Warwickshire Supported Living

Who the service is for

This is a specialist service for younger and older people with a learning disability and autistic people. 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.

Key findings

We carried out this assessment on 17 and 21 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remained accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely. Risks were assessed and people were involved in the process. For example, staff considered how best to support people when they became anxious and adapted their approach in response to the individual’s reactions and needs at the time. Medicines were administered safely and there were systems in place to ensure the environment was safe for people and the staff supporting them.

There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff were confident senior staff would take prompt action to support people, if required. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. Where people are cared for in their own homes, this is done through The Court of Protection. Some Local Authorities refer to these as “Community Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)”, which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We found staff and management worked within the MCA. Systems were in place to identify and manage restrictions on people's liberty, including seeking Community DoLS authorisations where necessary. At the time of our inspection, no one was subject to a Community DoLS authorisation. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions, they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

Staff assessed and reviewed people’s needs and developed care plans to support staff to understand how to care for people safely. Where concerns were identified regarding people’s health, nutrition or fluid intake, staff worked with other health and social care professionals, including speech and language therapists and learning disability social workers, to ensure people received the support they needed. Staff monitored key aspects of people’s health and wellbeing to inform ongoing care and identify any changes in their needs. Staff also understood the importance of seeking people’s consent before providing care and support.

People were supported by compassionate and caring staff who recognised that the way support was provided to 1 person could affect others they lived with. Staff considered the needs of everyone using the service and adapted their approach to ensure each person felt valued, respected and included.

Staff spoke respectfully and kindly about people and valued the relationships they had developed with them. Staff respected and promoted people’s dignity and recognised that some people valued spending time alone. Staff balanced people’s needs for support with their right to independence.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s preferences and what mattered to them. They used this knowledge when caring for people, so they received person-centred care. Staff knew how to manage any concerns people raised to ensure they were addressed them promptly.

Staff understood the unique challenges people faced and took action to advocate on their behalf, helping to ensure they were treated fairly and had equitable access to services. One staff member described how they supported people to receive appropriate care from other health and social care organisations, saying, “You explain about people and then get the appointments [person’s name] needs.”

Staff described a leadership approach which focused on the needs of people using the service. One staff member told us the way the service was led showed them that, “[Managers] want the best for people.” Staff reported receiving good levels of support and access to advice when needed. This enabled them to support people safely, seek guidance from managers, and share learning through communication books, IT platforms and staff meetings. Staff gave examples of learning from their own practice and experiences, which had been shared tactfully and constructively following incidents or errors. They described an open culture in which incidents and near misses were viewed as opportunities for learning and continuous improvement.

The registered manager, service managers and provider completed checks on the quality and safety of the service. These including checking people received their medicines as prescribed, their finances were managed safely, and safety incidents and near misses were suitably managed. The registered manager and senior staff visited people in their own homes to check on the quality of the care they received. Following feedback from the inspector, the registered manager planned to further develop processes to ensure care calls were always delivered as planned to further check staff practice regarding use of foot plates on wheelchairs. This was to help ensure the registered manager was fully assured of people’s safety.