Options The Old Vicarage

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 18 April 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment: 24 to 27 March 2026

Options The Old Vicarage is a care home for up to 8 adults with a learning disability. At the time of our assessment, 6 people were living at the service.

The service was registered with CQC on 23 January 2025. The service was previously operated by a different registered provider. This was the first assessment since the new provider took over management of the service. The service has been rated requires improvement.

The assessment took place because we were alerted to concerns about the quality and safety of the service. The provider was aware of these concerns and had taken action to help make improvements at the service. There was a suitable plan to help continued improvements. Some of these improvements had not been embedded and further work was needed.

Before and during the assessment, CQC received feedback from some staff who did not always feel supported. Some staff told us they found it difficult to speak up. We discussed this with senior managers who explained they were working with the local management team and staff to improve systems and enable staff to share their concerns. Some staff had expressed concerns about their terms and conditions, as well as pay. The provider was working with staff to provide assurances and information. Some staff raised concerns about equality of experience for people and staff. We shared this information with senior managers.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disability respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

The service was mostly meeting the principles of Right support, right care, right culture. However, staff did not always support people to try new things or plan for the future. They did not always support people to have choice and control over their lives. The management team had identified this and were in the process of supporting staff to understand about positive risk taking. Whilst people made choices about everyday situations, some of the practices at the service restricted people’s choices. The ethos, values and behaviours of some leaders and care staff did not always ensure people had confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

The provider had systems to learn when things went wrong. They had processes to monitor and improve the quality of the service. These systems included asking people using the service, their relatives and staff for feedback.

Staff assessed and planned care to meet people’s needs and help mitigate risks. Staff monitored people’s wellbeing. Staff worked with other professionals to help make sure people received continuity of care.

Staff treated people with kindness. They enabled people to make decisions about their own care.

Staff took part in a range of training to help them understand how to care for people. Staff were given information about best practice.

The provider ensured people had information about the service. People were encouraged to share their views and make complaints if they needed.

People lived in a safe, clean and well-maintained environment.