This inspection took place on 7 May 2015 and was unannounced. The service met the requirements of the regulations during the previous inspection which took place on 7 May 2013.

There was a registered manager at 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.

Mark A Peake - 21 Totterdown Street is a small care home for two men with mild learning disabilities. It is located in Tooting, South-West London. It is close to local amenities and has good transport links. It is one of three homes owned by Mark A Peake.

The home was safe for people to live in. Regular health and safety checks were carried out for the service. People’s privacy and dignity was respected. Each person had their own bedroom, bathroom and lounge which they used to entertain family and friends. They shared a kitchen.

People told us that they liked living at the home and that they felt safe. They told us that staff treated them well and they were able to lead independent lives. They were able to pursue their own interests and were not restricted from leaving the home. They said that staff supported them if needed, for example if they needed assistance with cooking.

People’s needs in terms of their medicines and their diet were met by the service. People told us they were able to see healthcare professionals such as their GP or consultant psychiatrist if they needed.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Robust pre-employment checks were carried out on staff before they started working at the service. Ongoing training in areas that were relevant to the needs of people was provided, for example autism awareness and dealing with behaviour that challenged. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the areas they had received training in, for example the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and specific ways that they would deal with incidents of behaviour that challenged. Staff received regular supervision and told us they felt well supported and valued.

Care plans and other records such as medicines profiles and risk assessments were reviewed on a regular basis which helped to ensure up to date information was always available about people and their support needs.

There was continuity in the home with respect to how long people had been living there, but also in respect of staff that had worked there for a long time. The registered manager had been managing the service since it had opened and these factors contributed to the fact that the service was well run in all aspects, and both people using the service and staff were happy living and working there.

We spoke with both people using the service. They told us they enjoyed living at the home. One person said "I feel happy living here" and "they look after me here". We looked at the care plans for both people using the service. One person told us "I have a care plan, staff helped me to understand it". Another person told us "I signed my care plan". The care plans were person centred and people using the service had written in them. Both people had signed their care plans.

Care workers told us they felt that people living at the home were happy. They told us that people were independent but required support in certain tasks. One care worker told us "we are like one family". Another care worker said "we have a very open relationship with residents and we help them in any way that we can".

People that we spoke with told us they were aware of what to do if they were not happy. One person told us "I will tell the care workers". We asked for and received a summary of complaints people had made and the provider's response. We saw that all the complaints were responded to appropriately.

We saw that the bedrooms were well maintained. People had put up posters and had decorated them to their own liking. People told us that if they had any problems related to the maintenance o the home, these would be resolved straight away. The home was well maintained.

People told us they enjoyed living at 21 Totterdown Street and were happy there. They stated that they were well supported by staff and felt they could always come to them when they had a problem. They said that they enjoyed having their own living space and that their privacy was respected.