Our Stoke-on-Trent residential service, Weston Road, is freshly rated as ‘Good’

Lifeways’ Stoke-on-Trent residential service, Weston Road, has transformed its rating of ‘Inadequate’ by England's health and social care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), to ‘Good’ – in less than a year.

Weston Road is a large family home, adapted to meet the needs of four men with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs.

In April last year, CQC inspectors found the service to be ‘Inadequate.’ After a new manager was put in place, along with our ongoing work to improve the service, Weston Road is now officially rated ‘Good’ by the regulator.

“It’s not been an easy journey, but we got there,” said Keleigh Bellamy-Jones, Weston Road’s Registered Manager.

Since taking over the leadership of the service last year, Keleigh and her team have been actively building a “positive and person-centred culture,” as noted by CQC inspection feedback. The CQC also noted that communication throughout the team “is now positive and effective.”

This fresh new rating, given in January, confirms that CQC inspectors found the Lifeways service to be safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.

What the CQC report says about our Weston Road residential service:

• “During the assessment, we spoke with two people and four relatives… people and their relatives provided comments including: ‘I am happy, it is good here.’”
• “People had positive interactions with staff who communicated with them in a respectful, patient approach and in a way they understood.”
• “People were kept safe by staff sharing a culture of reporting concerns and taking required action, as necessary.”
• “People’s care records contained documentation of partner agency input to help effectively meet people’s individual needs and preferences.”
• “The registered manager had adopted a positive learning culture which encouraged staff to be open and honest.”

‘Incredibly proud’

You can see the team posing for a celebratory selfie in the picture at the top of this story: Natassja-Ann Hanson, Keleigh Bellamy-Jones, Saif Hamad, Blessing Ameh, and Macy Wallis; along with Daniel and Kevin, whom we support.

“I am incredibly proud of the progress and transformation achieved at Weston Road,” said Alina Brathwaite, Lifeways’ Area Manager for the West Midlands.

Our Weston Road residential service was previously inspected in April 2024.

All health and social care services in England are given one of four ratings by the CQC: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate.

The full report is available to read on the CQC website.

 

About Weston Road:

Weston Road is located in a residential area of Meir, just outside Stoke-on-Trent.

The service supports four men with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs. It features four spacious bedrooms, a large kitchen-diner, and a separate dining room.

Weston Road is part of Lifeways.

About Lifeways:

Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community.

We support adults with diverse and complex needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions.

Lifeways delivers support across three divisions: supported living, residential and mental health services.

As the supported living sector’s largest team of professionals, Lifeways’ extensive experience and national reach mean we deliver extraordinary support to adults, enabling them to live fulfilling and independent lives in the community. 

Our 9,500 colleagues currently support around 4,200 individuals who live in our 1,500 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales. 

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