New Key, a care service in Totnes, has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection undertaken in March.

New Key provides care and support to people living in a number of supported living settings in Torquay, Totnes and Kingskerswell, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible.

As well as the service’s overall rating improving from good to outstanding overall, responsive and well-led have also been rated outstanding. It remained rated as good for being safe, effective and caring.

Rebecca Bauers, CQC’s director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:

“When we inspected New Key, we found an outstanding service in which leaders had helped develop a culture that was person-centred, inclusive, and empowering to people using the service.

“We saw staff support people to have choices and be independent. It was also inspiring to hear people tell us staff encouraged them to set goals they might not have otherwise believed were possible. For example, staff supported one person who wanted to travel independently by helping them meet local taxi drivers to find someone they felt safe and comfortable with.

“People’s loved ones told us staff were friendly and approachable, and adapted people’s care to their personal needs and preferences. Many staff had worked in the service for a number of years and built strong, trusting relationships with people they cared for.

“A relative told us about an accident their loved one had in the local community, in which staff not only quickly took the person to hospital, but stayed with them multiple days and nights to support them until they were better.

“We have shared our findings with the provider so they can continue to build on the good practice we saw during this inspection. Other service providers might find it helpful to look at our report for New Key, as its important to share the learning and to promote improvements across the sector to support people to lead their best lives.”

Inspectors also found:

The service enabled people to share their views and explored ways to ensure everyone’s voice was heard. The service used an external agency run by people with a learning disability and people with autism to meet and gather feedback from people in the service independently.

Leaders regularly met with people to gather feedback and led by example in growing a positive and improvement-focused culture.

People often had strong relationships with staff who had worked in the service a long time, and leaders supported this by actively encouraging staff to grow their careers within the service.

People’s care plans were personalised and detailed.

Staff were very knowledgeable about people’s individual risks, and these were well-assessed and recorded to ensure their safety.

Leaders found innovative approaches to support people and their individual diagnosis. For example, inspectors saw how the service had worked with three local authorities to understand people’s care needs before they joined the service.

People using the service were supported by staff to participate in wide range of activities such as horse-riding. Staff made it a priority to learn people’s interests and found innovative ways to remove barriers to them.

The provider worked with people individually to develop a tool that enabled them to take control of their personal budgets, maximising their independence.