Creative Support, a national not-for-profit provider of adult social care services, is delighted to announce that, following a recent inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), our Teesside Supported Living Service rating has been upgraded from ‘Good’ to ‘Outstanding’. The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of adult social care services, and found Creative Support’s Teesside Services to be ‘Outstanding’ across all five areas – ‘Safe’, ‘Effective’, ‘Caring’, ‘Responsive’, and ‘Well-Led’. It was noted in the overall ratings published by CQC in August 2025 that only 2% of adult social care providers receive an Outstanding rating (Appendix: Ratings charts – Care Quality Commission).
Creative Support’s Teesside Services provide personal care and support for people with a learning disability, autism, and physical disability. This significant achievement reflects the dedication and hard work of our staff teams in the area. CQC found that: “The management team demonstrated an exceptional approach to staffing, ensuring there were sufficient numbers of highly skilled, experienced, and well-supported staff who worked together to deliver safe, person-centred care tailored to meet people’s individual needs.”
Service Director and Registered Manager for this service, Jenni Pearson-Butterfield, said: “We are absolutely delighted and immensely proud of these teams and their managers for the incredible work they have done, and continue to do, every single day. Achieving the rare distinction of being rated ‘Outstanding’ across all 5 domains is an exceptional accomplishment and one that very few services achieve. It is a true testament to the unwavering commitment, professionalism, compassion, and dedication demonstrated by everyone involved.”
The service also received praise for operating a highly responsive bespoke 24/7 on-call service. This ensured people supported, staff and families received immediate, consistent and knowledgeable support at all times. Managers were recognised for investigating concerns sensitively and quickly, identifying lessons and acting on them to improve the service.
Registered Service Manager for the service, Kelly Porter, said: “This recognition reflects the culture that our teams have created, one where people are always at the heart of everything we do. It celebrates the countless moments of kindness, the determination to continually improve, the willingness to go the extra mile, and the genuine passion for supporting people to live happy, fulfilling, and meaningful lives.”
Deputy Director of CQC Operations in the North East Region, Alison Chilton, said that during the inspection: “We found an exceptional service where staff and leaders were going above and beyond to ensure people were at the heart of all decisions made about their person-centred care […] It’s clear the service was committed to treating people as individuals and empowering them to achieve their goals and lead fulfilling lives. Other services should look to this report to see if there’s anything to learn from it.”
