Your Support

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.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated outstanding.

This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 89 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Staff and leaders shared this vision. They worked collaboratively, proactively and openly with people, staff, relatives and professionals to put people at the heart of their care.

Leaders and staff told us trauma-informed care, active support and careful analysis of outcomes were essential tools. They utilised these to ensure high-quality support and positive outcomes. We saw leaders had strong bonds with and a detailed understanding of the needs of people receiving care. Leaders were positive, caring and listened actively to promote trust and understanding. Staff and leaders had a very good understanding of how to protect people human rights and make sure people’s diverse needs were understood and met. They all prioritised the safety of the people they supported and worked hard to provide high-quality care. People were supported and empowered to improve their wellbeing; to do things they loved and reduce the risk of social isolation. This demonstrated an outstanding holistic approach to care.

Managers told us they believed in investing in and supporting staff to ensure they maintained the vision of providing high-quality care and support for everyone. Governance processes were effective and helped to ensure staff were accountable for the care they provided. There was a culture throughout the service of positivity, respect, ambition and shared responsibility. This culture resulted in people receiving support, which was consistent, personalised, empowering and in line with their own goals and wishes.

The provider had exceptionally 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The management team demonstrated a deep understanding and connection with the people receiving care. They spoke with compassion and pride about the achievements of the people being supported. They understood how people’s history could impact their present experiences. They ensured people were supported by seniors and staff teams who shared this understanding.

Staff spoke highly of the management team and the support they received from them. A senior support worker told us about how the oversight of the managers ensured people were matched with the right staff. They made sure staff had all the training, support and information they needed to support people well. The managers demonstrated a high level of knowledge and understanding of the challenges and inequalities people with learning disabilities and autistic people can face.

Staff told us the management team were very visible and accessible. Relatives and other professionals also shared this view. Staff told us they were treated with respect and supported well. One staff member said, “[The job] can be tough, but the managers are so reassuring. We can praise and be acknowledged.” Another staff member told us coming to work felt like “working with family.” A relative told us, “[The managers] don’t just support [my loved one] they support me too. [Named manager] is my rock.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard. The service had a freedom to speak up policy and procedure which staff were aware of. They also had a nominated freedom to speak up guardian.

Staff told us they felt confident to share their views and concerns and felt included in the planning for the service. One staff member spoke to us about sharing concerns. They said, “[The managers] don’t just listen they actually do something about it.” Another staff member told us when people were having difficulties and they need extra support, “The managers come in and they are like our second pair of eyes, they help us find out what is best.” Managers demonstrated a clear commitment to the importance of whistleblowing. One manager said, “It is a positive thing, and it is encouraged. We try to see the good in everything and weave it into everything we do. We want staff to share their thoughts and opinions.” The managers were alert to the risks of a closed culture and actively promoted a culture of speaking up to address this. Staff told us they had no fear of any negative consequence of sharing concerns.

The managers understood their duty of candour responsibilities and acted with openness and transparency when things went wrong. Relatives and professionals told us the managers were quick to communicate any issues which arose for people.

The provider strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them. The management team ensured the ethnic diversity of the local community and the people receiving care was reflected in the staff team. The staff told us they felt well supported by the management team. One staff member said, “I have genuinely flourished in my role, I have not worked in a place like this before. I genuinely love it.” Staff told us they felt supported and empowered to share any concerns and felt confident in being heard. A number of staff described the service as a “community” which they felt part of.

The provider 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 acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

Staff had received bespoke training, guidance and support and therefore understood their roles and responsibilities well. Systems were in place to ensure the quality and safety of care provided to people remained consistent. Plans were in place to help mitigate foreseeable risks. People were supported and enabled to take positive risks. New and innovative ways of supporting people were considered and tested. We identified one notifiable incident which had not been shared with the Commission in a timely way. However, the management team were very responsive to our finding. A retrospective notification was submitted. We saw that the person received all the support they needed following the incident. The management team had liaised with other professionals and conducted investigation into what could be done differently. This information was shared with the team as lessons learned for future practice to lesson the risk of the incident happening again. Aside from this, information had been shared effectively and consistently with external agencies and professionals as needed. Professionals praised the standard of the information shared by the management team.

Staff all had a good understanding of data protection and confidentiality. When information was shared with other external agencies, it was done securely. Data was consistently used to monitor and improve the quality of care people received. Managers ensured training and support for staff met recognised standard and best practice guidance. In some cases, the quality of checks and monitoring exceeded standard recommendations to ensure high-quality care was maintained. For example, the detailed reports shared with relatives and some professionals exceeded their expectations. However, managers felt high-quality reporting ensured all parties in people’s lives maintained good understanding of their progress. Senior support workers told us they were trained to conduct a lot of the day-to-day monitoring within the service. They had flexibility built into their roles which enabled them to step in as needed to support each other and staff teams. This enabled teams to maintain high standards and work consistently. The combination of effective governance and management had led to a service that was providing outstanding levels of care to people.

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership with services to provide seamless care and support for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. We saw many examples of effective, joined up care with local services and professionals. We received only positive feedback from external professionals about working alongside the staff and management teams. The transition plan used by the team to help support one person was very effective. It enabled the person to quickly adapt from an environment where they had little control and autonomy, to greater independence and agency. Other professionals were impressed with the detail in this planning and how effective it had been. Managers shared the approach with other networks to help promote better outcomes for people.

Professionals told us in some cases people being supported would likely be in much more restrictive environments without the support of the service. The staff and management team worked with other professionals and services to help people manage complex needs and risks very well.

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

The management team told us they had periodically bought in professionals from other fields to analyse and review their ways of working. They told us this had brought them a great deal of learning. Managers said they planned to continue to do this in the future to expand future learning opportunities. Managers told us they were committed to continuous learning and improvement to ensure people received consistently high-quality care.

We saw lessons learned were embedded in daily practice. Staff teams supporting people met regularly to discuss any observations or changes that could benefit the wider team. Care documentation was regularly reviewed and updated in consultation with people and their loved ones. This ensured guidance for staff remained up to date and as useful as possible. Due to the high level of detail in care documentation, staff were not just given time to read the documents, they were supported to review them with a staff member who knew the person well. Time was set aside for this to ensure newer staff had the opportunity to ask questions and fully understand the guidance. This resulted in skilled staff who fully understood people’s needs and worked to provide continual improvement to people’s futures in the service.

There was a clear strategy in place to develop the learning and skills of staff teams. Staff told us, and we saw documentation demonstrating regular knowledge checks. This ensured any gaps in understanding were identified and addressed. Staff told us they were actively supported and encouraged to continue learning and undertaking further qualifications. This meant people were supported by staff who growing in their understanding and knowledge. Staff told us about the different roles they had performed during their time at the service. They said managers had helped them learn and develop as professionals. This enabled them to contribute their improved skills and knowledge to the staff teams and people they supported.

Data was regularly gathered and analysed to allow evidence-based learning of beneficial and unhelpful interventions for people. This allowed broader patterns and trends to be identified which may have been difficult for staff to notice. This data and analysis was shared with external professionals and used to inform decisions made about people’s care and treatment.

The views of people, staff, relatives and professionals were regularly sought and acted upon. The management team encouraged collaborative problem solving from people and everyone involved in their care. This maximised opportunities for insight and innovation.

There was a clear sense of community and trust within the organisation, both between staff teams and the leadership and staff.