- Homecare service
Bamburgh Supported Living
Assessment report published 19 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 21 August to 16 September 2026.
This service provides personal care and support to people with a learning disability and autistic people living in shared supported living accommodation.
We carried out this inspection due to the age of the rating. This was a comprehensive inspection covering all key questions and quality statements
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. We found the provider was not always delivering care in line with these principles.
At the last inspection, we rated this service good. At this inspection, the rating has changed to requires improvement and we have found breaches of regulation. The breaches are in relation to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, dignity and respect and good governance.
The provider did not always ensure people received safe, effective and person-centred care. Safeguarding concerns identified during the inspection had not been recognised or escalated appropriately by the provider. Risk assessments were in place; however, they did not always provide staff with clear guidance on how to manage risks safely. Incident management systems were not always effective, and the provider could not demonstrate that incidents had consistently been reviewed, analysed or used to identify learning and reduce future risk.
Staff knew people well and we received positive feedback from relatives and healthcare professionals about people's care. However, people's assessments, care plans and support records were not always personalised or reflective of their individual needs, preferences, aspirations and future wishes. Documentation often focused on risks, restrictions and tasks and did not demonstrate how people had been involved in meaningfully planning and reviewing their care.
We found concerns regarding the culture of the service and the language used within care records and incident documentation. Records did not always reflect compassionate, dignified or person-centred practice. Leadership and governance arrangements were not robust. Governance systems had not identified a number of the concerns found during the inspection, including significant shortfalls in safeguarding and concerns relating to incident management, care planning and person-centred practice. The provider could not demonstrate effective oversight of risks or how learning from incidents and feedback was used to improve people's experience, safety and quality of care.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this inspection.
People's experience of this service
During the inspection, we asked people and their relatives for feedback. Where appropriate, we visited people in their homes to speak with them directly and observe their care and support. Where people could not speak with us directly, we used our observations and feedback from those important to them to help us understand their experience of care.
We received positive feedback from people and their relatives about the support they received from staff. During visits to people's homes, we found people were relaxed and comfortable in the presence of staff and within their living environments.
People and their relatives spoke positively about the kindness of staff. Comments included, “They are so kind,” and “Staff are very good. They are always on hand.” Relatives told us staff knew people well and understood how they liked to be supported. Comments included, “They know [person] well” and “Staff know [person’s] needs well. They know their likes and dislikes.”
People were supported to maintain important relationships with family and friends and were encouraged to take part in activities they enjoyed and remain active within their communities. One relative told us, “[Person] is always out. [Person] likes to be kept busy.”
Relatives told us managers were responsive and maintained good communication with families. They also told us they knew how to raise concerns if needed.
Relatives were generally complimentary about the provider and staff team. Comments included, “Staff are fantastic. They have been there for years,” and “It’s hard to find a team like this. They are very good at what they do.”
Whilst feedback about the support provided was generally positive, the inspection identified concerns relating to the provider's systems, records, leadership oversight, and the planning and review of care.