The Oaks

“Date of assessment: assessment activity started on 8 April 2025 and concluded on 29 April 2025. We visited the service on 15 April 2025. The service is a residential care home for people with a learning disability and for autistic people. At the time of our visit 8 people were using the service. Six people were living in the main house and 2 people were living in the separate ground floor apartment (the annex). This assessment was carried out in part in response to concerns received about the safety of people using the service. 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.”

“There were systems in place to review incidents and share any learning at both the location and provider level. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. There were enough appropriately skilled staff, including one-to-one and two-to-one support to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People’s safety risks were considered, and clear guidance was in place to support staff. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People received their medicines from trained staff who administered, recorded and stored their medicines safely. People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. People were involved in assessments of their needs and were involved in decisions about their care. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. For example, using pictures, social stories and symbols-based communication tool, widget. Widget helps people read, understand and communicate. Where people did not have capacity, the appropriate people were involved when decisions needed to be made in their best interests. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to maintain relationships which were important to them and engage in activities they enjoyed. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and identify areas of improvement to ensure people received a safe good quality service.”