- Care home
SENSE - 138 Bradford Road
Assessment report published 26 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
SENSE – 138 Bradford Road is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 3 people. The service supports autistic people and people with sensory impairments. At the time of our assessment, 2 people were living at the service.
We carried out this assessment on 8 August 2026 as part of our approach to returning to services rated good, to confirm whether the service’s previous rating remained accurate. The rating remained good. This report does not provide detailed information where practice continued to meet a good standard. Instead, it focuses on any areas requiring improvement or where we found exceptional practice.
The service had a manager registered with CQC. This meant the registered manager and the provider were legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of care provided.
We assessed the service against Right support, right care, right culture guidance to make judgements about whether the provider supported autistic people and people with a learning disability with respect, equality, dignity, choice, independence and access to local communities.
We found people received personalised support that promoted choice, control, independence and inclusion.
People continued to receive good-quality care and support. Risks were assessed and managed in ways that enabled people to remain safe while doing the things that mattered to them.
There were enough suitably skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment checks were completed. There was oversight of staff training and action was taken where further training was required. Medicines were managed safely, and audits supported oversight of the service. There were no safeguarding concerns at the service.
The provider had an environmental action plan that detailed ongoing works and planned completion dates. The provider had considered the impact on people and made arrangements to minimise disruption. This included supporting one person to take a planned holiday while the works were completed.
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this is through the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which form part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We found the service worked within the principles of the Act. Relevant authorisations had been sought and monitored, and decision-specific mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were recorded.
People's experience of this service
People received consistent, person-centred support from staff who knew them well and understood their individual communication, routines and preferences. Feedback from relatives was positive and supported what we observed during the assessment.
People communicated in ways other than speech. We understood their experiences by observing their interactions with staff and considering their gestures, body language and responses. We also spoke with relatives and reviewed care records to validate what we observed and were told.
People appeared comfortable with staff. Staff understood their preferred communication methods and individual cues, communicated at a pace they understood and used appropriate prompts to involve them. Interactions were warm and respectful and reflected the guidance in people’s care plans.
People were supported to make everyday choices and maintain their independence. This included choosing how to spend their time, what to wear and when to get up, as well as making drinks and taking items to the kitchen. Staff used signs, gestures, objects of reference and people’s behaviour to offer choices and understand consent. They maintained people’s privacy and dignity by closing doors and explaining what was happening during personal care.
A relative told us, “I can’t fault the staff,” and described the staff team as “Brilliant.” They said staff understood the person’s needs and routines and added, “They’re very aware of [Name] and their needs; they support them really well and, even on a bad day, they’re well looked after.” The relative felt able to speak with any member of staff, was kept informed and said staff acted promptly when concerns were raised.
They described the service as welcoming, familiar and comfortable and said, “We found the best home for [Name].” They said the person was settled, followed their preferred routine and received support that reflected their communication and accessibility needs. They also confirmed environmental concerns were addressed promptly.
Staff gave examples of how people were supported to achieve outcomes that mattered to them, including a week-long holiday, community outings and work to improve mobility. Staff also described supporting a person to move around the home safely, enabling them to remain active while reducing the risk of falls. A relative told us they were encouraged to contribute through regular contact, visits and person-centred reviews.