CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at School House
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Outstanding
- Inspectors found personalised risk plans, robust safeguarding arrangements, safe medicines systems, appropriate staffing and strong infection control. Incident reviews and specialist behavioural support had helped reduce incidents.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff received training, induction, supervision and appraisals. People had their dietary needs met, received support with healthcare appointments and were supported to make choices.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- Staff were observed treating people with kindness, compassion and respect. People were supported to make choices, communicate their views, maintain relationships and preserve their privacy.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Care plans were personalised, current and reviewed as people's needs changed. People were supported with communication, activities, education, work and community links that reflected their preferences.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Inspectors found clear leadership, strong oversight and regular audits. The home sought people's views and worked with relatives, healthcare professionals and other services to drive improvement.
What inspectors found, March 2019
Elysium Care Partnerships Limited - School House is rated Outstanding; inspectors found exceptionally safe, caring and personalised support, with only a small area of work still under way.
This was a planned, announced comprehensive inspection over three days in January 2019. The inspector reviewed care plans, medicines records, policies, complaints and behaviour support records. They also spoke with people, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. It was Outstanding for Safe, Caring, Responsive and Well-led, and Good for Effective. The safe rating improved from the previous inspection. The other Outstanding ratings remained unchanged.
Inspectors found strong personalised risk plans, safe medicines systems, enough suitable staff and a clean environment. People were treated with kindness and respect, supported to communicate their choices, maintain relationships and take part in activities suited to them.
The report says the home had no serious risks or concerns. It had not yet gathered everyone's end of life wishes, but this work was being carried out sensitively with relatives and through accessible documents.
Personalised safety planning
Risk plans covered people's individual needs and were developed with behavioural specialists. The report says proactive strategies had reduced incidents and supported people to live with fewer restrictions.
“People were protected against the risk of avoidable harm as the service had developed outstanding personalised risk management plans to keep people safe.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were given and checked by two trained staff. Records were complete, medicines were securely stored and audits took place three times a day.
“Medicines audits were carried out three times a day to ensure people's medicines were administered when intended” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors observed warm and compassionate interactions. People appeared relaxed with staff, and relatives gave very positive feedback about the care.
“We also observed staff delivering kind, caring and compassionate support throughout our three-day inspection.” from the report
Activities and community life
People were supported with a wide range of activities, education, employment opportunities and community links. Staff respected people's choices when they did not want to join an activity.
“People continued to be supported to participate in a wide range of personalised and group activities that met their social needs.” from the report
End of life wishes not yet complete
minorThe home had not gathered everyone's end of life wishes at the time of inspection. The report says this was being addressed sensitively through accessible documents and discussions with relatives.
“At the time of the inspection it had not been possible for the service to gather everyone's end of life wishes” from the report
- 01How are individual behaviour risks assessed, reviewed and shared with the staff team?
- 02How are medicines checked, including medicines used during periods of heightened anxiety?
- 03How will you help my relative communicate choices, consent and concerns if they do not communicate verbally?
- 04Have the planned accessible or video-based care plans been introduced, and how can relatives see and contribute to them?
- 05How are you now recording and discussing each person's wishes about end of life care?
This was an announced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions; the overall rating remained Outstanding and the Safe rating improved from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 29 March 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, September 2016
Elysium Care Partnerships Limited - School House is rated Outstanding overall; inspectors found kind, personalised care and strong leadership.
This was an unannounced inspection carried out on 10, 13 and 16 June 2016. Inspectors reviewed records, observed care, spoke with people, relatives, staff, managers and outside professionals.
The home was rated Good for safe and effective care. Inspectors found that risks, medicines, staffing and recruitment were managed safely. Staff were trained and understood people's communication, consent and mental capacity needs.
The home was rated Outstanding for caring, responsive care and leadership. Inspectors saw highly personalised support for people with learning disabilities and autism. People were helped to communicate, make choices, build independence and take part in activities.
The overall rating of Outstanding means this inspection found an exceptionally high standard across the service. The report does not give a previous rating or describe changes since an earlier inspection.
Personalised care
Inspectors saw care that was based on each person's abilities, preferences, communication needs and challenges. Care plans were detailed and regularly updated.
“Throughout this inspection we saw outstanding examples of person-centred care, which were informed by current knowledge and understanding of autism.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Staff understood how to comfort people and protect their dignity. They gave people time to understand and respond, and provided personal care discreetly.
“Staff spoke with people in a respectful way, giving people time to understand and respond.” from the report
Communication and choice
The home used many communication methods, including pictures, symbols, gestures and technology. These helped people express choices and take part in decisions.
“The service had created a Total Communication environment, which meant information was presented in different ways for people to enable them to communicate to the best of their abilities.” from the report
Strong leadership and improvement
The leadership team had clear values and used training, specialist knowledge and quality checks to improve care. Inspectors found that identified deficiencies were dealt with quickly.
“The registered provider had a clear vision and researched and introduced innovative systems to improve people's quality of life.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you assess and support my relative's individual communication needs before they moved in?
- 02How do you make sure staffing levels can increase when a person is unwell or wants to take part in an activity?
- 03What is the current position of any Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications, and how are less restrictive options used while authorisation is pending?
- 04How are Positive Behaviour Support plans reviewed when a person's behaviour or needs change?
- 05How are families involved in monthly care reviews, annual reviews and decisions about activities or meals?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions and the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 September 2016 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk. The report was longer than we could read in one go; the later sections may not be reflected.
Every inspection of School House
2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Outstanding rating throughout.
- March 2019Outstandingcurrent ratingstayed OutstandingSafe: OutstandingEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- September 2016OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- August 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 August 2014.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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