This inspection took place on 15 December 2016. It was an unannounced visit to the service. This meant the service did not know we were coming.

Ivy Cottage is a care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were seven people living in the home.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 home was previously inspected in December 2013. It was compliant in the areas assessed at that time.

At this inspection we found the service provided safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led care to people. People and their relatives were happy with the care provided. They described staff as caring, welcoming and friendly. A relative felt very grateful that their family member had got a place at the home. They commented “This is the best place “X” has been in, we feel very fortunate “X” is there”.

Systems were in place to safeguard people. Risks to people were identified and managed which promoted people’s independence. People had care plans in place which provided clear guidance to staff on the support individuals required. Care plans were updated and reviewed as people’s needs changed.

Medicines were safely managed and people’s health and nutritional needs were met. People had access to community activities, college and work placements.

People’s privacy and dignity was promoted. Staff were kind, caring and had a good knowledge of the people they were supporting. They knew how to communicate with people. Staff were aware of people’s needs, risks and the support required to promote their safety.

Staff were suitably recruited, inducted, trained, supervised and supported. They were able to relate their training to their practice to support people effectively. People were supported by a mix of experienced and new staff who worked well together as a team to benefit people.

People and their relatives knew who to contact to raise a concern or complaint. Resident meetings took place. This provided another opportunity for people to discuss issues that impacted on the resident group.

The registered manager was experienced in their role. They had developed systems to audit the service to ensure the service was being effectively monitored. They were organised and this was reflected in the way records were managed and presented. They had developed a committed staff team who were clear of their roles and responsibilities. Staff were motivated, enthusiastic and passionate about the work they did and were keen to promote people’s independence and life skills.

People who used the service, relatives and professionals were happy with the way the home was managed and described the registered manager as experienced, professional, accessible and approachable.

We spoke with people who used the service. They were positive about their experiences. One person told us “It’s absolutely brilliant here, I love it.” People were supported to access community services such as local colleges. One person told us “I’ve been into town with my keyworker.” We saw people’s independence was promoted whilst respecting their choices and wishes.

The provider had an effective system in place to ensure pre-employment checks were undertaken. This demonstrated staff suitability to work within the service was assessed and monitored. We saw staff received regular supervision and appraisals in line with the provider’s policy. Staff received regular training and were enabled to undertake further training to enhance their professional development.

Regular audits were undertaken which identified any issues or actions within the service. Evidence of learning from accident and incidents were recorded and actioned appropriately. We saw people’s complaints and comments were actioned and fed back into the service. This demonstrated the quality of service was monitored.

People told us they liked living at Ivy Cottage and they were treated with respect and could makes choices about what they did. We saw people's preferences and wishes regarding how they wished their support to be provided was recorded.

When we spoke to staff they all had a very positive attitude to the people they supported and understood about working in a person-centred way. We observed staff were consistent in their approach to people and treated them with respect and in a dignified manner.

People were supported by staff to take part in a range of activities, both within their home and in the wider community. People's methods of communication were documented in their care plans.

We found people were not cared for by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. We saw the provider had a number of gaps on updating their staff training. Most notably in moving and handling, food hygiene, fire safety, health and safety, safeguarding and working with people with autism.

We were shown around the home by a person using the service. The person expressed satisfaction with the accommodation and the support provided by staff.

People told us that they had settled in to the home. They said that they went out to places in Aylesbury and went shopping with staff.

One person told us that they were looking forward to their birthday party in the home the next day.

We saw a constant flow of activity in the home throughout our visit and saw that staff were attentive and responsive to people using the service.

A visiting health professional told us that in their opinion it was a nice home. They had found the staff obliging and overall the service had made a favourable impression on them and had a positive effect on their client.