Style Acre

At our last inspection of the service on 29 September 2015 the service was rated good overall. At this inspection on 7 November 2017 we found the service was now Outstanding in Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. It is now rated Outstanding overall.

The same registered manager remained in post; a registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Style Acre was a charitable organisation that was exceptionally well-led by a management team who were highly committed to ensuring people lived fulfilling lives. The service was outstanding at empowering people to have as much control over their lives as possible and to achieve their maximum potential. The registered manager promoted a 'can do' attitude that was replicated by staff at all levels.

The nominated individual was passionate about the person-centred approach of the service and it was clear the service was run with and for people. The service had developed innovative ways to ensure people were involved at all levels in influencing the development and improvement of the service.

Without exception people spoke positively about their experience of the service and the successes they had been supported to achieve. It was clear the culture within the service valued the uniqueness of all individuals. People had access to a wide range of activities which took account of their personal preferences and were tailored to their individual needs. Staff went to exceptional lengths to encourage people to identify an activity that would enhance their health and well-being. There were many examples of people's lives being transformed through accessing activities.

There was an extremely caring culture that ensured people's privacy was protected and respected. Everyone spoke of the openness of the service and without exception, people and staff felt valued and listened to.

The service were exceptional at looking for adaptive and creative methods of communicating for people. Staff used individualised methods of communication to enable people to have input into their support needs and maintain as much control as possible over their lives. People were encouraged and supported to express themselves in the most effective way to ensure their well-being was maintained.

People were active members of their local community. The service worked in partnership with other organisations in creative and innovative ways to improve people's independence. This included working with a variety of organisations to gain opportunities for people to find work placements.

The service had been nominated and won three awards at the Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers Care Awards in 2016. This included 'The Care Employer Award'.

Staff were highly motivated and committed to ensure people's individual needs were met. Staff worked with people to ensure they achieved their dreams and goals. The service created an innovative approach to caring by focusing on what people wanted to achieve and overcoming obstacles using an Active Support approach.

People benefitted from a service that was committed to continuous learning and improvement. Staff were supported to ensure they were skilled and knowledgeable in order to be able to meet people's needs. The staff we spoke with were confident that the support they received enabled them to do their jobs effectively. Staff were supported to continually develop and the service ran a successful leadership and management programme. This resulted in people benefitting from a motivated and skilled management team.

The service went to outstanding lengths to support people to access health services. Staff looked for innovative ways to reassure and manage people's anxiety when they required input from health professionals. This ensured people's health and well-being was maintained.

The manager and staff understood the requirements of the MCA, and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service also supported this practice. Staff consistently obtained people's consent before providing support and, if people were assessed as lacking capacity to make a decision, staff ensured they acted in the person's best interests to protect their human rights. Best interest decisions were recorded.

The service ensured people were supported to understand risks and where risks were identified people were supported to manage the risks. The service promoted positive risk taking and found creative ways to ensure people had the skills to manage the risks whilst promoting their independence.

Medicines were managed safely and where possible people were encouraged to manage their own medicines.

We found that people were well cared for and their individual needs were met. Relatives spoke highly of the care and support provided. One told us, "They're fantastic. I can't fault anybody.' Another said, "It's nice to see him well cared for, well dressed and happy."

People were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed. Relatives told us that the homes were clean and they saw staff wash their hands when they expected them to. One said, "The home is clean and tidy and the kitchen is spotless.'

The agency had procedures in place to ensure they only recruited staff of suitable character. It also had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive. One relative commented, 'The agency do seek our views. I feel I can raise anything I need to at the annual review and I'm 'phoned at least monthly by the home's manager."

People told us they were happy with the care and support they received from staff. Most people spoken with said 'staff discussed their support plan with them regularly.' It was evident staff were supporting people to maintain their independence. One person said 'I do my own washing and ironing.' A second person said 'staff support me with cleaning and dusting my room.'

People told us they felt safe and comfortable with staff providing them with care and support. People described the manner staff spoke to them as 'calm and polite.'

We found people's needs were assessed to ensure they received the appropriate care and support. There was a system in place to ensure people were protected against the risk of abuse. People were cared for by staff who were trained to deliver care and support appropriately. The service had an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the care people received.