St Clare's Court Care Home

What families say

Families visiting from near and far notice how content residents seem here. People talk about finding their loved ones engaged in activities and clearly comfortable in their surroundings. The atmosphere feels settled and purposeful, with residents actively participating in entertainment and social events.

Based on 8 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth82
• Compassion & dignity82
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement88
• Food quality65
• Healthcare72
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness78

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-01-05 · Report published 2018-01-05 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Inspectors rated this domain Good at the May 2025 inspection. A Good rating for safety means inspectors were satisfied that risks were being managed, medicines were handled appropriately, and staffing levels were sufficient for the people living there. The home cares for a mixed group including people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, all of whom have differing safety needs. The published summary does not include specific observations or testimony to confirm what inspectors saw in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but it is worth remembering that safety is the area where our Good Practice evidence base flags the most risk after inspection. Research from the IFF and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing is where safety most commonly slips, and that high agency staff use undermines the consistency that keeps people safe. The inspection summary does not confirm night staffing ratios or agency reliance for this home, so these are gaps you should fill yourself on a visit. If your parent has dementia or a physical disability, ask specifically how risk is managed for their type of need.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that learning from incidents is one of the strongest markers of a genuinely safe culture. Homes that log falls, near-misses, and medication errors systematically, and then change practice as a result, have better long-term safety records than those that treat incidents as one-off events.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the staffing rota for last week, not a template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency names appear on the night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of carers on duty is overnight for 58 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Inspectors rated Effective as Good at the May 2025 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right training, whether care plans reflect each person's individual needs, and whether healthcare access such as GP visits and medication reviews is well managed. The home supports people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, all of which require specific trained knowledge. The published summary does not include detail on training content, care plan quality, or food provision.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating here means inspectors were satisfied that the home is operating competently. For families, the part that matters most is whether care plans are treated as living documents that get updated as your parent's needs change, rather than paperwork completed on admission and rarely revisited. Our family review data shows that healthcare access, mentioned positively in 20.2% of reviews, and food quality, mentioned in 20.9% of reviews, are two of the clearest signals families use to judge whether a home genuinely knows what it is doing. Both areas need to be checked directly because the inspection summary does not address them specifically.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training, particularly training that covers non-verbal communication and behavioural responses to unmet need, makes a measurable difference to the quality of daily life for people with dementia. It is worth asking what dementia training staff have completed and how recently it was refreshed.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan, with personal details removed if needed, and check whether it includes the person's preferred name, food preferences, daily routine, and what calms them when they are distressed. If it reads like a medical form rather than a description of a person, probe further."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Inspectors rated Caring as Good at the May 2025 inspection. This domain reflects whether staff treat people with genuine warmth, whether dignity and privacy are respected, and whether individuals are supported to remain as independent as possible. The home cares for a wide age range and a mix of conditions, which requires staff to adapt their approach to very different people. The published summary does not include direct quotes from residents or relatives, or specific observations of staff interactions.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned positively in 57.3% of reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good rating for Caring is a positive signal, but the rating alone cannot tell you whether the staff your parent will meet day to day are genuinely warm or just adequate. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that for people with dementia in particular, non-verbal communication, tone of voice, eye contact, and unhurried pace, matters as much as what is said. You need to observe this yourself on a visit rather than rely on the rating.","evidence_base":"Research in the Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care, where staff know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style, is associated with lower levels of agitation and better emotional wellbeing in people with dementia. Knowing someone's preferred name is one of the simplest and most reliable indicators of whether this knowledge exists.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff greet your parent in a corridor or communal area when they think no one important is watching. Are they moving at the person's pace, making eye contact, and using their preferred name? That interaction will tell you more than any conversation with the manager."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Inspectors awarded an Outstanding rating for Responsive at the May 2025 inspection. This is the highest possible rating and means inspectors found significant evidence that the home goes beyond basic provision to tailor care, activities, and daily life to the individual needs and preferences of the people living there. Outstanding in this domain is awarded to a small minority of homes nationally. The published summary does not set out the specific evidence that earned this rating, which is an important gap.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An Outstanding for Responsive is genuinely meaningful and worth taking seriously. In our family review data, resident happiness is mentioned positively in 27.1% of reviews and activities engagement in 21.4%, and both are directly connected to how well a home responds to individuals rather than running a one-size-fits-all programme. The Good Practice evidence base found that Montessori-based and task-based individual activities, things like folding, sorting, and cooking, give people with dementia a sense of purpose that group entertainment cannot replicate. The Outstanding rating suggests inspectors saw evidence of this kind of thinking, but you should ask the home to show you what it looks like in practice for someone with your parent's specific needs and abilities.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that one-to-one engagement for people who cannot participate in group activities is one of the strongest predictors of emotional wellbeing for people with advanced dementia. Homes rated Outstanding for responsiveness are significantly more likely to provide this systematically rather than only when a staff member has spare time.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe, in specific terms, what they would do to engage your parent on a day when your parent did not want to join a group session. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, probe further. The Outstanding rating suggests the home has a real answer to this question."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Inspectors rated Well-led as Good at the May 2025 inspection. The registered manager is Mrs Emma Louise Grebby and the nominated individual is Ms Anna Gretchen Selby. The home is operated by HC-One No.2 Limited. A Good rating here means inspectors were satisfied that the home has appropriate governance, that staff are supported, and that the manager provides visible and effective leadership. The published summary does not include detail on manager tenure, staff culture, or how the home handles concerns.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality matters enormously to long-term care quality. Our family review data shows that management and leadership is mentioned positively in 23.4% of reviews, and communication with families is mentioned in 11.5%. The Good Practice evidence base found that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory: homes where the manager has been in post for more than two years and is known by name to residents and staff tend to sustain their ratings better than those with frequent turnover. HC-One is a large national provider, which brings organisational support but can also mean that local managers operate within tight corporate frameworks. It is worth understanding how much autonomy the registered manager has to make decisions for this specific home.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that staff who feel able to raise concerns without fear, sometimes called psychological safety in the research, are more likely to identify and report problems early. Homes where staff describe the manager as approachable and visible tend to have better incident reporting and faster improvement responses.","watch_out":"Ask Mrs Grebby directly how long she has been the registered manager at this home, and ask a care worker the same question when the manager is not in the room. If the answers differ significantly, or if staff seem uncertain who the manager is, that is worth noting."}

  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 St Clare's Court provides specialist support for residents with dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home's structured activities and consistent staff approach help create the kind of stable, engaging environment that supports wellbeing. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.