The Care Quality Commission
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Broom Lane

Overall: Outstanding read more about inspection ratings

4-10 Broom Lane, Levenshulme, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M19 2TL (0161) 975 9390

Provided and run by:
City Care Partnership Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of assessment: 16 April 2026 to 18 May 2026

Broom Lane is a supported living service providing personal care to 12 people living in their own homes. Some people using the service had a learning disability. Not everyone receiving support required personal care. CQC only inspects the regulated activity ‘personal care’, which includes support with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating.

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.

The service demonstrated a strong and distinctive culture of care, where people were consistently treated with kindness, compassion and respect. Staff developed meaningful relationships with people and understood their individual preferences, communication styles and routines. Care was delivered in a way that consistently promoted dignity, independence and choice, with people actively involved in decisions about their care and support.

People experienced highly personalised and responsive care that was consistently delivered across the service. Care planning, delivery and review were tailored to individual needs and focused on achieving meaningful outcomes. Staff worked in a coordinated way to respond to changes in need, and systems supported both immediate responses and forward planning. This led to more consistent support, with some people experiencing fewer periods of distress and increased engagement in activities that were important to them.
People were supported to achieve positive outcomes and maintain a good quality of life. Assessments were thorough and informed care delivery, and staff worked effectively with external professionals to ensure support remained appropriate. There was clear evidence of sustained improvement for individuals, including increased engagement and reduced distress where changes to support had been implemented and embedded over time.

People were supported by a skilled and committed staff team. Recruitment, training and competency processes ensured staff had the knowledge and skills to provide safe and effective care. Staff knew people well and delivered care in a consistent and informed way. Staffing arrangements supported continuity, enabling people to receive care from staff who understood their needs and preferences and contributed to stable and predictable support.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Safeguarding processes were well established, consistently applied and supported a proactive approach to risk management. Risks were identified and managed in a way that balanced safety with independence and choice. Systems to monitor safety were effective, and learning from incidents led to improvements in care and reduced risks over time.

Leadership at the service was strong, visible and focused on maintaining and improving high standards of care. Leaders had embedded governance systems that provided oversight of quality and safety and supported continuous learning and improvement. There was a positive and open culture, where staff felt supported and able to raise concerns. Leaders used information to identify patterns, implement changes and monitor their impact over time, resulting in sustained improvements in practice and people’s experiences.

The service worked in close partnership with health and social care professionals and other organisations to support people’s care and wellbeing. Partnership working was proactive and contributed to coordinated care, timely responses to changes in need and improved outcomes for people.

Overall, Broom Lane provided a high quality, person-centred service with a strong culture of care, effective leadership and clear evidence of sustained improvement. Care was consistently delivered to a high standard across the service, and several aspects of practice were embedded and demonstrably effective over time. As a result, people experienced consistently responsive, enabling and person-centred support, and outcomes for people were consistently better than expected in key areas of their care.
 

19 July 2017

During a routine inspection

This was an announced inspection carried out on the 19 and 20 July 2017. We last inspected the service on 16 July 2014. At that time, the service was rated ‘Good’ across each of the five key questions.

Broom Lane, part of City Care Partnership, provides high quality person-centred support to people aged 18 and over living with autism and/or a learning disability. Modern purpose built accommodation and communal facilities are provided in partnership with a Registered Social Landlord.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Broom Lane is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide support for up to 18 people. At the time of our inspection visit, 17 people were supported and the service had one vacancy. Located in Levenshulme, the service benefits from excellent transport links to Manchester City Centre and Stockport.

The model of support offered at Broom Lane provides a unique combination of transition services with varied supported living accommodation. Five apartments were designed for people with significant social communication issues and who cannot share space easily with others. 24 hour support is available for these people. Eight apartments are designed to support individuals who are able to manage quite independently, still require periodic support through the day, but who do not necessarily need support at night. If support is needed at night, staff are readily available. These apartments are similar in design to mainstream social housing apartments to ease people’s transition into mainstream housing where it is appropriate. The shared house, comprising of two studio flats and three single occupancy bedrooms, was designed for younger people entering services.

Due to the nature of the service provided at Broom Lane we gave 24 hours’ notice. This enabled the service to produce a ‘social story.’ Social stories are a method of sharing information using visual supports. This helped people who used the service at Broom Lane understand why we were visiting their home.

There was a truly open and welcoming atmosphere on entering the premises. The registered manager, staff and people who used the service at Broom Lane were enthusiastic about the inspection visit and were eager to share experiences. One person who used the service gave the inspection team an interesting and engaging audio visual presentation of their photographic skills.

Everyone we spoke with confirmed they considered Broom Lane to be a safe place to live. The service had an ethos of ‘Manage Risk, Maximise Life.’ This ethos was brought to life in the way people were supported to have as much freedom of choice in their lives as possible.

People who used the service at Broom Lane were supported by well trained and highly skilled staff. The service demonstrated industry leading best practice through continued professional accreditation with The National Autistic Society. It was strikingly apparent that the service had the right people, doing the right job at the right time. This meant the service was highly effective in responding to people’s individual needs.

A comprehensive induction and training programme was in place for new staff and a framework for continuous professional development was well embedded for established staff. All new employees were required to sign-up to complete the Care Certificate. We saw how the service had adapted the Care Certificate syllabus in order to make it more relevant for supporting people living with autism and learning disabilities.

The services ethos, vision and values promoted people’s rights to make choices and live fulfilled and valued lives. This was well reflected in the exceptional care and support people received from a committed, passionate and caring group of staff. Staff demonstrating kindness, patience and respect and people were given time to express themselves fully. Staff knew people well and interactions were relaxed. People who used the service spoke with great fondness and affection about the staff.

The open, inclusive and supportive nature of the service meant that promoting equality and diversity and respecting people’s human rights was a golden thread that ran through every aspect of the service.

Broom Lane benefited from a long-serving and well established management team. The registered manager was well supported by area team leaders and benefited from the input of an experienced regional manager. At provider level, the director of health & social care maintained oversight and knew the service well.

The registered manager and the wider leadership team were inspiring and dedicated to providing support which met the highest of standards. They strived for excellence through collaboration; they were passionate and dedicated to providing an outstanding service to people. They led with a dynamic approach and continually reflected on how to improve the service further. They demonstrated a strong and supportive leadership style, seeking feedback in order to further improve what was offered. The culture of the service was open, transparent and progressive. All the staff were committed to continuous improvement of the service.

The service had renewed its commitment to the Health Charter for Social Care Providers. This is a national evidence based initiative designed to tackle health inequalities that people with learning disabilities experience. The service explored innovative ways to ensure people maintained good health. This meant people’s health outcomes were greatly improved.

A flagship initiative for the service was the continued development of Yew Tree Activity Hub. This community based resource offered a comprehensive programme of activities that were suited to people who enjoyed more physical work or for those who flourished by being creative and expressive.

The provider was exceptional at developing new and innovative ways to enable people who used their network of services to access inclusive and purposeful paid and unpaid employment opportunities.

People were exceptionally well supported when transitioning between services. This included support provided before a person moved into the service and throughout their placement.

People were actively encouraged to give their views and raise concerns or complaints. There was a clear, unambiguous complaints policy and procedure that was accessible to everyone. Easy-to-read documentation was used to good effect and people’s complaints were captured effectively and clear explanations given as to how the matter would be resolved.

People received support which was in line with their needs and preferences. People had a wide range of individual assessments tailored to meet the needs of people living with autism and/or a learning disability. This included comprehensive assessments and support plans centred around promoting independence. For example behaviour support, communication, sensory issues, a wide range of activities and employment opportunities.

Staff demonstrated an in-depth awareness of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) within a community setting.

Information and explanations was provided to people through the use of ‘social stories’. Social stories are a method of sharing information using visual supports. These were used to excellent effect at Broom Lane, were highly person centred and utilised in a variety of innovative ways.

16 July 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service. 

This inspection on 16 July 2014 was unannounced.  The one previous inspection of Broom Lane in April 2013 found no breaches of regulations. The service had opened in July 2012.

Broom Lane is a purpose-built supported living scheme for young people with a diagnosis of autism. 18 people can be accommodated. At the date of our visit there was one vacancy. There are three buildings on the same site. Two buildings contain independent flats; one set of flats is for people able to live more independently, the second set is for those with more complex needs. The third building is a shared house with five bedrooms, two of which have self-catering facilities. This house is described as a “transition and assessment” service. The flats in the other buildings are intended for long term occupation. The service is in the centre of Levenshulme with easy access to Manchester city centre and Stockport.

There was a registered manager who had been in post since the month before the service opened in July 2012.  A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

We found that the service kept people safe, and that staff were well trained to deal with the particular needs of this group of people. We found that the service provided good care specifically related to the varied needs of people living in Broom Lane. Ample activities were arranged, according to people’s abilities. The service had a problem with high staff turnover, but was adopting strategies to deal with the issue.

10 April 2013

During a routine inspection

We talked with four people: three people who used the service and one other person's representative. People told us they were happy with the service provided at Broom Lane.

People who used the service said:

'I can do what I like.'

'The staff are very kind.'

And:

'The staff are nice with me.'

The representative commented:

'I have had no issues with this service.'

We found the service ensured that people who used the service were treated with dignity and respect.

We found people were safeguarded from harm because their physical and emotional health care needs were assessed and the appropriate support offered.

We found the service protected vulnerable adults from harm by following the correct safeguarding rules and guidelines.

We found the service had systems in place to check the quality of the service and this included finding out the opinions of people who used the service and their representatives.