Bluebird Care Exeter & Teignbridge

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.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated 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 100 (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.

Leaders demonstrated a clear and well communicated vision focused on providing high quality, safe and compassionate care and formed part of the induction training for new staff, calling them ‘Bluebirds’. The involvement of the provider, as well as a strong, management structure positively impacted the service. Their decision to deliver the majority of training face to face showed a strong commitment to effective learning and maintaining high standards of practice throughout. This approach helped staff develop the confidence, competence and practical skills required to deliver good quality care.

The provider demonstrated strong partnership working with health and social care professionals and local charities. Staff and leaders used external learning resources to stay informed about changes to the care sector and best practice. They also shared learning with other organisations, helping people access a wide range of community support. For example, the provider was passionate about reducing the need for hospital stays where possible and reducing delayed discharges from hospital. This had resulted in the technology enabled care, the specialist complex care team and previously the roving responder team and a close relationship with the hospital and community multidisciplinary team.

The provider had developed a positive culture where learning and improvement were encouraged. Incidents were reviewed and used as opportunities to reflect and make improvements, ensuring staff continued to deliver safe and consistent care. This included debriefs and sharing throughout the service. People and relatives, underpinned by the participation policy, were involved in discussions about concerns, accidents and incidents, and contributed to planning actions to help prevent future occurrences. Feedback from people and families highlighted the provider was open, honest and willing to share learning, which helped individuals feel informed and more in control of their safety. A thorough initial process for potential new customers led by the Customer On-boarding team ensured clarity and consistency so people knew what to expect from the start.

Overall, the service showed a well led and collaborative approach, with clear leadership direction, an inclusive culture that included the engagement, involvement and wellbeing of people, families and staff with a strong commitment to ongoing improvements.

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.

Leaders within the service were highly regarded by staff, people, and relatives, with feedback consistently highlighting their compassion, visibility, and effectiveness. There was a strong sense leaders were approachable, supportive, and genuinely committed to the wellbeing of both people using the service and their staff team. Staff described a positive and empowering leadership approach, saying “The management, office staff and senior carers have gone out of their way to support me. They are very understanding and patient”, “There isn’t anyone who is unapproachable” and “Working for Bluebird is meaningful and rewarding, we are treated with respect, informed positively and politely and emotionally supported.” Staff felt they were supported, “to help go above and beyond and try to work to the best of our abilities.”

Leaders were also committed to continuous learning and improvement. The managers kept up to date with training often achieving higher levels. This proactive approach ensured the service remained forward-thinking and responsive to best practice guidance. Innovation was encouraged such as the technology enabled care and ‘Magic Notes’ an AI powered meeting summarisation tool which recorded and summarised meetings. The aim was for staff to spend less time writing up assessments and more time on person centred support.

They shared learning with staff in a variety of ways. The training manager told us it was important to find out staff preferred methods of learning. They used bite size lessons and topical quizzes to aid learning, with quizzes also attached to policies. Staff were encouraged to attend further courses in topics of interest and to be part of the induction training team.

This strong, values-driven leadership led by the provider, fostered a culture of inclusivity, learning, and high-quality care, ensuring positive experiences and outcomes for people and creating a motivated and supported workforce.

The provider was exceptional at fostering a positive culture where people knew they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

The service had developed a highly open and transparent culture where staff felt confident, supported, and empowered to raise concerns or challenge practice without fear. All staff we spoke with demonstrated a clear understanding of how to speak up, including the option to do so anonymously if needed, and consistently told us they would feel comfortable doing so.

New staff had mentors and several staff told us how inspirational and supportive they had been. New staff received structured shadowing and mentor‑led knowledge checks and observations, which helped them feel prepared and supported. Leaders monitored suitability and values throughout the recruitment process, ensuring new staff aligned with the provider’s expectations and commitment to safe, person‑centred care. Mentees were thoughtfully matched with mentors based on working area, experience and personality.

Staff spoke very positively about the provider, registered managers, and other leaders, describing them as approachable, communicative and genuinely committed to staff welfare. This helped embed a culture where people felt safe to speak up, raise concerns and contribute openly to improvements. Staff described a positive and approachable management style that encouraged honesty and open dialogue. One staff member said, “We are regularly encouraged to raise our concerns, I’ve always felt listened to when doing so. I’m a human not a number”, “We are encouraged and supported well when concerns are made. I am treated well and fairly” and “I have never felt that a concern cannot be raised.”

Survey results further supported this strong culture of openness. In a staff satisfaction survey staff had mentioned needing more communication. This was the response to them from the provider in the staff survey analysis report, “We understand communication needed a little improvement, we recruited 2 new co-ordinator assistants.” Their role is to support the co-ordinators in communication to highlight any changes to your schedules, complete telephone supervisions, back to work interviews and coordination. All comments were analysed and addressed.

Leaders actively promoted psychological safety and continuous improvement by encouraging staff to share ideas, feedback, and concerns. Staff records showed when staff had raised issues and what actions had been taken. Staff also completed Safety Intervention Foundation training. This looked at how to create a safer workplace, including learning de-escalation and workplace behaviour skills.

This inclusive approach ensured issues could be identified and addressed early, contributing to high-quality care and a positive working environment.

The provider strongly valued diversity and created an inclusive, fair culture that improved equalityand equity across the workforce.

Staff consistently reported feeling valued, informed and supported. One staff member shared, “This role has built my confidence so much and made me realise I can do much more if I put my mind to it. The support has been amazing, and it has been incredibly fulfilling”, “I have the best communication and support for each task on a daily basis” and “I was made to feel welcome from the start, the carers all welcomed and included me on the [online communication] group.” This reflected a positive culture where wellbeing and inclusion were prioritised. Staff told us leaders were always flexible around personal circumstances, and they felt able to approach management. This reflected a culture where staff wellbeing and inclusion were prioritised.

They demonstrated an exceptional commitment to inclusion and cultural understanding. Internationally recruited staff were recruited in small numbers and given time to learn at their own pace. This helped build confidence and a sense of belonging across the workforce.

Robust processes monitored staff wellbeing and safety, including tracking sickness, vacancies and turnover. Staff had clear access to the human resources in house team and had a comprehensive handbook. They described feeling part of a strong, unified team with shared goals. Leaders implemented a range of wellbeing and recognition initiatives such as rewarding excellence in practice, sharing compliments with named staff and confidential wellbeing calls, which maintained morale and strengthened trust.

Annual equality impact assessments were undertaken using anonymous equal opportunity forms. The assessment looked at gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and religion and cultural background. It stated, “We understand every individual will have different qualities to enable them to support our customers and impact their lives in a positive way.” Training and support was then adapted in style and frequency to achieve the best outcome. For example, for the ‘Age’ category the youngest staff member was 18 and the oldest 70. It was noted that they worked with the local college to enable apprenticeships and some members of staff referred their family to work with Bluebird.

Overall, the provider displayed outstanding leadership in equality, diversity and inclusion, creating a workplace where staff from all backgrounds felt respected, supported and empowered to deliver high quality care.

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

The service had highly effective governance systems in place to monitor, assess, and continually improve the quality and sustainability of care. Each department had a manager, and staff knew what their roles were. There was a Recruitment and Customer On-boarding team, Management team, Complex Care team, Operational team, Community Engagement team, Finance team and Training team. A comprehensive programme of audits was used to provide robust oversight, including regular internal checks, quarterly audits completed by the nominated individual and shared with the team and wider organisational (national franchise) audits. The service achieved a Gold Compliance Standard in these.

Bluebird Care national quality teamalso conducted an audit at least every 12 to 18 months to support the evaluation of Bluebird Care Exeterand Teignbridge performance against each of the CQC five key questions using the Bluebird Care Audit App, which included obtaining systematised feedback from stakeholders. These multiple layers of review ensured any issues were identified promptly and addressed effectively.

The service also provided regular in person quality assurance visits and spot checks during care visits. Staff had been trained in the Bluebird way using consistent records for monitoring. This provided further opportunities for people to share any issues they had with their support and for the registered manager to observe the relationships between staff and people receiving the care. This approach placed people central to the quality monitoring of their care and ensured the leaders of the service were visible and easily contactable.

People and relatives said they could choose how and when they wished quality checks to be, for example some people just liked a quick phone call. This collaborative approach led to better outcomes for people as they were able to be involved in the everyday decisions about their care package such as whether temporary additional support was required.

There was strong oversight and accountability at all levels of the organisation. The active involvement of the nominated individual in quality assurance processes supported consistent standards and demonstrated a clear commitment to the Bluebird ethos of maintaining high-quality care. He said, “We are incredibly proud of reaching 15 years in the community, it reflects the dedication of our team and the trust placed in us by the families we service.”

Findings from audits were used constructively to drive improvement and sustain positive outcomes for people. We saw audits identified where care plans could contain more detailed information. Training in how to record notes and input electronic processes was given with clear processes for staff to follow. Office staff were included in training to ensure they could understand care plans and records when communicating with people and families. We heard an example where staff noticed a rash that a person themselves had not noticed.

The service demonstrated good regulatory compliance. All statutory notifications were submitted promptly, reflecting a transparent and well-managed approach to meeting regulatory requirements.

Leaders had established a culture of continuous improvement and learning, supported by effective monitoring systems and strong organisational support. This started for staff from initiation into the in-house training academy and continued through staff meetings, training and communication going forward. This ensured the service remained sustainable, responsive, and consistently delivered high-quality, person-centred care.

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 demonstrated a strong commitment to working in partnership with the local community and external organisations. The Community Engagement team had built relationships with local businesses and had regular promotion stands to engage with the public promoting the care sector.

There was close collaboration with the local mayor, funeral directors, crematorium and will writers who stated they all aligned with Bluebird values of supporting people and families with dignity and respect. Bluebird partnered with a local specialist service that provided support to help people managing mental health conditions to find paid work. The manager of that service said, “Bluebird has demonstrated professionalism, responsiveness and a genuine commitment to collaborative working.”

Bluebird had also partnered with the fire service. Staff promoted fire safety and discussed how people could access free fire assessments for the over 65s. These collaborative relationships helped ensure people received coordinated, holistic care and were able to access the support they needed.

Staff and leaders worked effectively with other organisations; information was shared appropriately during meetings and reviews, helping ensure people received well‑coordinated support. Multidisciplinary meetings were attended by Bluebird staff who drove the conversations to ensure people received the best outcome. For example, when other care packages had failed or families had been though challenges. Professionals told us the provider was thorough, professional and communicated well and we saw praise about staff from the ambulance service and relatives, during a particularly stressful time.

The provider also maintained constructive relationships with GP practices and specialist services. By working closely with these professionals, staff helped ensure people accessed appropriate support quickly, which contributed to positive outcomes and safe care. Staff had established strong links with the community nursing team, who supported a range of clinical needs such as wound care, tissue viability, continence and end‑of‑life support. Leaders recognised the importance of timely clinical expertise in maintaining people’s health, safety and dignity. Staff acted promptly on professional guidance and ensured care plans were updated to reflect any changes in people’s needs.

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 service demonstrated a strong and embedded culture of continuous learning, improvement, and innovation. Leaders actively promoted professional development, and staff were encouraged to build their knowledge and skills in areas of personal interest as well as those relevant to their roles.

Staff were able to access free courses with a local college and increase their skills within the in-house training academy. The training academy had a training manager, and they delivered training along with 6 train the trainer staff who shared their knowledge within the academy. Lessons were seen and were clear, comprehensive and engaging. We spoke with the new induction group who all said they were enjoying their training, appreciated the shorter sessions to embed learning and felt welcomed. This commitment ensured staff remained engaged, knowledgeable, and confident in delivering high-quality care.

The service went beyond the traditional expectations of a domiciliary care provider, taking a proactive role within the local community. They helped educate people and relatives within their role in topics such as dementia, learning disability and hand washing. Their local resource guide also helped people and families access guidance and resources beyond their immediate care needs. This innovative approach demonstrated a commitment to improving wider outcomes and supporting community wellbeing.

There was clear evidence of reflective practice within the service. Leaders and staff regularly analysed the care and support provided, identifying what worked well and where improvements could be made. Learning from experiences was embedded into practice, enabling the service to continuously refine and enhance the care delivered.

This strong focus on learning and innovation ensured the service remained forward-thinking, responsive, and committed to delivering consistently high standards of personalised care.