The Forbury Residential Home

What families say

What strikes families most is how quickly their loved ones settle in. Within weeks, they're seeing real changes — better moods, more energy, genuine engagement with what's happening around them. The warmth from staff during those crucial early days helps everyone adjust.

Based on 12 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-11-12 · Report published 2020-11-12 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This indicates that inspectors were satisfied with arrangements for keeping residents safe, including medicines management, staffing, and infection control. However, the published inspection text does not include specific observations, staffing ratios, or details about falls management or incident recording. The inspection took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, so infection control procedures would have been a particular focus at the time. No concerns were recorded.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in safety is reassuring, but without specific detail it is difficult to know exactly what inspectors observed. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is the point where safety is most likely to slip in residential care homes, particularly for people with dementia who may be at risk of falls or distress overnight. With 40 residents across a mix of needs, night cover matters. The inspection is also now over four years old, so current staffing arrangements may differ from what was in place in 2020. Our family review data shows that 14% of positive reviews specifically mention staff attentiveness as a safety signal, so how quickly staff respond when your parent needs help is worth checking directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent safety practice, because unfamiliar staff are less likely to notice subtle changes in a person's behaviour that signal a health problem.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not the planned template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency staff covered night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of staff on duty overnight is for the current number of residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This domain covers care planning, training, healthcare access, and nutrition. Inspectors were satisfied overall, but the published text provides no specific examples of how care plans are written, how often they are reviewed, or how the home works with GPs and other health professionals. The dementia specialism means staff training in this area is particularly important, but no training records or content are described in the available findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that specialises in dementia care, what staff actually know matters as much as the rating they receive. Good Practice research from the 2026 evidence review found that dementia training which covers non-verbal communication and behaviour that challenges produces measurably better outcomes for residents, but the content of training varies enormously between homes. A Good Effective rating tells you inspectors were satisfied; it does not tell you whether your mum's care plan includes her life history, her food preferences, or how she communicates pain. Food quality, which our family review data associates with 20.9% of positive reviews, is also something you will need to assess directly, as no detail is available from this inspection.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents that are updated after any change in health or circumstances, and that family involvement in review meetings significantly improves the accuracy of person-centred detail recorded.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample of how the home structures a care plan, with personal details removed. Check whether it includes the person's life history, preferred daily routine, food likes and dislikes, and how they communicate when they are in pain or distress. Then ask how often plans are formally reviewed and whether families are invited."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This is the domain most directly concerned with how staff treat the people in their care, covering dignity, respect, independence, and emotional warmth. Inspectors were satisfied, but the published text contains no direct observations of staff interactions, no resident or family quotes, and no specific examples of how dignity is upheld in practice. The absence of detail is not a concern in itself, but it does mean the Good rating here cannot be contextualised further from this report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity are close behind at 55.2%. These are the things families notice most and remember longest. The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, how a staff member makes eye contact, the pace at which they move, whether they crouch down to speak to a seated resident, matters as much as what is said, particularly for people with advanced dementia. A Good rating in Caring is a positive signal, but the only way to assess whether this translates into day-to-day warmth is to visit and observe. Watch how staff interact with residents in corridors, not just in formal settings.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual's history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff can describe residents as people, not as a list of needs, consistently score higher on dignity measures.","watch_out":"During your visit, stand in a corridor or communal area for ten minutes and observe. Do staff make eye contact with residents as they pass? Do they use names? Do they stop when someone seems unsettled, or walk past? These unscripted moments tell you more about the caring culture than any formal demonstration."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This domain covers how well the home meets individual needs, including activities, engagement, and responsiveness to complaints. No specific activities, programmes, or examples of individual engagement are described in the published text. The home supports people with dementia, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions, which means responsiveness to a wide range of individual needs is particularly important. No complaints or concerns were highlighted.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. For people living with dementia in particular, meaningful activity is not a bonus feature but a clinical need: Good Practice research from the 2026 evidence review found that structured, individually tailored activity, including everyday household tasks and sensory engagement, reduces agitation and supports a sense of purpose. A group exercise class at 10am on a Tuesday tells you very little about what happens for your dad at 3pm on a Sunday. Ask specifically about one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join group sessions, as this is where the difference between good and excellent homes is most visible.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented activity approaches, which involve people in familiar, purposeful activities rather than passive entertainment, produce the strongest outcomes for people with mid-to-late stage dementia in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask to see last month's activity rota, then ask what happens for a resident who is having a difficult day and cannot join the group. Find out who is responsible for one-to-one engagement and how many hours per week are allocated to it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. The registered manager at the time of inspection was Mrs Genovaite Bujokiene, working alongside provider Christopher Anthony Lutton. Inspectors were satisfied with leadership and governance, but no specific observations about management visibility, staff culture, or quality assurance processes are recorded in the available published text. The inspection was one of two carried out since registration, and the rating was stable.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence review. A manager who has been in post for a sustained period and is known to both staff and residents by name creates a culture of consistency that is particularly important for people with dementia, who depend on familiar faces and predictable routines. Our family review data links management quality to 23.4% of positive reviews. Because the inspection was conducted in late 2020, a key question is whether the same manager is still in post, since leadership changes can significantly affect culture and quality in a short period.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear, and where managers respond visibly to feedback, show consistently better outcomes on safety and dignity measures than homes where governance is paperwork-led rather than people-led.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current manager has been in post and whether the same registered manager from the 2020 inspection is still leading the home. Then ask what the home changed most recently as a result of a complaint or a staff suggestion, as the answer will tell you a great deal about how learning actually works in practice here."}

  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 Forbury provides specialist support for dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and general care for people over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on While many families report positive experiences with dementia care here, it's worth having a detailed conversation about your loved one's specific needs during your visit. Every person's journey with dementia is different, and you'll want to feel confident the home can provide the right support. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.