ASL Services

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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated Good.

This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 75 (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 told us he had developed the service based on feedback from people and families he had previously supported. Families previously expressed dissatisfaction with the support their loved ones were receiving. As a result, the provider made the decision to open his own service which would provide holistic, personalised care and support. This would include active participation of each person and their family, ensuring they receive the individual care they deserve. Through discussion and feedback, we found the provider, management team and staff provided high quality care and support for people. They continually encouraged people’s involvement, choices, and independence. The provider, management team and staff consistently worked to support people’s needs and help them to identify and meet goals. They worked together to identify and remove any barriers to people living a full and inclusive life. All staff were active in people’s support and demonstrated a really good knowledge of people’s needs.

The provider ensured people were able to participate in experiences that they enjoyed and enabled them to develop skills to reach their full potential. Whilst mindful they were running a business, the provider ensured that peoples choices and wellbeing were placed above profits. For example, when funding had not been agreed, in a timely way, for the equipment a person required, the provider purchased this to prevent any delay to the person’s proposed support.

There was strong, effective teamwork. All staff all spoke very highly about working at the service and about the people they supported. Many staff told us that coming to work did not feel like a job, but more like being with family.

People and their relatives were positive about the culture at the service. One family member said, “No one is ever miserable and staff are very happy and nice. They receive us well and are very pleasant. The staff on the ground are very good at their jobs and seem happy in their work which means [name] gets good care and is settled.” Another family member told us, “They are very kind to my son, and I see that a lot from staff.”

The provider had 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 did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

There was a clear management structure at the service. The provider, who was also the registered manager, was supported by two managers. They provided effective support to the provider in managing the quality and safety of the service. Each manager was responsible for the day to day running of one supported living location. The provider and managers all had good oversight of the service. Staff told us there was an open-door policy and there was always someone they could talk to.

They were committed to improving and developing the service for the benefit of people and staff. We saw the provider was supporting staff to develop their knowledge and skills and identifying areas where staff required more development. Staff consistently spoke highly of the provider and managers. One staff member told us the provider was, “Always on site and always available.” Another staff member said, “[Provider] and [managers] are the best bosses ever.” A further staff member told us, [Provider] treats us like a family, he boosts staff morale and if you want to grow supports you to go for it.”

People’s relatives spoke well of the provider, management team and staff. One family member said, “I can absolutely talk to staff about worries and concerns, it’s always dealt with. They’re very approachable, I can talk to them about anything. They have [name’s] best interests at heart.”

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

Staff understood the whistle-blowing policy and told us they would report any concerns to the provider or the management team. They knew how to raise concerns outside the organisation if they were concerned appropriate action was not being taken. Staff were confident any issues raised would be addressed. The registered manager told us staff were able to contact the provider or managers for guidance and support at any time.

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 equality and diversity was valued. Staff received training in equality and diversity. They were encouraged to share concerns and ideas through supervisions and meetings. Staff told us they felt valued and everyone worked well together. Staff said their individual needs and culture were respected, and they gave us examples of this. The provider also told us how they supported staff from other cultures and backgrounds to have a greater understanding of British culture and language. This helped to ensure overseas staff were at less risk of unfair treatment and discrimination.

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.

The service was relatively new and was still being developed to meet its full potential. This included supporting staff development to ensure they had appropriate skills to support people due to move into the service. Continuing to promote embed the providers philosophy of holistic and personalised support by further identifying people’s goals and wishes. Some family members expressed concerns that as the service grew the quality of support and engagement may reduce. We raised this with the provider who told us they were aware of these concerns. He told us that the philosophy of the service was to always provide holistic support centred on the best interests of our service users. Therefore, any expansion of the service would always ensure the philosophy of the service was maintained for the benefit of people.

The provider had good oversight of the service and risk, including the quality of people’s care and support. Supported by senior staff they completed regular quality and compliance checks. This included the auditing of the environment, medicines management, care and safety checks. Where shortfalls, or areas for improvement were required then an action plan was developed and demonstrated when these had been addressed.

The provider was aware of their statutory responsibilities to notify CQC about certain changes, events and incidents that affected their service or the people who use it. These notifications were submitted appropriately.

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

The provider and staff team had developed positive working relationships with services who supported people using the service. This was demonstrated through the records we saw and feedback from visiting professionals. Staff told us how they would contact relevant external professionals to help them meet people’s changing and ongoing needs. The provider was also working with local services and neighbours to develop ongoing and supportive relationships, which would benefit people who used the service. The provider held open days and garden parties where they invited the neighbours to visit so they and people could get to know each other.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They 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 provider had systems in place to learn from accidents, incidents, safeguarding’s, complaints or when things went wrong. Incident analysis showed when shortfalls had been identified and addressed. Issues were discussed in staff meetings and supervisions.

Staff were supported and the provider promoted openness and transparency when reporting concerns. Staff also told us about the providers response if things went wrong. They said, “Wrong is wrong, he’s strict, but is lovely and kind and provides good guidance.” They explained the provider would support staff with the process of any investigation.

The provider promoted learning and development for all staff. They kept up to date with all relevant changes and communicated these effectively to their team. Staff received regular training and updates. Further areas for training had been identified, and the provider was in the process of ensuring staff received these.