Leicester & Leicestershire Supported Living

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 outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to 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 79 (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 shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The provider had a set of values which were shared by staff. The provider’s values were person centred and based on inclusivity, respect and aspiration. A code of practice set out expectations about staff behaviour, attitude and approach.

Systems and processes such as needs assessments, care and support planning and review, opportunities for feedback, staff training and support embodied the providers values and staff shared this approach.

Staff we spoke with were highly motivated to achieve good outcomes for people and improve people’s quality of life and wellbeing.

One staff member said, “The people I support are wonderful. Management have been very good. The people we support are phenomenal."

Another said, “The people we support are the heart of everything.” A 3rd staff member said, “The culture is good, I am lucky I work for this service.”

Managers and staff worked with people, their representatives and staff to build a culture that focused on enabling people to enjoy their lives.

Staff and managers demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture that promoted trust and understanding between them and people using the service. The culture was focused on facilitating mutual trust between leaders and staff as well as learning and improvement.

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 with defined roles and responsibilities supporting the delivery of person centred, safe and compassionate care and support. National roles included senior leaders for care and support, business and finance. Training, recruitment quality and positive behaviour support specialists were employed. These roles provided support to registered managers, service leaders and staff. Service leaders were allocated individual services or clusters of smaller services to provide day to day support to people and staff. People and staff told us managers and service leaders were accessible, visible and approachable.

Some relatives did not feel they had enough communication with senior managers, and this had been identified in the providers family survey (March 2026). Several families felt disconnected from senior leadership and asked for clearer visibility and accountability.

Managers were knowledgeable about issues and priorities for the quality of services and could access appropriate support and development in their role. They were alert to any examples of poor culture that may affect the quality of people’s care.

Information was shared through the collection of quality and risk data and at team meetings. A set agenda was used to ensure key issues about people’s experience and about quality of safety were discussed, shared and learned from. Staff at all levels were kept updated about relevant changes impacting on care and support and the wider sector.

Regulatory forums took place every 3 months where all (national) service leaders and regional mangers meet to share best practice. This involved people who used the service. One person told us they had presented to 100 service leaders and told them about their job as quality advisor. They also spoke about the ‘voice groups’ they had been attending to seek feedback from people. Ideas about how to make these groups more inclusive and accessible were invited.

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

The provider had a speak out policy and procedure which staff understood and said they would confidently use.

Staff were encouraged to share any concerns they had. They could do this directly with their line managers at any time. Staff could speak up anonymously if they preferred.

Staff supervision session provided another opportunity to raise concerns. A staff member said,

“We do supervision monthly, when issues or challenges come up we can discuss with the manager, they have an open policy where you can speak your mind which has helped, my manager is very approachable, no issues."

When concerns were raised, they were investigated sensitively and confidentially, and lessons were shared and acted on.

The provider understood their responsibility to follow the ‘duty of candour process, to be open and honest if things went wrong.

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.

Diversity and inclusion were valued in in the workforce. Managers identified staff members individual needs and protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. They worked with the staff member to find solutions that worked for them and supported them to deliver person centred care. The provider had an inclusive recruitment policy.

Staff told us about reasonable adjustments made to accommodate their needs. A staff member told us, “I'm currently pregnant, I spoke to management on how to make work flexible, they’ve been really fantastic with this help. They even call and ask when I'm available.”

The providers staff survey 2026 scored high for the question, ‘I believe that people of all backgrounds and identities are welcomed and valued.’

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 provider had effective systems and processes to monitor, maintain and improve the quality of the service. A quality assurance framework was used across all services, and focused audits were carried out to monitor quality. Action plans were produced to promote continuous improvement. These were reviewed by managers and senior leaders.

Staff at all levels were involved in the audit process. One person who used the service was employed as a quality advisor. They worked with a Quality Auditor to speak to people who received support, helping services understand what is working well and what needs to improve. They had completed continuous quality improvement training and were involved in the co production of a report called ‘show me you’re listening’. They had signed up to become a quality improvement coach and were working with an external agency to design training for people using the service to become more involved in quality improvement and co production.

They told us, ‘A Quality Advisor is someone with lived experience of disability, learning disability, autism, or mental health needs who works with a Quality Auditor to speak to people who receive support, helping services understand what is working well and what needs to improve. Co-design, co-production and co-delivery is something really important to me.’

Satisfaction surveys were carried for staff and key stakeholders. People who used the service were asked for their feedback through care and support reviews and at meetings.

The providers recent staff survey results were mostly positive. However, staff at one of the provider’s schemes had a low response rate and lower than average scores for 7 of the 15 questions asked. Registered managers were aware and had commenced additional staff support and training.

Staff were asked for their ideas during team meetings about actions to bring about improvements and changes made along with the positive impacts on the person were discussed to provide real life examples.

The regional manager carried out quarterly analyses of all recorded events (accidents, incidents and medicine errors). These were analysed for patterns and trends. Individual events were explored and graded according to the level of harm. Action taken and lessons learned were shared with staff and improvement plans were developed for each service.

A recent local authority contract monitoring visit had identified some shortfalls regarding records and auditing of medicine administration. The provider followed an action plan and took all required action to address these and made improvements in these areas.

The provider told us formal accreditation has been achieved by the Investors in People Standard Award across the charity. The provider had achieved European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Committed to Excellence.

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.

Staff and leaders were open and transparent, and they collaborated with all relevant external stakeholders and agencies.Recommendations made by external professionals were implemented and followed.

Feedback from external professionals was mostly positive with some communication issues identified. However, the provider had developed an action plan to address this and had already made some improvements. Examples were provided regarding improved outcomes for people following implementation of a professional advice and guidance.

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 had an exceptional learning and development programme (Grow) that embedded a strong culture of continuous learning, safety and improvement from an individual’s first day of employment. The programme was comprehensive, well‑structured and highly inclusive, covering all aspects of quality, safety and best practice within the sector. Learning was brought to life through the use of real‑life scenarios, enabling staff to confidently translate theory into meaningful, person‑centred support for the people they cared for. Weekly reflective check‑ins took place for new employees and their manager. These conversations focused not only on progress and understanding, but also on identifying individual development needs, celebrating learning highlights and exploring how learning positively impacted outcomes for people and staff teams. This ensured learning was consistently embedded into practice and continuously improved the quality of support

Staff had opportunities to complete nationally recognised, accredited training within the sector. Clear and aspirational development pathways were in place, supporting support workers to progress into service leader roles and service leaders to progress into registered manager positions. This enhanced training was comprehensive and personalised, including regular one‑to‑one coaching that built confidence, leadership capability and accountability.

Staff consistently spoke highly of the organisation’s investment in them. They told us they felt valued, empowered and supported to grow at every stage of their career. There was a strong, shared commitment to learning at all levels, which directly contributed to confident staff, stable teams and excellent outcomes for the people supported.

A staff member told us, “I started as bank support worker and moved up to service lead. I've supported some of the most incredible people. I've been fortunate to travel with some people on holidays; Los Angeles, Portugal places here in the UK. I’ve had the opportunity to move through the organisation. I've completed my NVQ level 5.

The provider fostered a strong culture of recognition and excellence, with staff and teams receiving multiple awards for their contribution to high-quality care. For example, staff at one of the provider’s schemes were recognised at the Great Midlands Care Awards for their work in connecting people and using creativity to support individuals to live their best possible lives.

Staff were also nominated for the Reside with Progress Community Care Awards, reflecting wider recognition of their contribution within the sector. In addition, a team achieved a silver award at the Progress Housing 2026 Community Champion Awards, demonstrating their positive impact within the community.

Alongside these team achievements, individual excellence was also celebrated. A support worker received a gold award in the individual category for their contribution to enhancing people’s experiences during the service’s Christmas celebrations.

These achievements demonstrated a highly motivated workforce and a culture that valued innovation, person-centred care, and going above and beyond to improve people’s wellbeing and quality of life.

The provider demonstrated strong leadership and advocacy by launching the “Unfair to Care” report, which highlighted the ongoing pay disparity between social care support workers and their NHS counterparts. The service actively involved people who used the service and staff in the parliamentary launch, empowering them to share their lived experiences and influence change at a national level.

The report clearly set out how inequitable pay contributes to workforce instability and financial pressures within the sector. Leaders showed a strong understanding of how these challenges can disrupt continuity of care and negatively impact people’s quality of life. They used this insight to champion fairer pay, recognising that a stable, well-supported workforce is essential to delivering consistent, high-quality, person-centred care.

This proactive approach demonstrated the provider’s commitment to driving wider system improvement and ensuring people received safe, reliable and compassionate care.