- 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 is a care at home service providing support to people with a learning disability and autistic people.
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 safe care and treatment, dignity and respect and good governance.
The provider did not always ensure people received safe, person-centred care. Risk assessments were not always sufficiently detailed and did not consistently provide staff with clear guidance to manage risks safely. Incident management systems were not always effective. The provider could not demonstrate incidents had always been reviewed, analysed or used to identify learning and reduce future risk.
Staff knew people well. However, people's assessments, care plans and support records were not always personalised or reflective of their individual needs and preferences. Documentation contained generic information and did not always demonstrate how people had been involved in planning and reviewing their care. Records did not consistently evidence how outcomes had been monitored.
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. The provider did not always identify and manage risks effectively or learn from incidents, feedback and reviews to improve people’s 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
People were not able to provide direct feedback about their experience of care and support. We used observations and feedback from those important to people to help us to understand their experience of care.
Discussions with staff showed people were encouraged to be involved in activities and make choices about how they spent their time. Staff told us people were supported to take part in activities they enjoyed and were involved in choosing activities where possible. Our observations reflected a relaxed and comfortable environment, with people appearing at ease in the presence of staff.
Whilst people’s care records were not sufficiently personalised, we received positive feedback from health and social care professionals about staff’s understanding of people’s needs. They told us staff knew people well and understood how they liked to be supported. They told us this had a positive impact on people’s wellbeing and enabled them to maintain independence in their own homes.