This inspection was announced and took place on 15 November 2016. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a supported living and domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure the manager would be available for the inspection. It also allowed us to arrange to see people during the day. This was the organisation’s first inspection since their registration in July 2014.

Surrey and Hants Domiciliary Care Agency provides personal care and support for people with a learning disability living in the community. The care and support is provided for people living in their own homes and one supported living service for three people. People who live in the shared supported living properties have individual tenancy agreements. At the time of the inspection they were providing support for 20 people however only three people were receiving personal care. The level of personal care provided is minimal and most of the support they provide is about learning to live and work independently within society. We based our inspection at The Old Grove Centre, where all the people receiving a service visited at some time throughout the week. We met two people receiving personal care, and spoke with one person receiving support that did not involve personal care. We also observed how people interacted with staff and whether they were relaxed and happy.

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.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had a clear knowledge and understanding of their personal needs, likes and dislikes. Staff had a very in-depth understanding of people’s needs and how they preferred to be supported both in their home and within the community. People were able to talk with senor staff in the office at any time as there was an open door policy and all staff in the office knew them well. People who received care and support from Surrey and Hants Domiciliary Care Agency indicated they were happy with the service provided. Two parents of people being supported by the agency said the registered manager and staff were open and approachable and cared about personal preferences and maintaining independence.

People’s care needs were recorded and reviewed regularly with senior staff and the person receiving the care. All support plans contained evidence to show they had been consulted about their care and they had agreed the content of their care plan. Support workers had comprehensive information and guidance in support plans to deliver consistent care the way people preferred. We found staff were motivated and committed to ensuring people received the agreed level of support. Each person had a core team of support staff specifically assigned to them. This ensured people were familiar with the staff who supported them and had managed to build trusting relationships.

Staff told us the training they received was good; one staff member said the training could be very specific to people’s needs if something was identified. They explained they had attended autism awareness training and recently MAPA training. This is Management of Actual or Potential Aggression training. This training enables staff to understand how to de-escalate potentially challenging incidents. The staff member said this gave them the skills they needed to recognise and react positively before an incident became challenging.

We observed people were cared for and supported by staff members who were polite, compassionate and caring. They had a very relaxed and cheerful relationship with the support workers supporting them throughout the day. Staff spoke passionately about the care and support they pro