14 Thornholme Close

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 14 August 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment: 10 June to 25 June 2025.

An assessment has been undertaken of a specialist service that is used by autistic people or people with a learning disability.

The assessment was arranged to follow up on the previous inadequate rating and breaches of regulations in 2022.

14 Thornholme Close is a care home and provides accommodation and personal care for up to 2 people. There was 1 person using the service at the time of this assessment.

We have 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 had been significant improvement since the last inspection and people’s quality of life had been improved as a result of the care provided. People had been supported to improve key areas of their health and wellbeing and to access the local community.

Right Support:

The service supported people to have choice and control. Their independence was promoted, and they had control over their own lives. Staff supported people to take part in activities and to pursue their interests in their local area.

The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress. Restrictions were kept to a minimum.

Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Right care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse, and they knew how to apply it.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff.

Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing.

Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. Improvements were found at this assessment. Environmental risk assessments were now effective, and people were protected from risks found in the home environment. The provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to person centred care. Improvements were found at this assessment. People’s needs had been thoroughly assessed, and staff had been trained to meet these needs.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to premises and equipment. Improvements were found at this assessment. The accommodation was suitable and regular health and safety assessments were completed appropriately.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to staffing. Improvements were found at this assessment. A consistent staff team was in place, and they received the required training and support to meet the requirements of the role. The provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. Improvements were found at this assessment. Needs assessments were thorough and staff had the required guidance to provide safe care.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to good governance. This included a failure to notify the safeguarding team of key incidents. Improvements were found at this assessment and the safeguarding team had been notified of all incidents. However, further improvements were still needed during the assessment to ensure the provider notified CQC of key incidents. This was completed during the assessment and the provider and registered manager now operated effective systems and processes to manage the service safely.

This service has been in Special Measures since 2022. The provider demonstrated improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.