We carried out a review of the data available to us about The Fallowfield Project 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 The Fallowfield Project, you can give feedback on this service.
The Fallowfield Project offers 24 hour support to people within a home environment via individual supported tenancies. The service is registered to provide support for 20 people. 16 people used the service at the time of this inspection.
Support is provided to people aged 18 years and over who live with complex needs, including mental health support needs and/or a learning disability. Some people may be subject to certain formal or informal conditions under the Mental Health Act 1983. Accommodation and communal facilities are provided across three houses, all of which are situated within a two-minute walk of each other. One house is dedicated to supporting females only, another house is dedicated to males, with the other property being mixed male and female.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found:
People who used the service expressed a view they wished to be referred to as ‘tenants.’ Therefore, this phrase is used throughout this report.
The positive culture, ethos, vision and values of the service were strikingly apparent from the moment you walked into the service. Each and every member of staff we spoke with demonstrated a high values base and were clearly highly invested in ensuring the service was a caring and supportive environment for everyone.
A ‘whole service’ approach to equality, diversity and human rights had been well established into all aspects of service delivery. This included support tailored to people who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, people of non-white heritage, people who practised faith and those of none.
Many tenants had spent significant periods of their lives in long-term institutional care, with regimented regimes and little personal choice. Staff took a forward thinking and dynamic approach to positive risk-taking which meant risks associated with participation in meaningful activities were not considered a barrier.
The philosophy of the service was to focus on the individual rather than a diagnosis or offending history, and to recognise and celebrate people’s unique values, personalities and personal histories. Everyone was considered an equal partner in their personal support journey. Tenants were supported to express their views in a way that was personalised to the individual.
Supporting people to engage in meaningful occupation and activities was a key stand-out feature of the service. Recent examples of positive outcomes included supporting individuals to move-on from the service and into independent living; helping people secure both paid and unpaid employment opportunities; and supporting people to achieve their educational goals.
The service benefited from a highly experienced and long-serving registered manager and team leader. They were exceptionally well supported by a workforce who knew people extremely well and worked flexibly to meet people’s individual needs.
Systems and processes for audit, quality assurance and questioning of practice were highly effective and well embedded into everyday practice. External health and social care professionals described leadership and management as ‘distinctive’ and ‘unique’ within the sector.
Providing a role for tenants to help evaluate the service from their expert perspectives was well embedded into every practice. There was a mechanism to support tenants in understanding what quality looked like and to increase participation.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
At the last inspection the service was rated good. (published 12 January 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned 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
The Fallowfield Project is a supported living service that provides supported living to men and women with a learning disability and/or a mental health diagnosis. The service has three houses, all in close proximity. The houses in total can accommodate up to twenty people. The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
At this inspection people told us they felt safe living at the service and with the staff who supported them. Staff knew how to keep people safe and what to do if they witnessed any incidents that concerned them. Management plans were in place to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm and ensured people were not subject to unnecessary restrictions. Staffing arrangements enabled people to do the things they wanted to do. We have made a recommendation about the management of some medicines.
People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide good care. People made their own decisions and staff provided support whenever they needed help. Systems were in place to help people stay healthy. Everyone was involved in menu planning, food shopping, preparing and cooking meals. People told us they got good support with their healthcare and attended appointments if they needed specialist support. Health action plans usually provided good information although some needed updating, which the registered manager said would be done straightaway.
People told us they were treated with dignity and respect. They were complimentary about the care they received and the staff who supported them. Staff knew people well and were confident everyone received good care.
People were involved in planning their care and the support they received met their preferences and needs. People’s support plans were personalised and identified what was important to them.
People enjoyed a range of person centred activities within the home and the community. People took responsibility for communal household tasks and their own daily living tasks such as laundering their clothes and cleaning their room. People told us they were comfortable talking to staff or management and would raise any concerns.
The service had good management and leadership. We received positive feedback from people who used the service and staff about the registered manager. People told us they felt listened to and were encouraged to put forward suggestions and ideas. The provider and management team at The Fallowfield Project monitored the service to make sure people were receiving safe and effective care.
Arrangements were in place to help ensure people developed and maintained community and relationship links.
Care records contained enough information to show how people were to be supported and cared for. They showed that people were involved in the making of decisions about their care and support.
An inspection of the care records showed that people had access to other health and social care services. Staff worked closely with other agencies so that people's needs were effectively met. We were also made aware of the systems that were in place to make sure that information was passed on when a person's care was transferred to another service.
We saw that appropriate arrangements were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Staff had received training in the protection of vulnerable adults and knew what to do if an allegation of abuse was made to them or if they suspected that abuse had occurred.
Arrangements were in place to ensure that people using the service were cared for and supported by enough skilled and experienced staff.
Regular monitoring of the services and facilities provided was in place to help protect people against the risks of inappropriate or unsafe care.
The people we spoke with told us they were happy with the care they received. They told us the staff were friendly and supportive.
The people we spoke with told us they administered their own medication and that the staff regularly prompted them when their medication was due. They also told us they were happy with the staff and felt there were enough staff around when they needed them.
For the purposes of report writing, the people receiving a supportive living service will be referred to as tenants and the Clinical Nurse Manager as nurse.
We spoke to six of the tenants living in the three houses, which make up The Fallowfield Project.
One tenant told us: "It's been a good stepping stone for me. I enjoy living here, I feel respected and valued, the staff are great and my views are listened to."
In a different house, one tenant told us: "I am a volunteer in the local community and I hope to get paid employment soon, the staff here support you to find activities to do."
One tenant told us they felt: "Respected, liked and trusted, it's a nice feeling after all I've been through."
Another tenant living in one of The Fallowfield Project houses said: 'You can talk to staff whenever you need to, the manager, she's the boss like, she's great, things have really changed since she has been around-really great and the staff if you ask them anything and they don't know they find out, you can't ask for more really."
One tenant told us: 'I didn't want to be in supported living and I wanted to go from hospital to a flat on my own but I'm glad now I took time to 'convalesce' here.'
One tenant described how they were assisted and supported by the care workers to find voluntary work: "The staff meet with me once a month on a one to one basis and they help me discus what I would like to do and they help me find ways to see if I can do it."
One tenant when asked about the supportive living service said: "The staff are all alright and they really know me now and what I like to do and not to do. I like living here."