The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

12 Channel Lea

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

12 Channel Lea, Walmer, Deal, Kent, CT14 7UG (01304) 367131

Provided and run by:
Voyage 1 Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of assessment: 15 December to 22 December 2025. 12 Channel Lea is a residential care home supporting younger adults with a learning disability or autistic people. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only regulates the regulated activity of personal care, which includes support with tasks such as washing, dressing and eating. At the time of our inspection 2 people were being supported with personal care.

The service was last inspected on 29 April 2019 and rated “Good”. We conducted this inspection due to the length of the time since the last inspection. At this inspection the rating of the service has remained “Good”.

We found people were in control of their own lives, and empowered to make decisions about their care and the service where they lived. People were supported to grow meaningful social connections, participate in their wider community and develop positive new interests and skills.

There were robust care plans which ensured staff were able to deliver care in a way that was safe and reflected people’s physical and social needs. Risks to people were well understood by staff, with clear risk assessments in place focusing on how the service would support people safely whilst encouraging them to take positive risks.

There were sufficient staff to support people, who were recruited safely and had the knowledge and training to meet people’s needs. Staff felt supported and empowered by management to deliver a high standard of care and develop close and positive relationships with people.

People were supported to develop important life skills and grow their independence, which enabled them greater autonomy. The service worked with them to help them plan for the future such as in considering if they were able to live independently, and how staff would work with them to achieve that goal if so. As people grew older, the service was conscious of how the care they need may need to adapt and were forward thinking in helping people plan for this.

There were effective and robust management and governance processes in place to continually ensure the standard of care remained high, and where incidents occurred appropriate learning was taken so the service and staff continued to learn and grow together.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found the service were closely complying with this guidance, and it’s principles were embedded in all elements of people’s health and care to emphasise people’s rights, independence and choice.

 

 

 

29 April 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service: 12 Channel Lea supports people with learning disabilities and/or autism. There were three people living at the service when we inspected. The service is based in a residential road in Deal, Kent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

The people living at the service told us that they were happy living there and were positive about the support they received.

People were supported to remain safe. Staff supported people to take their medicines and people received their medicines on time and as prescribed. Staff were recruited safely and had the skills and training they needed to support people.

People were supported to access healthcare service when they needed to do so and there was information for people to take with them if they needed to be admitted to hospital. This information would assist hospital staff to support people whilst they were in hospital.

The staff at the service were caring. People had a good relationship with staff and were happy living at the service. If people needed emotional support this was identified and put in place. Staff respected people’s privacy and people were treated in a dignified manner.

There was information on how to complain available to people if they chose to do so. People had keyworkers who led on their support and gave people the opportunity to feedback on their support and any concerns.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The outcomes for people reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways; people were supported to maintain their independence. People told us that they had a say in their support and were able to make choices and decisions whilst living at the service. For example, people planned their own meals and chose what they wanted to eat and when. People also chose their own activities and went out socialising with their friends. Staff respected people’s right to make their own decisions. Most people living at the service were very independent and where able to access the community independently. Where people needed more support, there were sufficient staff at the service to provide this. 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 supported this practice.

There were systems in place to check and maintain the quality of the service to ensure that people received a good standard of care. People knew the registered manager and were able to speak to them if they wanted to do so.

The service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (published on 09 November 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on the pervious rating.

Follow up:

We will visit the service again in the future to check if there are changes to the quality of the service.

4 October 2016

During a routine inspection

This inspection was carried out on 4 October 2016 and was announced. Twenty four hours’ notice of the inspection was given because we needed to be sure that people who wanted to speak to us were available during the inspection.

12 Channel Lea provides accommodation and personal care for up to three people with a learning disability. The service is a converted house. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

The service had a registered manager in post; however, they were not currently in charge of the day to day running of the service. 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. The service was led by a senior support worker with support from an acting deputy manager.

Staff were kind and caring to people and treated them with dignity and respect at all times.

The provider had oversight of the service. Staff felt supported by the senior support worker and were motivated. They shared the provider’s vision of a good quality service.

There were enough staff, who knew people well, to provide the support people wanted. People’s needs had been considered when deciding how many staff were required to support them at different times of the day. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and worked as a team to meet people’s needs.

People had been involved in selecting staff who worked at the service. Checks had been completed to make sure staff were honest, trustworthy and reliable. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks had been completed. The DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and helps prevent unsuitable people from working with people who use care and support services.

Staff had completed the training and development they needed to provide safe and effective care to people and held recognised qualifications in care. The senior support worker met regularly with staff to discuss their role and practice. They supported staff to provide good quality care.

People’s care and support was planned and reviewed with them, to keep them safe and help them be as independent as possible.

Plans were in place to keep people safe in an emergency. Staff knew the signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with the senior support worker, the provider and the local authority safeguarding manager. Complaints were investigated and responded to.

People were supported to manage their own medicines and received the medicines they needed to keep them safe and well. Action was taken to identify changes in people’s health, including regular health checks. People were encouraged to eat a balanced diet.

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Arrangements were in place to apply to the supervisory body for a DoLS authorisation when necessary. People were not restricted and went out when they wanted to. Some people went out without staff support.

The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) had been met. Staff supported people to make decisions and respected the decisions they made. When people lacked capacity to make a specific decision, decisions were made in people’s best interests with people who knew them well.

People enjoyed a variety of activities, with support when needed. Possible risks to people had been identified and were managed to keep them as safe as possible, while supporting them to be independent.

The senior support worker worked alongside staff and checked that the quality of the service was to the required standard. Any shortfalls found were addressed quickly to prevent them from happening again. People and staff were asked about their experiences of the care and their feedback was acted on.

Accurate records were kept about the support people received and about the day to day running of the service. These provided staff with the information they needed to provide safe and consistent care to people.