Rutland Road Care Home

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 good. At this assessment the rating has changed to outstanding. This meant service leadership was exceptional and distinctive. Leaders and the culture they created drove and improved high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 89 (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 very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and an exceptional understanding of the challenges and the needs of people and their communities. Information about this was made widely available to staff and underpinned staff development and support. The provider encouraged open conversations and listened to people, relatives and staff. They promoted a culture based on kindness, honesty and respect. Staff understood the values and applied them in their work. The provider supported equality and diversity both in service delivery and in relation to the workforce. They worked with people and partners to shape the service and improve experiences. Staff said the provider and the management team were visible, approachable and supportive. We observed very positive relationships between people, staff and management. Staff felt safe to share ideas and concerns and told us management were responsive to any issues they raised. The culture was consistently positive and focused on supporting people to live meaningful, enjoyable lives, with staff going out of their way to make sure this happened. For example, 1 person was recently discovered to have a family member who they had lost contact with many years ago. Staff had supported the person to make the first steps towards rekindling a relationship with them.

The provider and management team were exceptionally inclusive and understood the service, deeply shaping care with genuine insight and compassion. The management team demonstrated the organisation’s values clearly in how they worked each day. They led with strong skills, deep knowledge and clear credibility, and they consistently demonstrated integrity, openness and honesty in all decisions and interactions. They were visible and built strong, trusting relationships with people and we observed they were clearly passionate about providing an exceptional service. They were innovative and thought creatively about how to design support that met people’s needs and enhanced their quality of life. This included developing bespoke opportunities for people to follow their aspirations and interests. This could be by making use of existing opportunities such as taking guitar lessons or by creating a day service where 1 person was able to explore their interest in maths. The provider and home manager supported staff to grow, encouraged learning and celebrated their strengths. They acted quickly to address cultural issues and protected people from poor practice. For example, records showed when a recent incident occurred, the home manager took swift and decisive action to address it and support the people affected appropriately. The provider ensured recruitment stayed safe and values based‑ and supported the home manager well. Staff said leaders brought out their best and created a culture where everyone felt respected. People felt confident because staff championed their rights and shaped the service around their needs.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff felt safe to speak up and trusted the management team to listen and act. The management team responded to concerns with honesty and respect and discussed learning with the team. We saw records showed the management team had responded swiftly and appropriately to concerns raised by staff about a recent issue at the service. Staff said managers welcomed challenge and supported everyone to raise issues early. They felt confident to share worries, ideas and feedback without fear. The culture stayed open, supportive and focused on learning, which helped people receive safer, better care.

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. Managers listened to staff and checked that everyone felt respected and treated equally. They supported staff with reasonable adjustments and flexible working when needed. They encouraged open conversations so staff with different backgrounds felt heard. Staff said they felt safe to speak up and trusted the management team to act. The provider also promoted wellbeing and made sure support was easy to access. This approach helped staff feel valued and able to give people the best care.

The provider had very clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver high-quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. The home manager was exceptionally well organised‑ and used strong governance to keep the service safe and well run. The management team all had clearly delegated responsibilities and knew what they needed to do and when to ensure effective oversight was maintained‑. They completed regular, detailed audits and used the findings to drive meaningful improvements. Staff received high quality supervision, appraisal and ongoing training that strengthened skills and maintained safe practice. The management team tracked risks closely and acted immediately when issues arose and supported staff to learn from outcomes. They shared important information securely and submitted statutory notifications on time. Staff understood their responsibilities and used clear processes to report concerns. Managers checked quality of the support provided ‑often and communicated changes to staff clearly. ‑People’s views shaped decisions, and managers used feedback to refine practice and improve experiences. The service remained exceptionally well managed, accountable and focused on delivering safe, sustainable, high quality care.

The provider clearly understood and carried out their duty to collaborate and worked in partnership, and services worked seamlessly for people. They always shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. Managers and staff shared information openly and involved people, relatives (when appropriate) and other professionals in decisions. Staff understood which external services could support people and contacted them when needed. Staff said communication with other services was clear and timely. People confirmed the service worked well with others and helped their care feel smooth and coordinated. 1 person said, “They get it all sorted out.”

The management and staff helped people stay connected with their local community and supported them to join groups that enriched their lives but also developed bespoke in-house opportunities where this met people’s needs better. They actively sought out new opportunities for people to contribute to the local community. For example, the home manager had approached a local farm and arranged for people (who wanted to) to become involved in the care of the animals. They worked with partners to share learning and improve outcomes for people. People said the service listened to them about what made their life better and planned support around this. 1 person said, “Staff listen to me and find out what I want to do. Then they can help me to do it.”

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, good outcomes and improved quality of life for people. The home manager welcomed feedback and used it to shape meaningful change. Staff shared ideas freely and felt confident to suggest new ways of working. Managers helped staff develop skills in improvement and gave time for learning. They reviewed incidents with people and used learning to prevent repeat issues. Staff discussed ideas in meetings and worked together to solve problems. They worked with partners to share learning and improve outcomes for people. People said the service listened and learned from them about the best way to support them.