The Pines

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 29 July 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

We visited the service on 4, 5 and 16 June 2025. An adult social care inspector undertook the visits on 4 and 16 June 2025, and a medicine inspector on 5 June 2025. We gave the service 2 hours’ notice of the inspection, as the service was small we needed to know people and staff would be in the service.

The service is a residential care home service providing support for up to 12 adults of all ages with learning disabilities and/or autistic people. During our inspection there were 11 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.

The provider had a learning culture and people could raise concerns, which would be listened to, addressed and used to drive improvement. Incidents and accidents were monitored. Risks were assessed and mitigated and systems were in place to reduce abuse and avoidable harm. The facilities and equipment met people’s needs, were clean, well-maintained and risks mitigated. Since our last inspection, the environment had been redecorated and refurbished, this was ongoing. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Staff received training and appraisals to support them to meet people’s needs. Staff managed medicines well and safely.

People were central to the care they received and were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. People had enough to eat and drink and were supported to make decisions to stay healthy. Staff worked with health and social care professionals involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. People had access to health professionals when needed and their health was monitored by staff. Staff listened to people’s choices and systems were in place to make sure people understood their care and support so they could give informed consent.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff promoted and protected people’s privacy and dignity. People were treated as individuals and their preferences were respected. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends. Staff responded to people’s requests for assistance in a timely way. The provider supported staff wellbeing.

People were involved in decisions about their care. The service was accessible, including the environment and the ways information was provided to people in formats which they could understand. People with protected characteristics were supported. People received fair and equal care and treatment. People had access to the community and were encouraged to play an active part in the community they lived in.

Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Staff told us they felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.

Prior to our assessment we received feedback from a commissioner of the service. During our inspection we spoke with the manager and two regional directors. The provider’s head of quality attended the inspection feedback via video call. We also spoke with the nominated individual on the telephone. We gained feedback from five staff members remotely electronically and by telephone. We reviewed the care records for four people who used the service and reviewed the medicine records for 11 people. We looked at staff training and recruitment records and records relating to governance and monitoring, including policies and procedures, audits, and incident records.