The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Fairfield House

Ashcombe Road, Dawlish, Devon, EX7 0QQ (01626) 868173

Provided and run by:
Phoenix Learning and Care Limited

Important: This service is now registered at a different address - see new profile

All Inspections

25 November 2013

During a routine inspection

Fairfield House provides accommodation for a group of young people with learning disabilities. The service is part of an integrated learning curriculum with Oakwood College, a nearby further education facility for people with learning disabilities. People generally remained at the service for three years, with a view to moving on to supported living accommodation.

One person told us the service was a "nice place. Lots of friends here". Another person just said "yes, nice".

People had structured timetables that were designed to help them develop their independent living skills. We saw these were produced in easy read format for people who did not read well.

The service had policies and procedures that kept people safe. Staff were knowledgeable and confident about their safeguarding responsibilities and how they would respond to any concerns they may have.

Staff were positive about the service. One person told us they felt "supported by senior staff". Another staff said they were "confident that the service they provide is of good quality".

There were processes in place to monitor the quality of service being provided, and we saw that the opinions of people's families were obtained through surveys.

In this report, the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.

26 March 2013

During a routine inspection

Fairfield is an accommodation provision for a 24 hour learning curriculum linked with Oakwood College, a further education facility for people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection the home had twelve people aged between 16 and 25 years in the main house and three people in the cottage to the rear of the premises. People in the home had a structured and monitored timetable designed to help them develop their independent living skills.

Most people went home to their families during the academic holidays. However there was provision for people to stay in the organisation all the time.

Most people stayed with the organisation for three years, sometimes moving between the accommodation services.

The home had in place good measures to ensure people's safety, health and welfare. They employed staff who were motivated and trained for their task. The home had good systems to monitor the quality of service.

Staff we spoke with told us "Personally I love it here and I think people are happy here, it must be hard for them to be away from their parents and loved ones." and "They are all so individual, I spent time looking at care plans, but I learn more from working with the students."

People living at Fairfield's House told us, through the use of a communication book, that they were "happy" - pointing to a thumbs up icon. Another person used Makaton, which is a signing language, to indicate she was ok. One person gave us "high fives".

7 June 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

People told us that they are happy living in the home. Their comments included 'I'm staying until year three', 'I'm happy here' and 'the staff are good'.

We observed that people appeared to be happy and were enjoying the last day of their holiday. One person went into the garden to play football with staff, other people were enjoying relaxing in their room or watching TV, going out for a walk and one person was enjoying helping staff to update notice boards in the entrance hall. It was evident that people were happy in their surroundings. We observed good staff interactions.

The service had obtained feedback from relatives. Comments included 'due to the excellent care, support and education, X is very happy, content and enjoying their new college and lifestyle' and 'we are very pleased and delighted that X has settled well'.