacity to make their own decisions, or whether they need additional support and best interest decisions to be made.” Another told us, “We have numerous ways to share information, we discuss concerns, review new activities or discuss new policies.”
The service was exceptionally caring. People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect by staff who knew them well and were passionate about supporting them. One staff member told us, “Every single staff member care about people. They go above and beyond. They work as a team to support one another and they do this well.” A visiting professional said, “Staff know people really well and advocate for them.”
People were encouraged to pursue their interests, develop new skills and maintain links with their local community. Equality, diversity and inclusion were promoted in practice. One staff member said, “The community on a whole is very welcoming. Lots of members of the community know people by name.”
The service benefited from strong and supportive leadership. Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and described an open and approachable culture. One staff member told us, “Management are fantastic here, really supportive, very approachable.” Another said, “The registered manager is a valued, smiling manager who leads their team with care and compassion.” Effective governance arrangements supported high-quality care, learning and improvement.
People's experience of this service
People told us they felt safe living in the home. One person said, "I like my room, I like staff, I like it here." Relatives also expressed confidence in the care provided. One relative told us, "My [family member] is absolutely safe here," whilst another said, "[My family member] is very safe and well looked after."
People spoke positively about living at the home and the support they received from staff. One person told us, "I like living here," while another said, "Staff are nice here." People described enjoying a range of hobbies and activities and spoke enthusiastically about goals they were working towards and looking forward to achieving. They told us staff supported them to maintain important relationships with family members and encouraged them to attend social events, helping them make new friends and remain connected to their community.
Relatives consistently described staff as attentive, responsive and committed to ensuring people lived fulfilling lives. One family member told us, "[My family member] has a wonderful time here." and "Staff are delightful and attentive." People's views, wishes and preferences were actively sought through a variety of forums and communication methods. The provider demonstrated how feedback had been listened to and used to make improvements. Relatives told us people were supported to access their local community, and staff kept them updated following appointments and visits from health professionals.
The service was exceptionally caring. People told us they felt valued, listened to and respected by staff. Relatives consistently described compassionate and genuine support which had a significant positive impact on people's wellbeing. One relative said, "[My family member] is very happy here, they are constantly happy." Another said, "I would definitely recommend this home to others and give them 10/10 for [my family member's] care." A further relative told us, "I could not wish for a better home or better staff caring for [my family member]." During our visit, we observed warm, caring and genuine relationships between people and staff, with interactions characterised by kindness, humour and respect.
We observed staff consistently promoting choice, dignity and independence. People were supported to express their preferences, change plans and make decisions about their daily lives, with staff responding positively and respectfully to their choices. Staff demonstrated a detailed understanding of people's individual aspirations and goals and spoke with pride and enthusiasm about the progress people had made. Examples included people developing new skills, increasing their independence and improving their communication abilities. Staff celebrated these achievements as meaningful milestones, demonstrating a culture where people were valued, encouraged to grow and supported to achieve outcomes that mattered to them.