St Brannocks

Updated 11 February 2025

Date of assessment: 2 to 10 March 2025. St Brannocks is a care home for up to six autistic people, people with a learning disability and people who need support to maintain good mental health. We undertook this assessment as we had been made aware of some concerns regarding people’s support relating to their mobility and when they were distressed.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, Right care, Right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. The ethos of the home ensured people received person-centred care from staff who were skilled and trained. Staff supported people to be themselves, safely explore different aspects of themselves and learn new skills. The management team ensured that any incidents were analysed and learnt from, and staff dynamically assessed risks relating to people’s support to ensure their safety. Staff knew people and their communication needs well, knew what made them happy and how to support them to manage distress or anxiety. The staff team and people who used the service had faced some recent challenges, however their cohesion and sense of community persisted through these. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and the provider followed evidence-based frameworks to underpin people’s support. The environment was safe and people and the staff team had chosen paint colours, new furniture and décor items for a planned redecoration of the communal areas. Staff supported people with their cultural and spiritual needs and worked together with people to identify and achieve their goals. People were involved with the running of the service and made decisions about their day-to-day lives. The provider and management team had systems in place to check and improve the safety and quality of the service people received.

Updated 11 February 2025

We spoke with 5 people who use the service about their experiences of living at St Brannocks. We spoke with 1 person’s relative and a professional who works with 1 person who uses the service to gain their views. We also observed how people and staff interacted and how comfortable people felt in their home. People told us they were very happy in their home and with the staff supporting them. One person said, “I can be myself here.” People had opportunities to have their say and told us they were confident any concerns they raised would be addressed. People told us about the goals they had set for themselves and how staff supported them to achieve these, including any reasonable adjustments they needed. People told us there were enough staff to support them to do what they wished, although one person told us that at times they felt there weren’t enough drivers in the staff team. People told us about how kind and compassionate the staff and management team were, and how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. People appreciated the specific support they received through the keyworker system, and were especially complimentary about their own keyworkers and the support they provided.