Zeno Limited

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

A range of audits and governance processes were in place to assess the safety and effectiveness of the care and support provided. Provider level oversight ensured governance processes were completed consistently. Action plans were used to help monitor and drive improvements. The views of people, relatives and staff were sought through questionnaires and surveys. Cultural reviews were completed with staff, with an external compliance company involved in this process. Staff and relatives provided positive feedback about how the service was run. Managers were described as approachable and supportive. Staff told us they knew how to ‘speak up’ should they have any concerns or witness poor practice, and would feel comfortable doing so.

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.

Relatives spoke positively about the culture of the service. When asked if they would recommend the service to others, one relative stated, “Yes I would, as they care and tailor everything to [relative] and what [relative] wants to do. There is a consistency of staff, which I like.” Staff told us the service was a good place to work, and they felt listened to. One staff member stated, “The manager has an open door policy, is approachable and always willing to listen to staff and people. They always act on any concerns.”

The provider circulated annual cultural surveys to staff, to seek their views on the service. Questions covered areas such as what it was like to work there, if it was an inclusive place to work and if they received enough support. We reviewed the findings from the 2024 survey, which had been completed by 64% of the staff. Across the board the responses were positive, with 98% of staff who took part stating they enjoyed working for Zeno and felt choice and independence was promoted and people were treated with kindness and compassion. Over 90% also stated they received enough support from management, were happy with training provided and would recommend the service to others.

Relatives told us the service was well-led and managed, with leaders being approachable and responsive. One relative stated, “The owners demonstrate their dignity and respect for others. Their manners and their caring nature, rub off on the staff.” Another relative told us, “My wife and I can’t speak highly enough of Zeno.” Whilst a third, added, “The manager is really good. They get back to me quickly and sort out any issues.”

The service had a layered management structure in place, consisting of registered managers, area managers and service managers. Each property was run by a service manager, who were supported by an area manager. Each area manager oversaw 3 to 4 of the provider’s properties, and in turn they received support from 1 of the 3 registered manager’s in post. The management structure meant for the majority of staff, the service manager was their immediate line manager. Staff told us the service was well-led, and spoke positively about management. One stated, “The service is well-led. The management team are responsive and effective. They are also approachable and support us on a daily basis. Documentation is done on time and policies are followed.”

Staff were encouraged and supported to speak up. Comments from staff included, “I feel able to raise any concerns I have and feel 100% that I will always be listened to” and “Any issue or complaint is always listened to and a solution found.”

The provider had an up to date Freedom to Speak Up / Whistleblowing policy in place. This was reviewed regularly to ensure it was accurate and reflected best practice. Information about speaking up was displayed in the staff office within each property. This explained the process along with contact details staff may need to raise concerns, which included freedom to speak up champions and managers.

Staff told us they were treated fairly and the service was an inclusive place to work. One staff member stated, “Zeno is a great place to work and is a very person centred organisation.”

Another staff member told us, “The company is open minded and invests in people. We are out in the community each day, we have really good training provided and we are always listened to. Our supported people are happy and healthy, which is what matters the most.”

The provider used a compliance planner to detail what audits and compliance tasks needed to be completed and how often. This include safety checks of the premises and equipment, audits of performance and record keeping and monitoring of accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. Checklists were used to ensure staff responsible for each task; knew what was expected of them. The provider also used ‘quality dashboards’ which were documents with sections for each key question; safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. These were used to monitor specific areas. For example, under ‘safe’ was information on the number of safeguarding referrals, incidents, accidents, instances of restraint, IPC issues and medication errors, which had occurred each quarter. The document also captured feedback from people, relatives and partner organisations.

Provider level oversight was in place to ensure governance processes were completed consistently. Registered managers completed a monthly audit, which included health and safety, medicines management, environment, staff training, care files, daily logs, meeting completion, person centred care and family involvement. We found the audit process was robust and was identifying any shortfalls in performance, which were then addressed. Further oversight was achieved through the completion of regular ‘operations management meetings’, which were attended by registered and area managers. One of the agenda items at these meetings was compliance and governance. Each year the provider also engaged the service of an external organisation to complete a full service audit, with their feedback being used to make any required improvements.

We noted a number of examples of how the provider was working with other organisations to benefit people using the service. The provider’s learning hub had built positive and inclusive relationships with the charity, whose building they used, and with the other charities and local businesses that shared the same building. For example, the music therapy centre was used by people to build on opportunities available at the Learning Hub.

Other examples included links with a charity who operated sensory rooms in Manchester, a cycling charity who provided cycling activities and social opportunities in three parks in Greater Manchester with the aim of reducing isolation and improving physical activity in Greater Manchester’s learning-disabled community. Another organisation specialised in supporting learning-disabled artists to develop their skills and gain recognition. Through this link, a person using Zeno Ltd, had their art work displayed in a number of art galleries.

Action plans were in place to help monitor and drive improvements. These were created from the audits and compliance tasks completed on a daily, weekly, monthly and less frequent basis. Alongside these individual actions plans, an overarching improvement plan had been used by the provider to document issues noted at our last inspection and record what actions had been taken. We found all identified issues had been addressed. Lessons learned were considered as part of the action plan process, but also during staff meetings. Where issues or incidents had occurred, these were discussed in team meetings with staff helping consider what lessons had been learned and how practice could be altered to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.

The views of people, relatives and staff were sought through questionnaires and surveys. Any concerns or issues raised through this process were converted into actions and added to the improvement plan. The provider also utilised other ways of gathering people’s views and feedback to help drive improvements. These included family forums and family days, which as well as providing an opportunity for relatives to meet and connect and share their lived experience, also allowed them an opportunity to chat face to face with registered, area and service manager’s.