- Care home
The Bungalow
We served warning notices on Really Flexible Care Ltd on 1 September 2026 for failing to meet the regulations related to the safe care and treatment and good governance at The Bungalow.
Assessment report published 29 October 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 26 May to 21 August 2026. We visited the care home on the 26 May and the 1 and 7 June. We carried out this assessment due to concerns about the quality and safety of the care being provided to people.
The Bungalow is a respite service providing accommodation and personal care for autistic people and people with a learning disability. The service is situated within a rural site alongside 2 other services operated by the provider. The care home accommodates up to 4 people, and the respite service supports 14 people on a rotational basis.
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 last rating for this service was good. At this assessment, the rating has changed to requires improvement.
This assessment was comprehensive covering all the quality statements. The provider was in breach of the legal regulations relating to person centred care, safety, and the governance of the service.
People were not consistently supported in a way that promoted safe, person-centred care. Some concerns had not been recognised or escalated appropriately, and improvements were required to environmental safety and maintenance. People's dignity, independence and choice were not always upheld. Governance and oversight arrangements had not been sufficiently robust to identify and address these concerns in a timely way. The provider had not ensured the service operated in line with the principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture. People were not consistently supported to achieve meaningful outcomes, develop independence or live the lives they chose.
In instances where CQC has decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.
People's experience of this service
People living in the home were not able to talk to us about the care they received. We completed observations of people’s care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us and made telephone calls to people’s relatives.
People's experiences of support required improvement. Whilst people were supported by staff who knew them well, people did not always receive care and support that was fully tailored to their individual needs, preferences and aspirations. Opportunities to support people to develop independence, engage in meaningful activities and achieve positive outcomes were not consistent.
People were supported by familiar staff; however, opportunities to promote choice, control, dignity and independence were sometimes missed. Some aspects of the environment required improvement to ensure people received support in surroundings that were safe and well maintained.
People had access to healthcare services if required, but support to promote healthier lifestyles and wellbeing was not always consistent. Opportunities to encourage a wider range of meaningful activities, social engagement and healthy living choices were not always evident.
Relatives we spoke with were generally positive about the service and the management team. One relative told us, "I’ve never had a concern, but would speak with the manager,"
However, our assessment identified concerns relating to the quality and safety of people’s care, the safety and suitability of the environment, and the effectiveness of governance and oversight arrangements. These issues had not been addressed in a timely way, meaning people were not consistently supported to achieve the best possible outcomes.