Dean Park

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 changed to outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred 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 had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The provider was exceptional at applying the Right support, right care, right culture model. For example, the model of care maximised people’s independence, choice and control. People had access to the community in line with their preferences, and people were empowered to take control of their care. People’s care was person-centred and people lived the life they chose, without any restrictions.

The provider’s vision was to enable people with learning disabilities to live enjoyable, healthy and meaningful lives as active members of their local community. Their core values centred around independence, choice and support, which staff worked in line with. For example, people were involved in the recruitment of new staff, people set their own goals and wrote their own care plans, and people were supported to grow fruits and vegetables in the garden.

The nominated individual commented, “Our Statement of Purpose reflects our commitment to treating every person with dignity, respect and fairness. We believe that people are not living in our workplace; we are working in their home. Everything we do is focused on helping people achieve positive outcomes, maintain relationships, participate in their communities and live fulfilling lives that reflect their own wishes, goals and aspirations.”

The provider had exceptionally inclusive leaders at all levels 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 always did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff spoke positively about the manager at the service. One staff member commented, “[Manager] is absolutely phenomenal” and “I can’t preach enough about how incredible [manager] is. She stepped in to support me [when I needed her].” Other staff commended the manager for coming in to work on non-working days to support staff. For example, one staff member told us, “We had an incident at the weekend, and she actually came in to support, that was amazing, the person was so happy.”

People supported at the service also spoke positively about the new manager. One person told us, “[The manager] comes and helps me with knitting, I’ve got a lot of wool. I really like her.” The manager also discussed this with us during the assessment.

Staff also spoke positively about the nominated individual. One staff member said, “As a director they have been so amazing, making me feel supported throughout. They are always in contact with us and is only ever a text away, I will text and they will call within 30 minutes.”

Leaders had won several awards, such as the senior manager awards and the national learning disability and autism awards.

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

Staff told us they felt able to raise any concerns. One staff member told us they had raised a concern to the previous manager but was not listened to, however felt hopeful that the new manager would listen and address this.

There were avenues for staff to raise concerns anonymously. For example, there was a whistleblowing QR code on all newsletters for staff to raise concerns anonymously if they wished.

The provider had introduced a ‘Your Say’ forum for staff, where staff representatives could share feedback about the service on a monthly basis with the nominated individual, administrative staff and the operations manager. The nominated individual told us, “These forums provide me with a really good way to check in with people, gain feedback and see what's going well and what may not be going well. As a small/medium provider, this is a really helpful insight of services on a regular basis. These, along with the newsletters, have helped me have direct contact with people and equally for me to be visible to them.”

The nominated individual also told is, “Following feedback from staff in our monthly forums, I also started some quizzes, as 1 staff member asked if we could cover the Life in the UK test, as many of our staff will soon be eligible to apply for their Indefinite Leave to Remain.”

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.

Staff told us they felt there was a diverse workforce. The manager told us they wanted to introduce monthly themed events to the service so people could try foods from different cultures. The provider had an equality, diversity and human rights policy which stated they do not discriminate based on protected characteristics.

Leaders made reasonable adjustments for staff where required. For example, staff from certain religions were supported to work around religious celebrations where possible. Some staff were supported with ‘speech to text’ technology to support their understanding and reading aids.We saw feedback from one staff member following the provider supporting workforce equality, diversity and inclusion. This stated, “When I was going through the most difficult and unexpected times of my life, you showed me kindness and support I will never forget.”

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

There were a range of audits and quality assurance systems to improve the quality of the service. The service also had a quality manager who completed mock inspections and unannounced visits. All actions from these audits and visits were added to a service improvement plan. This enabled leaders to have effective oversight of any actions needing addressing.The Nominated Individual and Operations Manager undertook quarterly face to face visits of Dean Park. They also undertook business reviews each month to oversee service delivery, such as review training matrices, recruitment, staffing hours, safeguarding concerns, HR concerns and to discuss where support was needed

Staff felt the service was well managed and organised.

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider worked with external services to enable people to achieve better outcomes. For example, the provider worked with an online care planning system to improve the quality to support people with disabilities. We saw some correspondence received from this company, which stated, “I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for your ongoing partnership and the significant role you have played in our success… through your thoughtful engagement and feedback, we have been able to enhance our systems to better support caregivers, share information through improved accessibility and ultimately contribute to effective person centred and compassionate care delivery.”

The nominated individual was also involved in a podcast for recruiting new staff into services supporting people with a learning disability. The provider shared some feedback they received following this podcast, which stated, “Brilliant podcast which perfectly illustrates how rewarding a career in the learning disability arena can be.”

The provider had a strong focus on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They always encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The nominated individual was knowledgeable about any changes to legislation and kept up to date with this. For example, they told us, “Following changes in sexual harassment legislation in April 2026, we rolled this training out initially to managers, they then discussed this in staff meetings, and it has now been assigned to all staff.”

The nominated individual took part in various means of research, such as exploring virtual reality headsets and ‘robo-pets’ [robotic pets]. The nominated individual told us how these forms of research had a positive impact on the people living at the service. They explained how the use of virtual reality headsets during the Covid pandemic and lockdown, meant people could virtually access opportunities in line with their likes and preferences. Staff told us they noticed people appeared happier following the introduction of these.

Finally, the nominated individual supported the sector with a podcast with the Outstanding Society on Learning Disabilities Careers in Social Care, where they spoke about how rewarding a career in care and support for people with learning disabilities was, aiming to increase recruitment within the sector.

This demonstrated leaders’ ongoing commitment to improving care and support for people who use services.