Ascot House

What families say

Families talk about the warm welcome they receive when visiting. Staff make time to chat with visitors, offering drinks and creating a relaxed atmosphere that helps everyone feel at ease.

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity60
• Cleanliness50
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-11-02 · Report published 2019-11-02 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"Safety was rated Requires Improvement at the inspection published in March 2021. The published summary does not specify which aspects of safety were found to be insufficient. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring an immediate reassessment, but the rating remains Requires Improvement. No specific information on staffing ratios, medicines management, falls monitoring, or infection control is recorded in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement rating for Safety is the most significant finding in this inspection and deserves direct conversation with the manager before you consider a placement. Our Good Practice evidence base identifies night staffing as the area where safety most commonly slips in residential care homes, and agency reliance as a factor that undermines the consistency your parent with dementia needs. Because the published report does not explain what was unsafe, you cannot rely on the July 2023 monitoring review to reassure you. You need to ask the home directly what the concerns were and what changed.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that inadequate night staffing and high agency use are consistent predictors of safety incidents in care homes supporting people with dementia. Learning from incidents, through formal recording, review, and staff feedback, is a distinguishing marker of homes that improve over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the incident log for the last three months and explain what the specific safety concerns were in the 2021 inspection. Then ask how many permanent staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm on a typical night, and how often agency staff cover those shifts."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the inspection published in March 2021. The published summary does not record specific observations, resident testimony, or examples of what inspectors found. The home lists dementia as a specialism and cares for adults over 65. No specific detail on care plan quality, dementia training, GP access, or food provision is recorded in the available findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effectiveness means inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home plans and delivers care, including training and healthcare access. However, because no specific examples are recorded in the published summary, it is not possible to say with confidence what this looks like for your parent on a daily basis. Good Practice research consistently identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed at least monthly for people with dementia, and families should be actively involved in those reviews. Ask to see a sample care plan structure and ask how often your parent's plan would be updated.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training, including communication approaches and recognising unmet need expressed through behaviour, significantly improves day-to-day care quality. Homes where staff receive this training show measurably better outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia-specific training staff have completed in the last 12 months, and whether training covers non-verbal communication and recognising distress. Request a copy of the training schedule or completion records."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the inspection published in March 2021. No specific inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative feedback are recorded in the published summary. The home cares for adults over 65, including people with dementia. No detail on how staff address residents, respond to distress, or protect privacy and dignity is recorded in the available findings.","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 appear in 55.2%. A Good rating for Caring is encouraging, but without specific observations or quotes from residents and relatives, it is not possible to describe what kindness looks like in practice at this home. On your visit, pay attention to how staff greet your parent in the corridor, whether they use preferred names, and whether interactions feel unhurried. These are the observable signals that matter most to families.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research identifies non-verbal communication as equally important to verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia. Homes where staff make eye contact, speak at a calm pace, and respond to facial expressions and body language produce measurably lower levels of agitation and distress.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how a staff member responds when a resident appears confused or unsettled. Do they crouch down to eye level, speak calmly, and stay with the person, or do they redirect and move on quickly? That moment tells you more than any inspection rating."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the inspection published in March 2021. No specific information about the activity programme, individual engagement, or how the home responds to residents' personal preferences is recorded in the published summary. The home supports people with dementia, but no detail on tailored or one-to-one activities is available in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Responsiveness means inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home responds to individual needs and preferences, including activities and lifestyle. Activities account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. However, the published report gives no detail on what activities look like here or whether people with advanced dementia who cannot join group sessions receive individual engagement. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia, who benefit from tailored one-to-one engagement including familiar household tasks.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and activity-based approaches, including everyday tasks such as folding, sorting, and simple cooking, produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than passive or group-only programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you last week's actual activity schedule, not a template. Then ask specifically what happens for residents who cannot join group sessions, and how often they receive individual engagement."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the inspection published in March 2021. The home is operated by Statepalm Limited and has a named registered manager and a nominated individual recorded in the inspection overview. No specific observations about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or family communication are recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Homes with a consistent, visible manager tend to have lower staff turnover, fewer incidents, and better family communication. The inspection names a registered manager, which is a positive indicator, but the published report does not tell you how long she has been in post, how often she is present on the floor, or how the home handles concerns raised by families. Management and family communication together account for around 35% of what drives positive family reviews in our data. These are questions worth asking directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where managers are regularly visible on the floor rather than office-based, consistently achieve better outcomes for residents and lower rates of staff absence.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether she is typically present during the day. Then ask how you would raise a concern about your parent's care and what would happen next, and listen for whether the answer is specific or generic."}

  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 cares for adults over 65 and has experience supporting people with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on While the home accepts residents with dementia, families considering this option might want to ask about specific approaches and staff training during a visit. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.