This inspection took place on the 14 June 2018 and was announced. Happy Dayz is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to young adults and children with a range of physical and mental health needs, including autism spectrum disorder, physical disabilities and complex health care needs, learning difficulties and epilepsy. The service supports young people and children living at home with their family. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care and support to six young people aged between eight to 18 years old.

A registered manager was in place who was also the provider of the service. 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. We have referred to the responsible registered person as the registered manager throughout this report.

Parents of the children and young people supported by the service we spoke with told us the staff provided safe care and support. However, we found improvements were required in the recording and management of risks to people. Documented risk assessments required more detail to provide clear guidance for staff. Guidance for staff on people's moving and handling needs was not always in place. Not all staff had completed training or competency checks in moving and handling and administering medication although they supported people with these needs. Whilst we did not find that people had experienced any harm, this could place people at risk of inappropriate and unsafe care and treatment.

The governance arrangements had not been effective in managing risks and regulatory requirements. The concerns we found had not been identified by the registered manager.

Not all staff new to care had completed induction training. Not all staff had completed training to meet people’s assessed needs.

Checks were carried out to protect people from the employment of unsuitable staff. However, applicants were only required to give 10 years employment history which is not in line with regulatory requirements. The registered manager acted to amend this process so that prospective staff gave a full employment history with an explanation for any gaps in employment. This helps to ensure staff are recruited as safely as possible.

The system in place to gather feedback from people using the service, their families and staff had not been effective. Although people told us they had been asked about the quality of the service this had not resulted in any analysis or improvements to the service. Feedback we received from people and staff included comments which suggested some improvements could be made, for example in training and the support of new staff and in contact and seeking feedback from parents. We have made a recommendation about this.

There were sufficient staff available to meet people’s needs for the packages of care the registered manager delivered. People were usually supported by the same staff member which provided a good level of consistency and continuity for the young people and their families.

Staff supported people safely with their eating and drinking needs and monitored any changes to people’s health and wellbeing.

Young people over the age of 16 were supported to have choice and control and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies in the service support this practice. Not all the relevant staff had completed training in the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

Young people’s needs were assessed prior to care being delivered and staff were matched to young people to promote effective support and positive outcomes.

People we spoke with told us the service was caring. Staff we spoke with knew about the young people they supported and told us how they s