Sahara Gardens

Updated 29 January 2026

Date of assessment 4 and 6 February 2026. Sahara Gardens is a residential care home supporting 5 people with a learning disability and/or autism.

We have undertaken a comprehensive inspection which means we have reviewed all 33 quality statements. The previous CQC rating for this service was good. Following this inspection, we have rated the service as good for safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, leading to a good overall rating for the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and access to communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is a guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people which providers must adhere to.

Care plans were well written and described in detail what support people needed. The information was written respectfully and took into consideration both the needs and wishes of people who received support. Plans highlighted what support a person needed as well as information about equipment a person would need, such as mobility aids to ensure the support was safe.

Risk assessments were clear and were assessed covering all parts of what a person did throughout their day, balancing risk but also with an emphasis on maintaining the person’s independence skills.

People were engaged with meaningful activities which included a choice of planned leisure activities throughout the day, either at home or things people might want to do within their local community.

Staff had worked at the service for a long time and knew the people they supported well. Staff engaged with warmth and respect towards the people living in the service. The staff were experienced and they received comprehensive training which helped them meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited in accordance with legislation which meant all necessary checks were undertaken before employment commenced. The service did not use any staff unfamiliar to the people who lived in the home. The registered manager told us that they had a stable staff team and had not needed to recruit for over 2 years.

The provider had a competent registered manager and deputy manager. Both managers had many years experience working in care and had worked in the service for a long time.

Updated 29 January 2026

As part of our inspection, we spoke with people living in the service and some of their families. People and their families told us how the provider ensured people were safe. People we spoke with told us, if they had any concerns they would talk to the registered manager or deputy. One person said, “If anything worries me, I go and talk to [registered manager] or [deputy manager] but I can talk to the staff as well”. A family member told us, “I think [relative] is definitely safe, I have never had any reason to think otherwise.”

People told us they liked the staff and managers in the home and felt they could talk to them about anything. They were familiar with all the staff, and a person told us they particularly liked their keyworker. They said, “I really like my keyworker, we talk about the things I want to do, and they help me do it. We go out shopping for things like clothes.”

People had choice about what they did, and the provider could be flexible if people wanted different things. A meeting was held each Thursday to talk about meals for the week ahead to ensure they catered for everyone’s tastes. Each meal was turned into a pictorial menu, so people had a visual image of what was on offer that day. There were regular theme nights which included music and entertainment for people to enjoy. A family member told us they wanted their loved one to be able to engage in more activities. We talked about this with the provider and they told us they agreed with this and would work in partnership with the family and talk to a social worker to try and acquire more funding for support.

Families spoke about their confidence in the ability of the registered manager and deputy manager. They told us they had known them for many years and could talk about relating to their relative’s care. One family member told us, “I want [relative] to spend the rest of her life in this place, this is how good it is and how I feel about it.”