- Homecare service
Your Life (Tunbridge Wells)
Assessment report published 24 September 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
About the service
Your Life (Tunbridge Wells) is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes within an extra care scheme named The Dairy. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is owned or rented and is the person’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this assessment looked at people’s personal care and support service. At the time of our inspection 33 people were living at The Dairy of whom 5 were receiving personal care as a regulated activity.
Who the service is for
This service is registered to support younger and older adults who are living in their own home, however were only supporting older adults at the time of our inspection. This includes people living with physical disabilities or sensory impairments, as well as those with a diagnosis of dementia. Where people needed support with personal care tasks such as washing or dressing, staff could support them when needed alongside wider support with tasks such as cleaning, cooking and social support. People lived as part of a larger community, and outside of their care support were able to participate in a wide range of activities, socialise with their peers and live independent lives in line with their own wishes and interests.
Our view of the service
We carried out this inspection between 7 September 2026 and 17 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
We found the service was operating well and delivering a high standard of care that was personalised and supported people to have empowered and healthy lives whilst maintaining and growing important social connections. The registered manager told us, “We focus on trying to create an inclusive environment where everybody is happy and lives the best life they can. I think we are a happy and inclusive place where people receive care from people they trust and is not rushed. It is a very relaxed model of care.”
There was strong leadership which had a clear vision for the service based on treating each person as an individual and were continually looking to learn and improve the care being delivered. They undertook regular checks and audits to monitor the quality of care being delivered, to ensure it continued to be delivered safely and meet people’s expectations.
Risks to people were assessed and documented, with clear plans setting out how staff could manage them safely to protect people from harm. These included risks posed by the environments in which people lived. For example, where people might be at risk of falling, this had been assessed, consideration given to any hazards in people’s home that might increase the risk, and clear guidance in place for staff on how they could reduce these risks.
People were supported by a staff team who were knowledgeable about people and had received appropriate training to support their specific needs. They were safely recruited using checks such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), which are checks against the police national computer to support providers in making safer recruitment decisions.
Staff were proud of the care they delivered and passionate about supporting people to live positive lives. One staff member explained, "I am proud of how everybody works together. We are one happy family. You hear about places being like this, but here truly is. All the people and staff work together well and have a really good relationship. We are able to be ourselves at work, which is why it works so well and we can give back to people.”
There were systems in place to monitor people’s wellbeing and identify if their social or health needs had changed. The majority of people lived at The Dairy for many years without needing support with personal care, however if this changed their needs were reviewed alongside them to determine what level of support they required.
People’s independence and consent was promoted at all times, and care was provided in a way that was dignified and respected each person’s preferences and level of ability to undertake tasks themselves. All people being cared for had capacity to make decisions for themselves, however staff were knowledgeable about how they might identify this was not the case and processes they would follow if so to ensure their safety.
Any incidents were reviewed in detail to identify any contributory factors and learning that could be taken to prevent this from happening again in the future. Although no safeguarding events had occurred recently, staff knew how they might recognise abuse or neglect and how to report these appropriately including to bodies such as the local authority to ensure people’s welfare.
Professionals working with the service spoke about strong and positive relationships with the service, and their observations of how staff and leaders advocated for those in their care. One professional told us, “From what I have witnessed, people are always given the utmost respect and care. Even with end of life care, I have felt very reassured that The Dairy have put people first, and I am confident that they ask for further help appropriately.”
Another stakeholder we spoke with added, “The staff are very good at promoting independence and autonomy while providing appropriate support when people are unwell or require additional help. They are approachable, responsive and always willing to assist. We have been particularly impressed by how well the staff know people as individuals. They appear to have a good understanding of their psychosocial circumstances, family and relatives, backgrounds and individual needs, which is very helpful when we visit and allows for a genuinely holistic and person-centred approach to care. We also regularly receive positive feedback from people and their families regarding the support they receive.”
People's experience of this service
This inspection was carried out virtually due to care being delivered in people’s own homes. Phone calls were made to people, staff and professionals who worked with the service to gather feedback on their experiences.
People spoke highly about the support they received and the positive difference it made to their quality of life. They had formed strong and trusting relationships with staff, who they informed us knew them well and were always available if they needed support.
One person told us, “I’m very happy. It has been a difficult period of time in my life, but moving here has really helped. The staff here couldn’t be better, they’re absolutely lovely, all of them. They get me up in the morning and dressed, they help me down to the dining room for lunch. They will do anything I ask them to. They’re very reliable.”
People received care that was personalised to them and was regularly reviewed alongside them to make sure it continued to reflect their care needs and wishes. Changes could always be made if people identified things that were not working as well. There were also regular surveys and meetings to gather feedback, as well as any suggestions people had for improvements. One person explained, “We have an annual review which is automatic but if I want to talk to somebody I ask to see them. I feel I could approach anybody but if it was important decisions I would go to the duty manager.”
Care was given in a way that promoted people’s dignity and independence, for example through clear guidance which allowed staff to only deliver the level of personal care required to support people to have maximum control. One person told us about staff, “They wash me and are gentle. I think it would be very difficult to recruit them. You have to be a certain type of person. They will help me get my clothes off me.”
People spoke strongly about individual staff members and valued the consistency of staff they received which ensured they were supported by staff who knew their needs. One person told us, “We know all the staff, we have a house manager and 3 duty managers who work shifts, we have 9 carer/cleaners and they are all extremely capable and very lovely people.” They expressed how there was strong management in place who they could approach at any time and were confident they would resolve any issues. Another person told us, “They treat me very well. [Name] is in charge here, she’s a lovely lady, I don’t think she stands any nonsense. She’s very kind.”
People received the support they needed when they needed it, and referrals were made to wider health and care services to support them if needed. For example, one person told us they had fallen but staff were with them in under 2 minutes and worked with them to ensure they got the ongoing support they required.
The service advocated for people to support them for remaining in their own home and removing any obstacles to people doing so safely. One person had recently deteriorated in their health and had to move into a care home for a while. However, the provider had worked closely with them to facilitate them in moving back into their own home and living more independently again.
People lived in a vibrant community, and the support provided by the staff allowed people to live positive lives and engage with their peers in a wide range of social activities at The Dairy.