A good care home for people with a learning disability

Read our story about a good care home for people with a learning disability.

This story is about a care home in southern England for adults with a learning disability.

The home has an excellent reputation for meeting and often exceeds many standards.

The home is especially good at involving the residents in the home’s decision making.

In fact, its residents feel so empowered that they recently took part in a pilot study which involved them in helping to carry out CSCI inspections.

“We’re very confident in our residents and we always encourage them to take part in deciding how the home is run” says its owner, Cass.

“We want them to feel that it is their own home. It’s rather like a family, except that there are no mother or father figures.

“The staff are there to act as facilitators. They work with the clients, not for them, and this is very empowering for our residents.”

CSCI used pictures and other graphics, rather than wordy inspection guides, to help the home's residents take part in the inspection.

The residents took to their new roles with great confidence, probably because they were already used to being involved in the day-to-day running of the home.

Inspectors had already noticed an open and inclusive atmosphere in the home. They were aware that residents had a voice at the home's regular meetings.

Friendly and caring atmosphere

The inspectors had also been impressed by the home's friendly and caring atmosphere.

Most of the staff had been there for a long time and loved their jobs, giving the residents a similar consistency of care as they would receive in a family.

Last year, the home won the Investors in People award for the third time running.

“We recently had a big party for three staff members who’d reached their 10 year anniversary with us,” said the mangager Cass, “and we’ve got another one coming up soon.”

“We give our staff a lot of training as our aim is to get them to a standard where they can run the home in this inclusive way, as quickly as possible.”

The home regularly organises outings and holidays for its residents, both in Britain and abroad.

Residents have formed strong friendships since meeting at the home. Two of them recently got married and they have their own room and lounge.

But, most importantly, although the home regularly meets and exceeds all standards, it still continues to look for, and explore new ways of building on its achievements.

“I’m not saying it’s easy to run a home this way,” says Cass. “It’s more time consuming, because you have to sit down and listen to what the clients have to say.

“But at the end of the day, you have a much happier home where both staff and clients feel valued and respected.”