National Star College - Ullenwood

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• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has remained outstanding. This meant services were tailored to meet the needs of individuals and delivered to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

This service scored 89 (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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs. Support was shaped around people’s unique strengths, communication styles, routines and preferences, with care records evidencing staff taking time every day to understand their mood, choices and priorities.

Staff knew people well and adapted support to meet individual communication, health and wellbeing needs. During the assessment, we observed warm, respectful and highly personalised interactions throughout the service. People were supported to express choices using a range of communication methods, including partner-assisted communication, British Sign Language, Makaton-based approaches and communication aids.

Relatives told us staff understood people’s preferences and responded effectively to changes in their needs. Some relatives described significant improvements in communication and independence since attending the service. Staff consistently listened to people, promoted autonomy and supported them to achieve outcomes that mattered to them.

The staff team’s commitment to people had a clear impact, enabling them to live fulfilling lives and achieve the outcomes they wanted to achieve. This was underpinned by a strong, embedded person centred culture that ensured care was consistently dignified, empowering and individualised.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The provider worked effectively with people, families and partner organisations to ensure care was coordinated and responsive. Support was delivered consistently in line with each person’s assessed needs, ensuring no detail was overlooked. We saw evidence of multidisciplinary working involving therapists, nurses, education staff and families to support positive outcomes. Transition planning was well developed and focused on helping people to prepare for the future while keeping support consistent. Relatives spoke positively about the support they received from staff, particularly when liaising with health and social care professionals. One relative praised how the provider had supported them to challenge delays in obtaining healthcare appointments.

Regular reviews and communication with families helped ensure support remained aligned with people’s changing needs and goals.

The provider was exceptional at developing appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The provider met the Accessible Information Standard as they had identified communication needs, used appropriate communication, including visual aids (e.g. Easy Read materials) to ensure reasonable adjustments were made for people. For example, people and those important to them received information in ways they could understand. The service identified people’s individual communication needs to make sure information was always provided in an accessible way. They consistently made reasonable adjustments for people, including for deaf people who use British Sign Language. People who had difficulty with reading, writing or using digital services were supported to access information. They used a wide range of accessible communication approaches and ensured information was tailored to individual needs. We observed people using communication devices, visual resources and personalised communication systems to express their views and understand decisions affecting them.

As well as using written form, notice boards contained symbols and images to illustrate the message clearly and concisely. This supported communication, education, and understanding and ensured information was accessible to everyone. In addition to this we saw that boards also used talking buttons so that people could press and receive information about the contents of the notice board in an audio format.

The provider was passionate about supporting people to develop the skills they need to remove barriers to effective communication. We heard how people with lived experience were supported to attend events and lead workshops alongside technology leaders. This allowed them to express their views on assistive technology and AAC, helping to shape their future by sharing their insights.

Relatives told us they received regular updates through daily emails, communication diaries and verbal handovers. One relative said, “I speak to [my relative] every day. I get to see staff a lot at different times. And I speak to them every day. If [my relative is] a bit off they'll ring me. They always check things out. They communicate very well.”

Person-centred documentation was developed collaboratively with each person to highlight their preferred communication style, any supporting equipment they needed, and any strategies which further promoted their participation and inclusion. Furthermore, people were supported to participate in meetings and activities through accessible communication methods, ensuring they remained informed and involved in decisions about their lives. Staff were trained in a wide range of communication strategies to ensure they could meet the diverse needs of people.

The provider was exceptional at enabling people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff always involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

Staff listened carefully and valued people’s views, ensuring they played an active role in shaping their care and daily routines. Staff were patient and gave people sufficient time to communicate in their preferred way. We saw people contributing to meetings, expressing views about activities and influencing decisions that affected them. The provider had a complaints procedure, and this was accessible to people.

People had individualised support plans and were empowered to shape their experience at college through a range of meaningful roles, including participation in the student union, link group, advisory board, parliament, and as peer advocates or members of recruitment panels. This ensured people’s voices were heard and they were at the heart of decisions about their care, treatment and support. In one residence, people had asked for more information from international staff, so the manager organised for 2 staff members to share a presentation where they talked about their cultures and what it was like moving to this country. In another residence we heard how each person was a student representative in a different area such as technology or neuro divergence. We heard about the positive impact this had on their self-esteem and ability to be seen and heard.

Families and representatives told us they felt involved and well informed, and said staff welcomed their contributions when planning care or reviewing support. A families and carers forum took place 6 times per year. This served as another opportunity to ensure that relatives were listened to and involved.

This inclusive approach ensured people felt heard, respected, and fully involved in shaping their own support.

The provider made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People’s health, care and support needs were regularly monitored. We saw evidence of timely referrals to other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, GPs, physiotherapists, and occupational health.

We saw how the service actively worked to reduce health inequalities by ensuring people could access appointments, treatment, therapy and specialist services without delay. Staff supported individuals to attend health checks, routine monitoring and emergency care, making reasonable adjustments such as using visual aids, social stories, arranging preparation visits and ensuring support from familiar staff.

This proactive, flexible and well-coordinated approach meant people consistently received the right care at the right time, reflecting a commitment to equitable support delivery.

Staff and leaders were innovative in how they listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders actively used this information to provide exceptionally tailored care, support and treatment in response to this. We heard how staff had consistently embraced new technologies and adaptive equipment to meet people’s needs and preferences.

Staff made reasonable adjustments to meet individual needs, such as adapting communication approaches, adjusting routines and creating sensory-friendly environments, enabling people to fully participate in day-to-day life.

The service also recognised the importance of culturally appropriate care. Staff understood people’s cultural backgrounds, dietary requirements and incorporated these into daily support.

Outcomes were regularly reviewed, and the service worked in partnership with families and external professionals to identify when additional support was needed. This approach ensured people received equitable care and had equal opportunities. For example, when staff recognised that people experienced inequalities, they took action to improve people’s outcomes and experiences. An emotional wellbeing manager said, “In society disabled people are often marginalised in how they cope with grief and bereavement. They are forgotten mourners.” As a result, the provider developed a policy around how to respond and support people to manage bereavement. They delivered training to the staff about the language they should use when having conversations about death and dying. They went on to explain, “We want [people] to know that it is okay to speak about it. No matter what. We have a much more open and transparent approach to [accessible] difficult conversations. Nothing is off the table.” They spoke passionately about the work they had done to promote equity when manging the bereavement process. This included creating social stories, designing and building a reflection garden where [people] could go to remember people. In particular, they spoke about a memory event which all staff and people were invited to explore the complex emotions which come with grief. They played a picture reel of photos and people spoke about their memories and read poems. The manager told us, “It is really important [that people] have a [safe space and environment where they can] say goodbye. [At our memory event] we created a memory tree and we blew bubbles outside. There was something important about building a collective space so that people had [an accessible] space for their grief.”

The provider challenged inequalities and sought to find solutions to the barriers people faced. Staff advocated for people to ensure they were not discriminated against, and they were valued in the wider community. The chief executive told us, “[The National Star College] hosted a hustings with different groups of [people] throughout the day. It enabled [people] to ask questions of candidates [and establish] strong links with key people. We have no alliances to any party, but what we want [is for the people we support to be understood]. We want people to hear our [people’s] voice.”

We also heard how people had taken part in a government consultation focus group, ensuring that people with lived experience had the opportunity to influence the government policy that will impact future young people with disabilities.

Care planning for people supported equity in experience and outcomes. We heard how people had been supported to travel to Andorra for a ski by a comprehensive selection of staff, the local GP and Physio. This was an annual trip which received exceptional feedback from people and their families. We attended a film viewing of the most recent trip with people who had attended and saw how proud they were of what they had achieved. The end of the film showed a celebratory event in a pub where a medal awarded to each person.

People were given exceptional support to plan for important life changes, so they could make informed decisions about their future.

The provider worked with people to plan for their future goals and changing needs. People were supported to develop independence, confidence and skills that prepared them for the next stage of their lives. For example, one person with complex health needs was supported, using innovative technology and bespoke equipment, to have greater choice and independence over their day-to-day life. Prior to moving to the college, they were unable to engage in activities of their choice without extensive staff support. The multi-disciplinary approach and commitment to promoting the persons independence meant that they were now able to complete lots of day-to-day tasks that had previously been unobtainable to them. This meant that they were able to consider post college options with greater choice and aspiration. Another person, who was coming to the end of their college life, had been supported to have greater autonomy, choice and control over the plans for their future care. We heard how they had conducted the interviews for prospective care organisations and been supported to write an advert for what exactly what they wanted in a staff team. A member of staff told us, “[The person] has interviewed and shortlisted their staff team and even been supported to set up trial shifts safely. [This person’s] transition from college will be far more positive than [their] transition here, which shows how far [they have] come.”

Planning was personalised and focused on outcomes that mattered to people and recorded in comprehensive transition plans. The provider had developed a colour coded online database so they could track each person and the current status of their transition with therapies, accommodation, housing, funding etc. They met routinely to ensure people’s transition and outcomes were always prioritised. This ensured people felt more confident about future events and their care remained well coordinated, personalised and responsive to their evolving needs.

Staff worked closely with people, families and other professionals to make sure future plans reflected people’s aspirations, strengths and preferences. Transition planning helped people move on to further education, employment, community opportunities or more independent living where appropriate. The provider ran an annual transition event which included local and national long-term accommodation providers, along with representatives from community groups and sports clubs so people could prepare for life beyond college. In addition to this, we saw how the provider had engaged with relatives and shared information about transition and life after college on a secure social platform.

Relatives told us people had made significant progress and become more independent during their time at the service. Leaders promoted high aspirations and supported people to achieve positive outcomes for their future. One relative told us, “[My relative] has been there 6 and a half years and is leaving next Friday. It’s being the most phenomenal 6 and a half years because [my relative has] been really nurtured and reached [their] full potential.”

Staff had been proactive in supporting people to understand and make decisions about their future. Where appropriate, staff held conversations with people about their preferences and wishes around end of life care and had subsequently developed detailed care plans that reflected the wishes of people. A clinical member of staff spoke about people who were supported at the end of their life, “We have discussions with a [broad range of people, including] families, keyworkers, nurses, the emotional wellbeing team, speech and language teams. We also have close links with the palliative lead in the county. [They look] at the whole person and they are a really good resource for [people]. We get care guidance and support from [the lead] and we develop an ‘unwell plan’ which raises our ceiling of care as we have specialist consultant input. We have people with stand by antibiotics and ‘just in case’ bags. This means the nurses can have the prescription ready to go if needed. It means that we have that input from people who know them so [people can live as much of their life] as possible.”