Ivers is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 25 adults with a learning disability. On the day of our inspection there were 23 people living in the home. People lived in either the main house or one of four bungalows built on the site. Each bungalow accommodated four people.

At our last inspection in July 2015 the service was rated Good at this service we found the service remained Good.

A new provider had taken over the responsibility of the service in October 2016. There was a new manager in post who was applying to the Care Quality Commission to become the registered manager.

A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service cared for people with a variety of needs and abilities. Some of the people were able to carry out their own personal care and support with prompting from staff. Some people could go out into the community independently, others needed support from staff. People demonstrated they were happy in their home; they were relaxed and engaged with staff. One person told us, “It is really good living here”.

Staff were visible and attentive towards people they were supporting, noticing when those who could not verbally ask for assistance required help. They responded kindly and compassionately to people, they used objects of reference or signs to ensure they knew what was being requested.

Recruitment checks were robust and there were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs. Records confirmed that training was appropriate to people's roles and staff were suitably skilled. Staff were supported though supervision and appraisals. The manager told us specific training needs were currently being identified, for new and existing staff.

Staff had been trained how to recognise and report abuse. Staff spoken with had a clear understanding of what may constitute abuse and how to report it. All were confident that any concerns reported would be fully investigated and action would be taken to make sure people were safe.

Care plans were personalised to each individual and contained information to assist staff to provide care in a manner that respected their needs and individual wishes.

Safe systems were in place to protect people from the risks associated with medicines. Medicines were managed in accordance with best practice. Medicines were stored, administered and recorded safely. Health professionals were routinely involved in supporting people with their health and wellbeing.

People were involved in planning activities, which was coordinated by learning support staff. Activities included animal care, gardening and IT skills. One person told us, “I like to look after the animals and give them their dinner”. The service had their own vehicles which could be used to access activities, appointments and other events.

There was a complaints procedure in place. Complaints had been dealt with in line with the service policy. Audits were carried out to monitor all aspects of the service and action plans developed which highlighted areas for improvement.