Chepstow House

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

We assessed 9 quality statements in the well-led key question and found areas of good practice. A new manager had been recruited since our last visit. Improvements had been made and other improvements were being planned. Management and staff understood their role and responsibilities. There were clear governance, management, and accountability arrangements. The regional manager had clear oversight of the service and was able to identify areas of concern or improvement. Notifications were submitted to external organisations as required. Information was used to monitor and improve the quality of care.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff said the management team were supportive and they valued the staff team. One staff member said, “They are supportive if we need additional training. I met the regional manager and head, they are approachable and thanked us for our work.”

The home manager stated that the service will provide a safe, supportive and homely environment for the people who live there with an emphasis on celebrating peoples’ strengths. Also that meaningful activities will be provided to people. They said that regular staff meetings will be recommenced following the recent change of home manager. This was supported by comments that staff told us about. This will help to ensure consistency of good practice.

Staff told us they were happy with the support they currently received from managers. They referred to an "open door" policy where they could share concerns, which would be listened to and acted upon. A staff member said, “the company as a whole are very person centred and empowering for each person.” Staff said what made them proud in their roles as staff members was seeing people who used the service, happy. Another staff member said well supported “ I love working here.” The regional manager told us staff work to the values of excellence, passion, integrity and caring and always putting the people they support at the heart of all their actions. But these needed further development and embedding across the team. They said they would also like to improve people's community access and activities, and have a plan to improve people's environment. Staff told us they had the necessary training to complete their roles effectively and had the option to develop their knowledge further if they chose to.

Staff said they felt they had the opportunity to speak up if something was not right. One staff member said the new manager has just started but the regional manager was approachable and fair to all staff: “Some managers you have to make an appointment, but she will always have time and accommodate us.” Another staff member told us: "I have always been supported in my role by both colleagues and management."

Processes were in place to enable people and staff to have the confidence to speak up to highlight any concerns, such as the whistleblowing and complaints policy and procedures.

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.

Staff said any concerns with management, and were confident they would be acted on. A staff member said, “I have always been supported in my role by both colleagues and management. I would recommend the home to family.” Another staff member said, “I feel in this short space of time a huge difference has been made.”

We reviewed the services meetings file. There were specified dates for staff, keyworkers, people who are supported and senior staff, however there was no evidence these meetings had been carried out as planned. The last staff meeting recorded was in October 2022. People who are supported had been part of 1 to 1 meetings in March 2024. There was no evidence any keyworker meetings had taken place. The last senior meeting was recorded in January 2024. The regional manager had identified shortfalls in a range of audits to identify concerns, risks, and areas where improvements where needed.

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.

Staff said that following incidents or accidents staff would get together to discuss and look at ways of reading peoples' body language. They said if they had concerns they would report this to the shift leader or report to the manager. Staff said staff meetings had been held in the past and were planned for the future to discuss how to improve the care provided to people.

Staff had received training in relevant topics such as autism and learning disabilities. A service improvement plan was in place to make improvements to peoples' quality of life.