The Inclusion Project

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. It provides a service to adults and younger adults living with various learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection there were 550 people using the service.

Not everyone using The Inclusion Project @ Home receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. There were eight people receiving the regulated activity at the time of the inspection.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

The Inclusion Project @ Home was an exceptionally well led family run business. There was value based, visible and effective leadership where the meaning of inclusion of people and staff in the development of the service was visible. The open and transparent culture resulted in an effectively organised, supportive and well-run service. The nominated individual who was also the provider and the registered manager demonstrated how their well-developed management structure and systems sustained continual development and improvement at the service. They were clear about their expectations relating to how the service should be provided and they led by example. Staff who supported people and the office staff team were passionate and fully committed to delivering quality person-centred support to people. This lead to people achieving positive outcomes.

The care service has been developed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service had been set up by the provider, who worked in the education sector previously and recognised the lack of support for people with learning disabilities and autism after they left school and college. The service aimed to support people to be included in the society, gain confidence and skills to seek employment and prevent social isolation. People and relatives feedback was overwhelmingly positive and demonstrated that the service achieved their aim and successfully supported people to live the life they wanted.

The registered manager held a PHD in inclusion of people in society and their ethos of social integration for people with learning disabilities, healthy and independent living were echoed by every person, relative and staff we received feedback from. A PhD is a degree awarded to people who have done advanced research into a particular subject.

People told us that staff were kind, compassionate and respectful towards them. They told us they trusted and felt safe with staff, who knew them well and encouraged them to be as independent as possible. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's care records were comprehensive, accurate and reflected the care and support provided. Staff understood the importance to maintain confidentiality and they protected people's privacy and dignity.

The registered manager and the provider worked in partnership with other providers and services involved in supporting people with learning disabilities. They acted as people`s voice in raising the general public`s awareness about the importance of non-discriminatory practices and inclusion of people with learning disabilities in society. Their campaign opened opportunities for people in terms of employment, further education and social activities.

Without exception, people and their relatives were extremely complimentary about their experience of using the service. They praised staff for their attitude and commitment and shared numerous examples of how staff consistently provided people with care and support tailored to people`s needs. They told us staff took time to get to know people and understand what was important to them and what they wanted to achieve. Staff supported people to achieve their goals and exceed their own expectations and this had a positive impact on people`s well-being. Everybody we spoke with said they highly recommend the service to others.

There were plans in place to help staff understand and meet people`s needs at all times. Each person using the service had a team of staff allocated. This allowed people to form relationships and trust with their staff team. Most of the team leaders had previous experience in the education sector and they were effectively coordinating each person`s care in their patch, managing their staff team and feeding back to the registered manager and provider regularly.

Staff received training and had regular supervisions to ensure that their development and performance was reviewed and support was in place for them to understand their roles and responsibilities.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found