Apple Tree Care Home

What families say

Visitors to Apple Tree often comment on how friendly the staff are when they arrive. There's a sense that residents here have genuine choices about how they spend their days, with activities available for those who want to join in.

Based on 5 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-09-27 · Report published 2022-09-27 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The safe domain was rated Good at the August 2022 inspection. Beyond this rating, the published report does not contain specific detail about staffing levels, medicines management, falls prevention, or infection control practices at Apple Tree Care Home. The home is registered as a residential service, meaning it does not provide nursing care, which is relevant when considering the level of clinical oversight available. No concerns were flagged in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means inspectors did not find immediate concerns, but it does not tell you what night staffing looks like or how the home responds when something goes wrong. Good Practice research consistently identifies night-time as the period when safety is most at risk in small residential homes, particularly for people with dementia who may become disorientated in the dark. Because this home has only 20 beds and is residential rather than nursing, understanding the overnight staffing ratio is especially important. Our family review data shows that 14% of families specifically mention staff attentiveness as a factor in their satisfaction, and that concern is sharpest at night. Ask directly: how many staff are on duty between 10pm and 7am, and is there always a senior carer on site?","evidence_base":"IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University found that night staffing ratios are among the weakest points in residential dementia care, and that agency reliance on night shifts undermines the consistency that people with dementia depend on.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past week, not the planned template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and confirm how many staff are on site between 10pm and 7am."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The effective domain was rated Good at the August 2022 inspection. The published report does not include specific detail about care plan quality, dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or how food quality and dietary needs are managed. The home's declared specialisms include dementia and mental health conditions, which implies a degree of relevant expertise, but the inspection findings do not describe what that expertise looks like in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality accounts for 20.9% of positive family reviews in our data, and dementia-specific care is mentioned in 12.7% of positive reviews. Both matter enormously for day-to-day wellbeing. Good Practice evidence shows that care plans function best as living documents, updated regularly with family input, rather than documents completed on admission and rarely revisited. Because the published findings give no detail on either food or care planning, you will need to investigate both yourself. Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if necessary) to check whether it reflects real individual preferences, and visit at a mealtime to see whether choice and texture modification are handled thoughtfully.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that regular, structured GP access and care plans that are reviewed with family involvement are among the strongest predictors of good health outcomes for people with dementia in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed, who is invited to those reviews, and whether the person living there is involved. Then ask to see the menu for the past week and check whether texture-modified or specialist dietary options are available."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The caring domain was rated Good at the August 2022 inspection. No specific observations about staff warmth, use of preferred names, responses to distress, or privacy during personal care are recorded in the published findings. The Good rating indicates inspectors did not find evidence of poor practice, but the report does not describe what kind, respectful care actually looked like on the day.","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 mentioned in 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities: they show up in whether a carer knocks before entering a room, uses your dad's preferred name, or sits with him when he is distressed rather than moving on quickly to the next task. Because the published findings contain no direct observations or testimony on these points, you cannot rely on the rating alone. Good Practice evidence confirms that non-verbal communication, tone of voice, and unhurried physical presence matter as much as any formal care process for people with dementia who may no longer follow spoken words.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal warmth from familiar staff is a primary source of wellbeing, and that high agency use directly undermines this because unfamiliar faces increase anxiety.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes and watch how staff address residents: do they use preferred names, make eye contact, and move without visible hurry? Notice whether any resident appears distressed and how staff respond."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The responsive domain was rated Good at the August 2022 inspection. The published report does not describe the activity programme, how one-to-one engagement is provided for residents who cannot join groups, or how the home responds to individual preferences and changes in need. No complaints or concerns are referenced in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together represent nearly half the weighting in positive family reviews. Good Practice evidence is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with moderate or advanced dementia, many of whom cannot participate meaningfully in a shared programme. What matters is whether staff engage individually, through familiar household tasks, simple sensory activities, or just quiet companionship. Because this is a small, 20-bed home, there may be fewer structured activity options than in a larger setting, but the potential for more personalised, unhurried attention is also greater. Ask specifically what happens for your parent on a day when the group activity is not suitable for them.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and everyday task-based individual activities significantly improve wellbeing for people with dementia who cannot engage with conventional group programmes, and that activity provision is most effective when it reflects the person's life history.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for the past two weeks, not the planned programme. Then ask what one-to-one engagement is provided for residents who cannot join group sessions, and who is responsible for delivering it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The well-led domain was rated Good at the August 2022 inspection. A registered manager and a nominated individual were recorded as being in post. The published findings do not describe the manager's visibility on the floor, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home handles complaints and learning from incidents. The presence of named leadership is a positive structural indicator, but no detail beyond this is available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research shows that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. A manager who is visible on the floor, known by name to residents and staff, and who creates a culture where carers feel safe to raise concerns tends to run a home that sustains its rating between inspections. Communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews in our data, reflecting how much families value being kept informed. Because the last inspection was in August 2022, more than two years have now passed, and staff or management may have changed since then. Ask directly about manager tenure and any recent staffing changes.","evidence_base":"IFF Research found that homes where staff feel empowered to speak up about concerns without fear of reprisal are significantly more likely to sustain Good or Outstanding ratings across consecutive inspections.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long they have been in post, whether there have been significant staff changes in the past 12 months, and how families are contacted when there is a change in a resident's health or wellbeing."}

  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 Apple Tree supports people with various needs including dementia, sensory impairments, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. They care for adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on While Apple Tree lists dementia care as one of their specialisms, we're still learning more about the specific approaches and support they provide for residents living with dementia. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.