Creative Support - Brownley Road

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’s core values were at the centre of the support they provided. The values of Welcoming, Empowerment, Compassionate, Aspirational, Respectful and Effective supported their moto of “We Care,” and it was evident a strong, passionate culture of providing high quality care had been embedded across the service.

Staff recruitment was guided by a rigorous values-based assessment, ensuring alignment between personal ethos and organisational principles. Staff spoken with, told of a vibrant, well-led culture where they felt genuinely supported. The registered manager was consistently described as compassionate, respectful, and deeply attuned to the wellbeing of the team. Open dialogue with leadership was encouraged, and staff shared how they had been supported through personal and professional challenges.

To further strengthen leadership and quality, the provider hosted registered managers’ conferences which was a forum for collaboration, learning, and innovation. The most recent event featured interactive workshops and hands-on exercises designed to deepen understanding of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Single Assessment Framework and bring the quality statements to life. These sessions empowered managers with practical insights into legislative requirements and clarified the evidence needed for CQC inspections. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with managers demonstrating a robust grasp of the framework and cascading their learning effectively throughout their teams. Following the conference, the registered manager worked closely with staff to help them better understand the quality statements, enhancing their awareness of inspection criteria and reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement.

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.

At the heart of this stood the registered manager, whose leadership was repeatedly praised by staff, people and their families. Described by the provider as someone who “motivates and leads the team. A listener and who knows people well”. The registered manager was well respected by all, including health professionals who told us, “[Brownley Road] is a good service, very good and experienced manager with good support from the deputy,” and, “I have worked with [registered manager] for a number of years and the service has shown good progress and willingness.”

At the provider’s ’We Care’ awards, the registered manager was honoured as the ’Person-Centred Champion’, a title earned through staff nominations. The award read, “[Registered manager] gets to know everyone in her service really well and every time she is on shift, she supports staff to provide the best person-centred support to each person.”

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

Freedom to Speak Up was not only encouraged but embedded in everyday practice. Staff consistently reported feeling safe and supported to raise concerns, confident that their voices would be heard without fear of reprisal. Open communication was championed at all levels, with leadership actively promoting transparency, safety, and mutual respect. The registered manager and deputy manager were described as approachable and responsive.

The provider had developed their own ‘Code Red’ process where staff could anonymously report concerns. This was a process designed to prevent a culture which could give rise to a safeguarding concern being raised. Staff had access to a confidential email or phone number in which they could report safeguarding concerns, racism, discrimination, inappropriate language and behaviour.

The provider strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The provider demonstrated a commitment to workforce equality, diversity, and inclusion, Recruitment, development, and leadership practices were designed to ensure fair access and representation across all roles, regardless of background, identity, or lived experience. Staff spoke positively about working in an environment where differences were not only respected but celebrated.

The provider demonstrated a clear and proactive commitment to supporting staff with differing gender identities. A support network met monthly, offering a space for connection and support.The provider also conducted mandatory training on different gender awareness for all staff.

Staff reported feeling supported in relation to their cultural needs and identities, with the provider demonstrating genuine sensitivity and responsiveness to people’s backgrounds and beliefs.

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 provider demonstrated a strong and sustained commitment to delivering high-quality social care that was person-centred, inclusive, and responsive to individual needs. Governance processes were well embedded across the service, enabling the timely identification of areas for improvement and ensuring that appropriate actions were taken without delay. Auditing systems, including those focused on medication management, care records, and health and safety, were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of existing practices. These audits ensured procedures remained robust, compliant, and capable of capturing the necessary information to support safe and efficient service delivery.

Leaders actively participated in weekly social care governance meetings alongside directors, fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement. These structured reviews served as a vital forum for sharing insights and learning across services, ensuring that best practices and lessons learned were disseminated and embedded throughout the organisation. This collaborative approach strengthened service quality.

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 worked in partnership with health and social care professionals and feedback had been wholly positive.

The provider supported learning disability nursing and social work placements, and feedback from students was positive. Feedback included, “The team and service users were really friendly and welcoming. It’s a lovely, homely environment and a really positive person centre service with enthusiastic caring staff,” and, “I settled in quickly and “[Registered manager] was really supportive and engaging. I felt included and like my contributions were valued. I really enjoyed my time there and my 8 weeks flew by. I am really sad I won’t be going back.”

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 provider demonstrated a strong and proactive commitment to learning from incidents, embedding structured post-incident debriefs as a core element of its reflective practice. These sessions were thoughtfully designed to support leadership and management in identifying lessons and driving meaningful improvements. We reviewed examples where insights from these debriefs directly led to enhanced environmental and health and safety checks, demonstrating a clear link between reflection and preventative action.

The provider demonstrated a forward-thinking approach to safeguarding by identifying the need for enhanced staff training around safeguarding thresholds. Staff were guided to recognise and respond to emerging patterns of concern, rather than isolated incidents which enabled a more proactive and preventative safeguarding culture. Staff felt empowered to escalate concerns with greater confidence and clarity, strengthening the overall safety and wellbeing of those supported.

The provider had recently achieved the Platinum Investors in People accreditation, reflecting its exceptional commitment to valuing, developing, and empowering its workforce at their training academy. They had also been awarded the Gold Investors in People accreditation which demonstrated a proven commitment to creating a positive and continuously improving work environment for their staff.