St Brannocks

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating remained good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. Leaders worked with people, their representatives and staff to build a culture that focused on enabling people to enjoy their lives. · Staff at all levels had a well-developed understanding of equality, diversity, and human rights, and they prioritised safe, high-quality, compassionate care. The registered manager told us about their vision for the people who lived in the home. They said, “Be focussed on the [people] 100% to focus on their goals and support them to achieve that. We want them to live their life to the fullest.”

The management team, staff and the people who lived at St Brannocks had recently been through significant challenges relating to one person’s support. The team had drawn together under the leadership of the registered manager to ensure that support continued to be provided within the provider’s values despite these challenges. One support worker told us, “It’s been tough, but I enjoy working here and I know that I will always be very well supported.” People told us, “I think [staff] like coming to work”, and “I have lived here for about 20 years. I have all the nice things I need here. I have got friends here in the house and in the community. It is a nice community.” A professional told us, “Staff are always happy to answer questions and are transparent.”

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. People were treated with respect and dignity and staff treated people as equals.

Leaders at every level were visible and available. They led by example, modelling inclusive behaviours, open and cooperative relationships. The registered manager told us about how they had started working as a night support worker at St Brannocks, 20 years prior. The deputy manager and senior support worker had also started working at the home as support workers. The operations director told us, “It’s so important to keep sight of culture and morale within the team, and to encourage an ethos of support. Being present and visible [to people and staff] is a key part of this.”

Leaders embedded a culture that enabled individually designed support, so people were able to live a good, ordinary life as part of their community. There was a focus on how leaders could identify examples of poor culture that may affect the quality of people’s care and have a detrimental impact on staff. When identified they addressed these quickly. We saw that staff and people had regular opportunities to raise concerns and have their say about the running of the home. One support worker told us, “I am very well-supported. It’s nice to be able to express how you feel, and I know if I have any worries I just need to talk to [the managers].” A person told us, “I think it is well managed, I am well looked after.” A relative said, “From what I have seen so far, it is very well managed here.”

We did not look at Freedom to speak up during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

We did not look at Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Leaders act on the best information about risk, performance, and outcomes, and they shared this securely with others when appropriate. Staff understood their role and responsibilities and legal requirements were understood and met.

The provider had an effective system of audits and checks in place to identify good practice and improvements needed. These included the support people received from staff, fire safety, environmental health and safety, incidents and accidents, safeguarding and staffing and recruitment. The deputy manager and senior support worker also had their own series of checks for which they were responsible at regular intervals. These were in turn overseen by a formal quarterly ‘quality walkaround’ audit by the operations director. Otherwise, individual support workers also had their own areas of responsibility, and their roles were clear and well-understood.

Actions were identified from these checks and developed into a monthly action plan, although where issues needed to be addressed more quickly to ensure people’s rights and safety were protected the registered manager facilitated this.

We did not look at Partnerships and communities during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Well-led.