Education and Services for People with Autism Limited - 35-37 Portland Avenue

Updated 29 December 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector.

Service and service type

Education and Services for People with Autism Limited - 35-37 Portland Avenue is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Education and Services for People with Autism Limited - 35-37 Portland Avenue is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people and staff at home to speak with us. Inspection activity started on 9 November 2022 and ended on 24 November 2022.

We visited the location on 9 November 2022 and returned unannounced on 15 November 2022. We continued to speak to people involved with the service and review information until 24 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During our inspection we spoke with 3 people who used the service. Some of the people who used the service had complex needs which limited their communication. This meant they could not always tell us their views of the service, so we observed all 4 people who used the service interacting with staff. We spoke with the registered manager, a senior support worker and 3 support workers. After the visit we received feedback from 2 health and social care professionals. We also spoke with 3 relatives by telephone.

We looked at a variety of records relating to the safety and management of the service, including policies and procedures, staff recruitment, risk assessments and safety checks.

Updated 29 December 2022

About the service

Education and Services for People with Autism Limited - 35-37 Portland Avenue is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 4 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

People lived safely and free from unwarranted restrictions because the service assessed, monitored and managed safety well. Infection control measures were in place, people were supported by staff to keep their home safe and clean. Some maintenance issues in bathrooms were addressed during the inspection. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. People and their relative’s views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. There were enough skilled and experienced staff who knew people well to safely meet people's needs, for example their communication needs. One relative told us, “Staff sometimes understand [person] better than I do.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care:

People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. People were kept safe from avoidable harm because staff knew them well and understood how to protect them from abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so.

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People and relatives commented on the positive atmosphere, values and caring attitudes of staff. One relative told us, “[Person] really likes living there. They like the situation and where it is amongst the community. They know the neighbours and are not isolated.” People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Staff turnover was low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 21 December 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the length of time since the last inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Education and Services for People with Autism Limited - 35-37 Portland Avenue on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.