We carried out a review of the data available to us about Vale View on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Vale View, you can give feedback on this service.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance, with the exception that the home accommodated more than six people. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live a life as any citizen and the staff within this service were exceptional in ensuring this was the case for people living at this home.
The vision of the service reflected these principles ensure people with learning disabilities have opportunities and choice and are supported to achieve their aspirations. Staff adopted the mission to provide person centred services that enable individuals to develop skills and behaviours to live independent lives.
Without exception, people were supported to achieve their goals. The staff and management team were creative, committed and determined to support people to live independent lives and challenge the barriers around supporting people with learning disabilities and autism.
The highly caring and inclusive culture at the service was outstanding. Staff demonstrated extremely caring values and showed a very positive regard for what was important and mattered to people. The trust developed between people and staff helped promote people's independence, confidence and helped them achieve excellent outcomes.
Respect for equality, diversity and inclusion was fully embedded within the service and integral to everything the staff did. Staff used innovative and effective ways to communicate with people and follow each person's wishes on their preferred method of communication.
People were supported to complete major achievements, relevant to each person’s individual wishes. People had made significant progress and the staff were proud of what they had accomplished and celebrated their achievements with them. People were supported with positive risk taking to develop their confidence and promote their independence.
People felt safe and were able to raise concerns. The registered manager and staff team provided safe care for people. They knew how to safeguard people from abuse and managed risk in ways that people continued to follow their lifestyle choices as much as possible. There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs and they had been recruited in a safe way.
People received their medicines as prescribed and were supported to access health professionals when required and attend annual health checks. People’s nutritional needs were met and they received a varied and nutritional diet which they were involved in the planning and preparation of.
People were supported to make their own choices and decisions as much as possible. Where people lacked capacity, the provider and registered manager worked within mental capacity legislation and consulted with relevant people on important decisions made in their best interest.
The registered manager and staff had an excellent understanding of people's needs. Staff found ways to improve people's lives by introducing creative activities that opened new possibilities for people and encouraged them to be active and healthy.
The service was exceptionally well-led by a registered manager who demonstrated strong values, led by example and had embedded an open and caring culture. Improvements were driven by the consistently high levels of constructive engagement with people, their relatives, staff and stakeholders; whose views were valued and supported positive changes within the service. People's concerns and complaints were taken seriously.
Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and their approach was caring and considerate. Staff had appropriate skills and knowledge to deliver care and support people in a person-centred way. The environment was clean, tidy and well maintained. People using the service were supported by staff to ensure effective cleaning took place and to protect people from the risk of infection.
People told us they were happy with the service they received and felt staff had a clear understanding of their needs and preferences.
Rating at the last inspection: Good (published March 2016).
For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.
We inspected Vale View on 27 January 2015. The inspection was unannounced.
Vale View provides accommodation and care for up to 10 younger adults who experience needs related to learning disabilities. It is located in the grounds of Toynton College in Toynton All Saints near Spilsby in Lincolnshire.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves. At the time of the inspection three people who lived in the home had their freedom restricted in order to keep them safe and four people were awaiting the outcomes of their assessments for a DoLS authorisation. The registered persons had acted in accordance with the MCA and DoLS guidance to ensure people had their rights protected.
People were safe living at the home. Staff understood how to identify, report and manage any concerns related to people’s safety and welfare. People were supported to understand the risks to their safety and how they could play a part in reducing those risks. Staff understood the importance of positive risk taking so that people could continue to develop their independence and adulthood in a safe way.
There was a warm and caring ‘family style’ atmosphere in the home throughout the visit; an atmosphere in which mutual trust between people and staff was evident. People’s support was delivered in a respectful and dignified manner, and they were encouraged to extend this dignity and respect to everyone they lived with. Staff were committed to ensuring there was a fair and equitable approach to care and support. The basis for this approach was a communication system that ensured everyone had a voice within the home.
People were actively involved in the running of the home and had a say about how the registered provider supported developments within the home. They were encouraged to voice their views and opinions and felt confident that staff would listen to them and take action where it was needed. Staff ensured people had every opportunity to make their own decisions and choices wherever they were able to do so. Staff acted in accordance with MCA principles and guidance in this regard and understood how to appropriately manage care and support in people’s best interests.
People and staff worked closely together to ensure everyone lived a life they enjoyed and that was meaningful for them. People were supported to involve others they considered important to them in planning and reviewing their care and support. This was to ensure they had an appropriate network to support them to achieve a fulfilling lifestyle. Staff had a detailed understanding of people’s needs, wishes and preferences and used this understanding to promote a person-centred approach to care and support. This included how people were supported to maintain good health and receive appropriate nutrition.
People were able to develop their presence in the local community. This was achieved by people being supported to undertake local work placements and enjoy using community social facilities such as local pubs and cinemas. People had individual activity plans that helped them to develop new interests and maintain those they liked. They had support to take holidays and maintain relationships with those who were important to them.
The registered manager promoted an open and supportive culture within the home for both people who lived there and the staff team. They maintained systems which ensured appropriate staff were employed to work with people and that they had the knowledge and skills to support people in a person-centred way. Systems were also in place to ensure the quality of services provided for people was of a good standard and would be improved where there was an identified need.
We spoke with five people who lived at the home, the manager, deputy manager and three members of care staff as well as senior members of the organisation.
People appeared happy and relaxed in their new surroundings. They told us staff did not help them to do anything unless they gave their permission first.
One person said, "I feel well looked after here and I'm happy too.' We saw good interaction between people who lived at the home and the care staff.
There were systems in place for the storage and safe administration of medicines. People told us they received their medicines on time.
People felt staff knew what they were doing. Staff told us they felt supported to deliver safe care to people. A member of staff told us, 'The support system and the team is really strong. I love it. '
People who lived at the home felt confident any concerns and complaints would be dealt with swiftly. A robust complaints system was in place.
We saw people who lived in the home received individualised care and support, from staff that were knowledgeable about their needs, wishes and preferences. Staff clearly understood each person's way of communicating their needs and wishes. They supported them to make choices and decisions about their lifestyles wherever they could do so. One person told us they had picked their key worker.
During our visit we were able to speak with two people who used the service.
People we spoke with were positive about the care and support they received. They told us the staff were nice and helped them to be independent. One person told us, "Staff are good, they help me." Another person said, 'Staff read my care plan with me and they help me with my goals.'
People we spoke with confirmed they felt safe at the service. They told us they could talk with the staff if they had any concerns.
During the visit we spoke with parents of one person who confirmed their satisfaction with all aspects of the service. They told us, 'We are very pleased with the service from Linkage' and 'Our son is much more independent now, this is down to the college and the great support from the staff.'