All inspections: Autism Together - 41 Church Road

Date of Assessment: 30 March to 16 April 2026. Autism Together - 41 Church Road is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for a maximum of 3 people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our assessment, 2 people were living at the service.

We assessed the provider 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.

Improvements were needed to upgrade the shared bathroom for both the comfort of people and to enable staff to maintain the highest levels of cleanliness. Some improvements were also needed in the storage systems of provider records to ensure records were easily accessible to the registered manager.

Care plans reflected current best practice in how to support people with a learning disability and autistic people safely and effectively. Care plans were detailed, person centred and reflected people’s preferences in care.

Medicines were administered safely. Systems were in place to keep people safe from the risk of abuse and to learn lessons from any accidents or incidents which occurred.

People were supported to access routine health screening and attend medical appointments when needed and the provider worked positively with other agencies.

Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported by the registered manager. The registered manager and the wider management team was responsive to any feedback we gave during the assessment.

41 Church Road provides accommodation and support for two adults who have autism. The home is run by the Autism Together, a charity who provide services for people with autism.

The home is a detached house in the area of Bebington on the Wirral. At the time of our inspection there were three people living there.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We spoke with the three people who lived in the home and one relative who all gave positive feedback about the home and the staff who worked in it.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support the people with their specific needs. We found staff were knowledgeable about the support needs of people in their care. We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they had positive relationships with the people in their care.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept with appropriate arrangements for storing in place.

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions. We saw that people were supported to make their own decisions and their choices were respected.

Care plans were person centred and driven by the people who lived who lived in the home. They detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required.

Complaints were taken seriously and managed well so that people felt listened to and had their concerns dealt with.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff meetings to seek the views of staff about the service. They also regularly spoke with the people who lived in the home.

This inspection took place on 18 and 19 December 2014.

48 hours’ notice of the inspection was given because the service is small and the registered manager was often out of the office. The people who used the service were also often at day services or supported employment. We needed to be sure that they would be in. We visited the home whilst the people were there and the following day, visited again to view records.

Wirral Autistic Society (WAS) and the service, 41 Church Road, offer individualised life skills training, activities and supported employment for people with autism and support for their families.

41 Church Road is a detached house which provides residential care for three people who have autistic spectrum conditions and/or learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were two people living there, with another person due to move in at the end of the month.

The two people who lived there occupied a bedroom each and shared communal facilities including the bathroom, kitchen, lounge and dining room. It was staffed full time with at least one staff member and one staff member was always present overnight in the sleep-in room.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC, 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The staff we observed and spoke with clearly understood the needs of the people they were supporting and were skilled and trained to provide support to them. The care was based on national and local best practice. At the time of our visit, the service was accredited and validated under such national bodies as the National Autistic Society which researched the condition and provided information, support and services. They were also a member of the Autism Partnership which scientifically researches and validates new treatments and practices.

The people who used the service told us they were happy there. People were able to use their skills and interests to occupy themselves as they chose. They had individual and personal plans of care, training and support. They engaged in the day to day running of their home and were supported by a group of caring and skilled staff. Their relationships with the staff who we saw with them, were friendly and trusting.

We found that the staff were knowledgeable and caring and had been recruited safely and appropriately. The home was clean, bright and had been recently redecorated and people’s rooms had been personalised to their choice. The home maintained good and comprehensive records about the people and their needs as well as about audits and checks which had been done periodically. The people and their relatives were happy and said they felt confident they would be safe. Professionals told us the standard of care was very good and the service was forward thinking and used current best practice.

The registered manager assessed and monitored the quality of care consistently. The provider encouraged feedback from people who lived at 41 Church Road, staff who worked there, relatives and professionals involved in the care of the people. They used the information to make improvements to the service.

We observed the care given for three people who lived at the home and they appeared relaxed and well cared for. However one person told us they wanted to move as they wanted to live more independently. We found that robust procedures had started to be implemented to review this person's needs and help support them to possibly moving to an independent supported living environment.

We looked at the people's care records and found they provided clear guidelines for the staff to enable them to support the people in their care. We found that people and/or their relatives were part of the care planning process and they attended annual care review meetings.

We found the home supported people to access other health care professionals.

We found there were enough suitably skilled staff to look after the people at the home.

We found that the home managed medicines appropriately and had systems in place to ensure the secure storage and safe administration of medicines.

We saw the home was of a suitable design and layout for the needs of the people at the home and that it was warm, clean and secure.

We spoke with the registered manager, three members of staff, a relative and two of the three people who lived at 41 Church Road. Some communication was limited but people were able to express their views. We used picture exchange messages to communicate and we were told "yes" when we asked if they felt safe, were happy, liked living at 41 Church Road and liked the staff.

Staff told us that they knew and understood the care needs of all the people they supported and were familiar with their likes and dislikes which meant that care and support was delivered according to their requirements. We found that staff knew about safeguarding procedures and one person we spoke with said "The staff make me happy" and "I know them all".

People living at 41 Church Road were encouraged to live as independently as possible and all went to community vocational services (CVS) regularly. One person told us "I went to CVS today; I did some gardening; I like gardening".

We observed staff interacting in a respectful and inclusive manner and we saw people managed daily activities independently and with support. People were able to make choices and change decisions.

We looked at two of the care records of the people who lived at 41 Church Road and noted that they were clear, informative and up to date. Staff said that people who lived there and their relatives were involved in the care planning process and this was confirmed by the people we spoke with.

Limited information was obtained from the people living at the home due to communication difficulties. However we observed staff talking with people in kind and respectful way. People appeared comfortable in staffs company. One of the people using the service said 'If I wasn't happy I'd speak to the staff or the manager, I have no problems doing that.' He said, "The staff talk to me every day, they are nice" and, 'The staff are nice.'

The relatives of the people using the service were happy with the standard of care provided. They said they are invited to a meeting to discuss their relative's welfare and are kept informed of any issues or concerns. One person said, 'I'm very happy with the way my son is looked after, the staff are excellent and always know about his care needs. I am always invited to his care plan review, these meetings are excellent.' Another person said, 'My son is very well cared for. The staff keep me informed about what's going on and he leads as normal a life as possible.' Relatives said they never seen any signs of abuse or neglect. One person said, 'The society employs good quality staff, they are very kind.' They considered the service was well managed with one person saying 'The manager is very good.' Relatives were clear on the home's complaint procedure, commenting the staff are 'very approachable.'

A health care professional spoke highly of the service provided at Church Road. She said, 'The staff team have a holistic approach to their work. They are proactive in promoting peoples rights and work with peoples best interests in mind. The staff always keep me informed about matters and are co operative and carry out my instructions well.'

These older reports are from our old approaches to inspection, including those from before CQC was created.

Autism Together - 41 Church Road

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

20 September 2017

During a routine inspection

18 and 19 December 2014

During a routine inspection

19 November 2013

During a routine inspection

27 February 2013

During a routine inspection

7 December 2011

During a routine inspection

Reports under our old system of regulation