Knowles Court Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

This is the first assessment for this service. This key question has been rated good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities. New staff received support and training which helped them to demonstrate the provider’s values in their daily work with people. A relative told us, “It is so much better now that [name] is here. [Name] is making great improvements and knows everybody.”

The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. The manager had made several improvements to the running of the service. A relative told us, “This is a lovely friendly home with staff members that know you and your relative, the new manager is approachable and the whole place seems happier since [Name of manager] has been here.” Staff members’ comments included, “The morale has improved, we are getting there. It wasn’t good 12 months ago”, “The manager is open and approachable” and “The manager is fair but firm if needed.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. People and relative’s comments included, “They [staff] tell you to complain if you have to. I would tell them straight away if I had any concerns”, “They are open about information.” A staff member told us, “We can share ideas, I feel listened to and included in everything within the service.”

The service valued diversity in their workforce. They work towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who work for them. Staff told us they were able to ask for reasonable adjustments to be made to their working patterns for specific needs, for example to incorporate family commitments.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate. Regular audits and checks were carried out in the main areas of the service, such as, around care records, health and safety and staff practice. Audits showed shortfalls in care planning and risk assessing and this was being addressed. A staff member commented, “Everything runs much smoother now.”

Staff at the service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. We saw evidence of how the service worked in partnership with other professionals. One relative told us, “The manager and all staff are welcoming to all visitors and always on hand to answer any questions. They have always assisted me and answered any queries I might have.”

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research. Staff and leaders had a good understanding of how to make improvement happen. Leaders encouraged staff to speak up with ideas for improvement. Processes to ensure that learning happens when things go wrong, and from examples of good practice were becoming embedded.