Acorn Village

Acorn Village provides specialist care and supported living across several houses and satellite homes for adults with learning disabilities and autism. The service focuses on promoting independence, choice, and inclusion, allowing residents to live as ordinary lives as possible. During the unannounced inspection, families and professionals shared positive feedback about the overall quality of support, noting that the management team and staff maintain a consistent standard of care across all properties.

Residents are protected from harm through effective safety systems, robust staff recruitment checks, and well-managed medication procedures. Secure grounds and appropriate risk assessments allow people to move around freely while staying safe. However, staff must remain diligent in following individual risk management plans consistently during all community and kitchen activities.

The service meets legal requirements regarding mental capacity and rights restrictions, ensuring proper documentation is kept accessible in each home. Staff receive relevant training, supervision, and guidance to support healthy diets and daily health needs. A minor point to note is that some past administrative paperwork required updating to ensure all records remained current.

Staff build warm, respectful relationships with residents, using various communication tools such as picture books and hand gestures to understand individual preferences and needs. Relatives are welcomed at any time and praised the family-oriented atmosphere and strong involvement in daily routines. Residents are actively encouraged to make personal choices, from room decor to participating in staff interviews.

Care plans are person-centred and detailed, reflecting individual communication methods and support needs. Residents enjoy a wide range of onsite and community activities, including work placements in the onsite coffee shop and office tasks. While end-of-life wishes are recorded for some individuals, staff appropriately recognize that certain residents are not yet ready to have these conversations.

The service benefits from a clear management structure, with visible leaders who actively support staff and conduct regular quality audits. Annual surveys gather feedback from residents and families to monitor standards. Both managers and team leaders maintain open communication channels to ensure accountability and continuous improvement across the service.