- Homecare service
Seven Steps Support Limited
Assessment report published 22 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 2 September to 15 September 2026. Seven Steps is a small domiciliary care agency providing personal care, to adults in their own homes in the community. At the time of our assessment there were 5 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
We expect providers supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people to ensure people experience respect, equality, dignity, choice and independence, and have access to their local community. We assessed the service against the principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. The provider consistently demonstrated these principles were fully embedded in practice. People experienced highly personalised care which promoted independence, inclusion and meaningful control over their lives.
Staff helped people stay safe while supporting them to remain independent and make choices about their lives. They understood risks to people and knew how to reduce them without placing unnecessary restrictions on people's freedom. Staff understood how to recognise and report abuse and followed safeguarding procedures to keep people safe.
The service followed safe recruitment processes and employed enough staff to meet people's needs. A consistent staff team helped people feel comfortable and supported.
Staff managed medicines safely and kept accurate records.
Staff received regular training and support to help them carry out their roles effectively. They understood people's needs well and received supervision, appraisals and competency checks to maintain good standards of care.
Staff supported people in line with the Mental Capacity Act. They respected people's rights and involved them in decisions wherever possible. Where people lacked capacity to make specific decisions, staff worked with others to ensure decisions were made in their best interests.
People received support to access healthcare services and attend appointments when needed. Staff worked closely with healthcare professionals to help people maintain their health and wellbeing.
Staff treated people with dignity and respect and took time to get to know them well. They listened to people, understood their preferences and supported them to make choices about their daily lives. Strong, trusting relationships had developed between people and staff.
Staff encouraged people to develop and maintain their independence. People were supported to make choices about meals, take part in shopping, manage aspects of their finances and develop practical life skills. Staff focused on people's strengths and supported them to achieve their goals.
Staff understood how people communicated and adapted their approach to meet individual needs. Information was available in accessible formats to help people understand and be involved in decisions about their care.
Staff valued people as individuals and celebrated their achievements. They spoke positively about people and showed genuine enthusiasm for supporting them to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. People were encouraged to maintain relationships, enjoy hobbies and interests, and take an active role in their communities.
There was a consistently strong and positive culture within the service. Without exception, people and relatives expressed a high level of confidence in the management team. They felt able to raise concerns and provide feedback openly and were confident managers would listen, respond promptly and take appropriate action. Managers were highly visible and accessible and were consistently described as approachable, supportive and responsive.
The registered manager demonstrated exceptional leadership and had successfully embedded a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement. Staff understood and shared the provider's vision for delivering high-quality, person-centred care and support. They were motivated and empowered to reflect on practice, learn from people's experiences and work collaboratively to identify opportunities for improvement. This resulted in a staff team that was committed to continually developing the service and achieving high-quality outcomes for people.
People's experience of this service
People and their families were overwhelmingly positive about the exceptional continuity and consistency of care and support they received. Without exception, they placed significant value on having a stable and highly consistent staff team who knew people exceptionally well. Staff had developed an in-depth understanding of people's individual needs, preferences, routines and methods of communication, enabling them to provide highly personalised and responsive support.
Relatives of people with complex health needs described having a high level of confidence in the skills, knowledge and competence of staff. They told us staff demonstrated an in-depth understanding of people's healthcare needs and worked exceptionally closely with families to ensure care was delivered safely and consistently. This included staff developing and maintaining the specialist skills required to support complex healthcare needs and administer medicines through specialist routes. Families were reassured by staff's knowledge and the consistent approach to meeting people's individual health needs.
Relatives spoke extremely positively about the strong and trusting relationships staff had developed with people. They described staff as exceptionally kind, compassionate and respectful, with a detailed understanding of each person as an individual. Staff were highly attentive to people's non-verbal communication and subtle changes in presentation and responded sensitively and appropriately. People received personal care in a way which consistently protected their privacy and dignity and reflected their individual preferences.
Promoting choice, control and independence was embedded in the support people received. Staff consistently enabled people to make decisions about their daily lives, routines and activities and respected their decisions, including when they chose not to participate. Relatives described how staff had an exceptional understanding of people's interests and aspirations. Staff used this knowledge creatively to encourage people to explore new experiences and opportunities, whilst respecting their individual choices and preferences.
People were supported to lead fulfilling lives and develop meaningful connections within their communities. Staff actively sought opportunities that reflected people's individual interests, enabling them to participate in a wide range of community activities, develop friendships and connect with other people who shared their interests. Relatives described the impact of this support as transformational, increasing people's confidence, social networks and overall quality of life. One relative described how the support had made their family member's world "much bigger", as a result of the increased opportunities for meaningful social interaction and community involvement.
People and their relatives were fully involved as active partners in planning and reviewing their care and support. They told us managers and staff consistently listened to and valued their views and worked collaboratively with them to ensure support remained highly personalised and reflected people's individual needs, preferences and desired outcomes. Families felt their knowledge and expertise were valued. Managers took time to understand people's circumstances in detail and used this knowledge to develop carefully matched support teams around each person.
Relatives were exceptionally positive about the leadership and culture of the service. They described managers as highly approachable, accessible, responsive and supportive. People and relatives felt confident to share their views or raise concerns and had a high level of confidence these would be listened to and acted upon appropriately. Their feedback demonstrated an open and inclusive culture in which positive relationships between people, families, staff and managers were highly valued.
People consistently told us they felt safe, valued and comfortable with the staff supporting them. They spoke extremely positively about the support they received with daily living and, importantly, about the meaningful and trusting relationships they had developed with their support workers. The exceptional consistency, personalised approach and strength of these relationships had a demonstrably positive impact on people's wellbeing, independence and quality of life.