Oak House

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated Outstanding. This meant people were truly respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care in an exceptional service.

This service scored 90 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People were consistently treated with kindness, compassion and empathy, and their privacy and dignity were respected at all times. Staff also treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect, which supported strong, positive multi‑agency working.

Relatives spoke very positively about the caring approach of staff. One relative told us, “Staff are always kind, we feel very fortunate [person’s name] lives there.”

During our observations, staff consistently treated people with dignity and respect. Where people required support with eating and drinking, staff provided assistance patiently and at the person’s preferred pace. When additional support was needed, for example if food fell onto clothing, staff responded discreetly and sensitively to preserve people’s dignity.

Dignity and respect were clearly embedded within everyday practice. Staff demonstrated a strong understanding of how to promote and protect dignity consistently. One staff member explained, “We treat people with dignity and respect at all times. I always knock before entering rooms and involve people in decisions about their care.”

Visiting professionals also spoke highly of the kindness shown by staff. One professional told us, “The service provided is exceptional and there is clear evidence of genuine care and passion to help people reach their potential.”

People’s achievements were recognised and celebrated. The provider tailored communication approaches, adapted the environment and developed individualised strategies to meet people’s needs. This supported people’s emotional wellbeing and helped them shape their daily routines.

All staff had completed equality, diversity and human rights training and worked in line with the provider’s Equality and Human Rights Policy, ensuring people were treated fairly, respectfully and without discrimination.

The provider was exceptional in treating people as individuals and in ensuring people’s care, support and treatment were fully tailored to their needs, preferences and aspirations. People’s strengths, abilities, life experiences, culture, protected characteristics and personal ambitions were central to care planning and delivery, resulting in highly personalised outcomes.

Relatives consistently described the service as extremely person‑centred and spoke about the exceptional level of trust they had in the provider and staff team. One relative told us about a person being supported to go on holiday abroad, describing this as a significant step. They told us, “Some days I don't even think about [person]; that was unheard of before. I know the staff team care about [person] and I have faith and trust in the staff team, they go over and above. I couldn’t commend it high enough.”

This demonstrated the impact the service had on people’s confidence, independence and the peace of mind of those close to them.

People’s individual strengths and ambitions were actively explored, encouraged and celebrated. One person enjoyed being given meaningful responsibility within the home, another benefitted from being supported into paid employment, while others were supported to set and achieve personal goals that mattered to them. Achievements, both big and small, were recognised and celebrated by staff, reinforcing people’s sense of value, purpose and self‑esteem.

The provider went further by supporting people to contribute positively to their communities. People were enabled to give back through activities such as fundraising for charities and taking part in community litter‑picking initiatives, helping people to feel connected, valued and proud of their contributions. A staff member told us, “People are constantly being empowered, and care and support is tailored to help people meet their set goals and achieve their dreams.”

Staff invested time in getting to know people as individuals, supporting them to explore activities of interest, develop independent living skills and have meaningful conversations about what mattered to them in their home and daily lives. People were supported to complete easy‑read review forms to share their experiences, views and feedback, with family involvement encouraged where appropriate. This ensured people’s voices were central to continuous review and improvement of care and support.

The provider was exceptional in promoting people’s independence and ensuring people understood their rights and had genuine choice and control over their care, treatment and wellbeing. People were actively supported and empowered to make decisions about their lives, resulting in increased confidence, skills and autonomy.

Relatives consistently told us that people’s independence was proactively encouraged, both within the home and in working towards personal goals. One relative told us, “They try and involve [person’s name] in all aspects of the home, cooking, cleaning and so on.” Other relatives praised the provider’s strong focus on supporting people to achieve their individual goals and aspirations, which had a significant positive impact on people’s wellbeing, confidence and abilities.

Staff spoke passionately about enabling people to have choice, control and full lives within their communities. One staff member told us, “The service tries as much as possible for people to live their best life.” Another staff member explained, “The service is very responsive to people’s diverse needs, preferences and aspirations by enabling people to make their choice of action at any time. People have their separate aspirations and goals, and they are encouraged to be independent as far as possible in carrying out their activities.”

This demonstrated a strong culture of empowerment and respect for individual autonomy.

People were supported to exercise meaningful choice and control in all aspects of their daily lives. Each person had regular monthly key‑worker meetings where progress towards goals was reviewed, achievements were recognised and new aspirations were agreed. This ensured people were actively involved in shaping their support and encouraged to move forward at a pace that was right for them.

Staff consistently used encouragement and active support to help people develop and maintain independence within their home and everyday lives. This approach supported people to build skills, confidence and resilience, promoting independence rather than creating dependency.

Individual support plans were highly person‑centred and reflected people’s histories, preferences, interests and their physical, mental, emotional and social needs. This enabled people to experience a good quality of life, exercise autonomy in decisions that mattered to them, and maintain control over how their support was delivered.

The provider listened to people, understood their needs and responded appropriately to people’s views, wishes and concerns. Staff were responsive to people’s needs in the moment and acted promptly to reduce discomfort, anxiety or distress.

Relatives told us people received the right support at the time they needed it. One relative said, “[Person] needs a lot of support, and they have been involved in incidents, but the staff are great. The amount of things they do is incredible.” This demonstrated that families felt confident in staff’s ability to respond effectively to people’s needs, including during periods of distress.

During the inspection, we observed people becoming anxious, and staff responded quickly and calmly. Staff used patience, reassurance and appropriate support strategies to help people feel safe and settled, minimising distress and offering comfort in a timely way.

Care records and documentation confirmed people received support as and when required. Where appropriate, referrals were made to external professionals to ensure people’s needs were met. We reviewed records of a multi‑disciplinary meeting held in response to a person’s distressed behaviour, where strategies were discussed, reviewed and shared with the whole staff team. This helped ensure staff responses were consistent and aligned with professional guidance.

The provider actively promoted staff wellbeing and supported staff to remain healthy, valued and effective in their roles, enabling them to consistently deliver person‑centred care.

Staff told us the service placed a strong emphasis on wellbeing and provided appropriate support following challenging situations. One staff member described the support they received after being involved in a particularly difficult incident, telling us, “The management are very supportive; they couldn’t have done more. They have regular check‑ins with me, and we go through thoughts and feelings.” This demonstrated that staff felt listened to and supported emotionally, helping them to continue working safely and confidently.

The provider recognised the impact that menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have on staff wellbeing and performance and had taken steps to address this proactively. A menopause policy and procedure were in place and were understood by the staff team.