- Homecare service
United Support Services
Assessment report published 4 September 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 27 and 28 July 2026.
United Support Services is a supported living service providing support to adults with a learning disability or autistic people. Supported living services offer tailored, personalised support to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the assessment 2 people were receiving support with personal care.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
This was an exceptional service where people consistently experienced high-quality and enabling care.
The provider was working in line with the principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. People received support that was tailored to their individual needs from staff who knew them well and had built strong and trusting relationships with them. Because of the level of trust people had been able to take part in activities that had previously not been available to them. Records showed incidents when people had been distressed had decreased and restrictions lifted. People were living increasingly independent lives and widening their experiences.
There was a strong emphasis on learning from experience and incidents. Leaders and staff demonstrated a professional curiosity and reflective practice. When things went wrong the circumstances of the incident were examined to try and identify what had not gone well and what could be done differently in the future. There was no sense of ‘blame’, rather an opportunity to learn. This approach had led to positive outcomes for people.
Staff were well supported by a system of induction, training and supervision. All staff were complimentary about the leadership of the service and told us they were able to ask for guidance at any time.
Leaders were highly visible in the service and known to staff and the people they supported. They were up to date with best practice and had a clear ethos of supporting people to live full and meaningful lives. Professionals who had worked with the service were highly complimentary of how support was planned and delivered. They commented on the strong and positive culture of leaders and staff.
People's experience of this service
People had become markedly more independent since moving to United Support Services. Restrictions had decreased dramatically and people had greater and more varied opportunities. A member of staff told us, “[Name of care home where the person had lived previously] was the wrong environment for [Name], there has been a total transformation, they are completely different.” In the past, people had found it difficult to go into their local community, either for trips out or to access other health care agencies. The service had worked alongside them to make sure they felt safe, confident and in control at all times. As a result, people were now able to visit GP’s and dentists and were taking part in a range of activities. Plans were being made for 1 person to go on a longer trip away; this had previously not been thought possible.
Staff had high expectations for people and worked alongside them to help them live the lives they wanted. One person showed us around their home and demonstrated a sense of pride and ownership. They were clearly comfortable in their space and with the staff supporting them.
People were supported and encouraged to make choices and have control over their own lives. Staff were highly skilled at ensuring people were able to make meaningful choices. This included the use of easy read checklists, objects of reference, pictures and photographs. Staff were aware of the need to allow people time to process information and respond to any questions.