Real Life Options - 90 Capel Gardens

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. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led.

This service scored 68 (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 shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Relatives were confident that staff were appropriately skilled and understood people’s health care needs.

The feedback obtained from staff was mostly positive. The majority of staff said that there was a positive culture of learning and development at the home. They said they felt listened too and valued. We raised the isolated negative feedback from staff with management and they advised that they were proactively working with staff to improve morale.

The provider had inclusive leaders 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 did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Since the previous inspection, there had been a change of manager. The new manager started in post in February 2026 and had implemented some changes to the running of the service. Relatives spoke positively about the change in management. A relative said, “The manager has been open and honest with me. They are new and I think we are going to get on just fine.” Another relative told us, “Since the new manager has been working there, there has been more contact now compared to before. I am not saying that there wasn’t contact before, but there is more now. It is positive.”

Throughout the assessment of the service, management and staff we spoke with acted with openness, integrity and transparency.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people and relatives felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

People and relatives were encouraged to speak up, and they told us they felt able to do so. A relative said, “I would not hesitate to raise concerns.” Another relative told us, “I am very happy. I feel able to raise concerns with the manager.”

The majority of staff told us they felt confident they could raise any issues with the leaders, and they would be taken seriously and investigated. The provider had a whistle blowing policy in place, which detailed how staff could speak up about any concerns they had about the service.

Systems were in place to ensure people who spoke up were supported and the majority of staff we spoke with told us they felt confident to raise any concerns with the manager or senior management.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

There was a diverse workforce and the majority of staff we spoke with told us they felt valued, respected and well supported by the manager and senior management. Management were responsive to staff’s individual circumstances and helped put in place reasonable adjustments to accommodate staff’s needs where possible.

Staff received training in equality, diversity and inclusion. We spoke with senior management about discrimination and anti-discriminatory practices within the service. The senior management team emphasised that they promoted an inclusive organisation and would take any discrimination concerns very seriously and appropriate action to address concerns.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles and systems of accountability. However, some improvements were required to the governance of the service to help deliver good quality care and support.

Audits were completed on a regular basis; however, these were not always sufficiently comprehensive, and we found instances where they did not always identify shortfalls. Improvements were required in the governance of the service to help ensure it was robust and effective in day-to-day quality assurance. Audit processes needed strengthening to help the management team identify required areas for improvement and the actions required.

We raised concerns and areas for improvement during our assessment with the management team; they were responsive and engaged with us honestly and openly.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The provider told us they worked with other professionals to help make sure people received continuity in their care.

There was a good relationship with health and social care professionals to ensure people received consistent, good quality care and support.

People’s community participation was encouraged and supported, with staff supporting people to access activities, develop independence and build relationships outside of the home.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement. However, systems and practices in place did not always effectively support this. Improvements were needed to systems around accidents/incidents, audits and supervision and supporting staff. This was discussed with management who assured us that they were taking proactive steps to address and improve these areas.

The manager and senior management team emphasised that they promoted honesty and learning from mistakes. They reiterated to staff the importance of the need to be open in the event of anything going wrong.

The provider promoted a learning culture within the service. Staff received on-going mandatory training and training to meet people’s specific needs.