Way Ahead Care LTD

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 at their new registered address. 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.

Staff spoke positively about the leadership of the very experienced registered manager who had an excellent understanding of the service and deputy manager who was also very knowledgeable and ‘hands on’. The provider had very robust and effective quality monitoring processes in place.

People were supported to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support.

Staff were encouraged to contribute their views, speak openly and to raise concerns, which would be listened to.

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 provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture and actively encouraged their staff to be part of that vision. The registered manager spoke passionately about improving the quality of the service and having staff with the right attitude, offering regular supervision and using spot checking as a way of guiding staff to make sure they understood and followed agreed working practices.

The provider’s higher management team completed monthly quality reviews and compliance audits. The provider completed a service health check each year where the entire service was audited, actions created, and a compliance score given. This was last completed for this service in December 2024 and scored 73%.

The registered manager was very experienced, had an excellent understanding of the service and provided excellent leadership. They had the direct support of the deputy manager, who was also very knowledgeable and ‘hands on’. They worked well together and had developed processes to improve the delivery of the service.

Staff spoke positively about the registered manager and their line manager’s support. Comments included, “I feel I am able to raise my concerns with the registered manager and the deputy manager. They are both very approachable and I believe fair to all staff”, “The registered manager is very approachable. I have always found her very helpful and full of excellent information. I feel that she is an asset to Way Ahead Care” and “I feel that I am able to approach the registered manager with any concerns I may have. She is very approachable and has time to listen to myself. I have witnessed [registered manager] being fair to all staff.”

The provider’s higher management team were also very supportive towards the registered manager and their team. They understood the service type and ensured the service delivered care and support and embodied the culture and values of the organisation.

Staff told us how they felt supported by their line managers and the registered manager. They told us managers were visible during the working day and were always contactable at other times. A manager was based at each of the extra care housing schemes and supported the day to day running of the service.

We received positive feedback from health and social professionals who worked with the management team. One social care professional told us, “[The registered manager] is an exceptional manager and could have been let down by what we now know she inherited but she has been driving changes and strengthened the service, added new training, developed handbooks for extra care and continues to develop the service across all areas of the care agency.”

The provider had processes to support staff to raise concerns. Staff told us they felt supported and able to raise concerns with their line manager or the registered manager.

Staff were encouraged to contribute their views in team meetings and supervisions. One staff member told us, “Yes, we have meetings, usually once a month now. We can chat about everything rather than leaving it and not being able to contact someone. If anything is missed, and the manager doesn’t know, we can tell her about it. Yes, we do speak up.”

Way Ahead Care used a system called ‘staff portal’ to add updates and share information quickly with staff.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. The registered manager gave us an example where a staff member required additional support, and they were supported with a 1 to 1 trainer to complete their care certificate.

The registered manager had also identified that staff from overseas, whose first language was not English, sometimes did not understand British culture and terminology. To aid this, these staff had access to appropriate face-to-face training.

At induction staff were issued with a staff handbook which included the provider’s grievance policy, maternity and paternity information and further information about the organisation and staff individual rights as an employee.

Staff were allocated to people with similar cultural and religious backgrounds so there were shared experiences. Staff said they felt supported by their line manager and the registered manager, and they would recommend it as a care provider and as a place to work.

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.

The provider used a quality health check process to assess the service, and an action plan was developed from the findings and regularly reviewed.

Audits took place to look at the care being provided that included care note audits, care plan audits and medicine audits. The provider would discuss any shortfalls with staff and monitor its effectiveness.

People's and staff views about the quality of the service were important to the provider. Annual customer and staff surveys were completed, and monthly satisfactions calls were made to gain continuous feedback, and these were used to make improvements. The results of the February 2025 survey of 39 people were mostly positive with, people feeling safe, scoring 91% and being responsive to their needs 89%. Being well led scored 78%, this was reflective of the anxiety about the changes happening at the service.

The provider organisation’s values and ethos were clear and effectively translated from the registered manager and management team to all staff. Staff were complimentary about the leadership and staff and fed back what working at the service meant to them.

The management team and staff understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. This was particularly important with the housing providers of the extra care housing schemes. They meet with them monthly and try to deal with any issues and challenges regarding responsibilities.

From 1 April 2025 a new provider will be taking on the personal care packages at the current extra care housing schemes. This had caused some anxiety for people and staff who would be moving to the new provider and concerns about these changes were expressed during our assessment. Both providers had worked together with the local authority and the housing provider to keep people informed, included to enable a safe transition. Where issues had been identified, there was joint working to sort these out.

The provider sought regular feedback from people, their families and other parties to gain views of how to enhance communication and share ideas. One person told us, “I find management really approachable and [staff member] in the office is easy to talk to and very compassionate. I have filled in feedback forms, I think it’s about every 6 months, but nothing needs to change, I have no complaints.”

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement.

The training team delivered an extensive induction and training program. They also undertook staff competency assessments to ensure staff understood what they had learnt.

Staff meetings took place regularly to keep staff informed and to discuss learning. Staff were kept informed through numerous communication routes, which included the provider’s bulletins. One member of staff said, “I attend all staff meetings including managers meetings. I do find these useful as it can get the team talking about any concerns they may have and help individuals be aware of any changes. I feel that they do help with change.”



The registered manager told us how they had been working with the extra care scheme managers to ensure staff they supported received regular supervisions and an annual appraisal. This had been successful.

The provider’s policies were regularly reviewed and updated. Staff had access to these on the provider’s staff portal and paper copies were kept in each extra care housing scheme. One staff member told us, “I have access to all the company’s policies and procedures via the online portal, accessed via a password protected link on the company’s website. This allows me to access them in my own time and to read and process them at my own pace. Updates to policies and procedures are also posted here and I receive an email to inform me of any updates with a link to the update.”

The registered manager told us, they oversee all complaints and whistle blowing and ensure actions are taken and learning is shared with staff. They gave an example where they had dealt with a significant incident. They had reviewed and updated one of the provider’s policies, issued staff with guidance documents about the updated policy, held meetings and gained feedback.