Ashley House

What families say

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-04-07 · Report published 2023-04-07 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2024 assessment. This indicates inspectors were satisfied with how the home manages risk, staffing, medicines, and infection control for its 25 residents. The published summary does not include specific observations about falls management, night staffing ratios, or agency staff use. A previous decline to Requires Improvement means the home had identifiable safety concerns at some point, though these appear to have been addressed by the time of the most recent inspection. No outstanding safety concerns are recorded in the available summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safe is reassuring after a period of decline, and it suggests the home has addressed whatever prompted the earlier Requires Improvement judgment. However, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that safety in small homes like this one tends to slip most at night, when staffing is thinnest. With 25 beds and a dementia specialism, knowing exactly how many staff are on overnight is one of the most important questions you can ask. Our review data also shows that families notice agency staff quickly: unfamiliar faces unsettle residents with dementia, and inconsistency at night is where risk accumulates. The inspection does not record agency use figures, so ask the home directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that night staffing levels are the single most common point at which safety quality deteriorates in residential dementia care, and that high agency staff use is a consistent predictor of poorer outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count permanent staff names against agency names, and specifically ask how many staff are present overnight for the 25 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the September 2024 assessment. This covers how well the home translates care knowledge into practice, including care planning, dementia training, healthcare access, and food quality. No specific observations about care plan content, GP access frequency, or medication management are included in the available published summary. The home lists dementia as a formal specialism, which means inspectors would have been expected to look at dementia-specific practice as part of this domain. No concerns are recorded.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you that inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the team turns knowledge into daily practice, but it does not tell you how recently staff completed dementia training or whether your parent's care plan would genuinely reflect who they are as a person, not just their medical needs. The Good Practice evidence base is consistent on one point: care plans that include life history, preferred routines, and communication preferences produce measurably better outcomes for people with dementia. With 25 beds, this home is small enough that you would reasonably expect staff to know your parent well. Ask to see the format of a care plan before your parent moves in, and ask how often families are invited to review it.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that care plans treated as living documents, updated with family input and reflecting personal history alongside clinical needs, are associated with reduced distress and better quality of life for people living with dementia in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask to see a blank care plan template and ask when a resident's plan was last reviewed with family involvement. If the answer is longer than three months ago or family are not routinely included, that is worth exploring further."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the September 2024 assessment. Caring is the domain most closely linked to staff warmth, dignity, and respect, and a Good rating here indicates inspectors did not find evidence of poor treatment. No direct inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative feedback are included in the available published summary. The home had previously declined to Requires Improvement, though the published text does not specify which domains drove that decline. The return to Good in Caring is a positive signal.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the theme that appears most often in positive family reviews across our data set: 57.3% of positive reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes mention warm, friendly staff by name as the reason they would recommend a home. A Good Caring rating suggests the inspection found acceptable evidence of this, but without specific observations or quotes recorded in the published summary, you cannot rely on the rating alone. The most reliable way to test warmth is to visit unannounced or at a time the home is not expecting you, watch how staff greet your parent during the visit, and notice whether they use your parent's preferred name without prompting. Unhurried interactions during personal care and at mealtimes are the clearest observable signal of a genuinely caring culture.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies non-verbal communication, including pace, eye contact, and tone, as equally important as verbal interaction for people with dementia, many of whom cannot easily process language but remain highly sensitive to emotional signals from those caring for them.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch a staff member help a resident with something, even a small task like bringing a drink. Notice whether the staff member crouches to eye level, uses the resident's name, and waits for a response rather than moving on immediately. These small behaviours are the most reliable indicators of genuine caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the September 2024 assessment. This domain covers whether the home tailors its care and activities to individual residents rather than running a one-size programme. No specific detail about the activities programme, one-to-one engagement, or how the home responds to changing needs is included in the available published summary. The home specialises in dementia, which means responsiveness to cognitive and behavioural change is particularly important. No concerns are recorded in the summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but activities and engagement are the area where small homes most commonly fall short in practice, even when rated Good on paper. Our review data shows that 21.4% of positive family reviews specifically mention meaningful activities as a reason for satisfaction, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia. Your parent needs to know what would happen if your mum or dad could not join a group session: whether there is a staff member who would sit with them one-to-one, engage them in a familiar task, or simply offer calm companionship. Ask the activities coordinator, not just the manager, to describe a typical Tuesday for a resident who stays in their room.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-led individual activities, including familiar domestic tasks such as folding, sorting, or simple food preparation, produce significant reductions in agitation and withdrawal in people with moderate to advanced dementia compared with group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what happened yesterday for a resident who did not come to the group session. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, ask how many hours of planned one-to-one engagement each resident receives per week."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the September 2024 assessment. The registered manager is Clare Burns and the nominated individual is Richard White, both named in the published registration details. A Well-led rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with governance, culture, and accountability at the time of the assessment. The home had previously declined from Good to Requires Improvement and has now returned to Good, which suggests leadership responded to the concerns raised. No detail about manager tenure, staff stability, or complaint handling is included in the available published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home. The fact that this home declined and then returned to Good is a meaningful signal, but it also means the improvement is relatively recent. Our review data shows that 23.4% of positive family reviews mention visible, responsive management as a key reason for confidence. The most important question is how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether the team around her is stable. A Good Well-led rating achieved under one manager can change quickly if that manager leaves. Ask the manager directly how long she has been at Ashley House and what her plans are.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership continuity as a primary structural predictor of quality trajectory: homes with stable registered managers who have been in post for more than two years consistently outperform those with frequent management changes, regardless of the rating at the time of inspection.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long she has been in post at Ashley House specifically, not just in the sector. Also ask whether there have been any senior staff changes in the last six months, as management transitions at any level can disrupt the culture that produced a Good rating."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The home specialises in dementia care alongside general residential support for older adults. Staff are experienced in supporting the specific needs that come with memory conditions.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the team works to maintain familiar routines and provide reassurance throughout the day. The home's approach centres on understanding each person's preferences and adapting care accordingly. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.