Dale Mount

What families say

What strikes families most is seeing their loved ones genuinely content and safe. Residents here seem to rediscover their confidence, with some forming new friendships and enjoying the social side of life again. The daily activities give everyone something to look forward to and participate in.

Based on 7 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
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-07-18 · Report published 2018-07-18 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Dale Mount received a Good rating in the Safe domain at its June 2018 inspection. The home is registered for 13 beds, which is a small setting. No specific safety concerns were recorded in the published text. There is no detail available about staffing ratios, falls management, medicine administration, or infection control practices from this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating tells you that inspectors did not find significant concerns at the time of inspection. However, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that night staffing is where safety most often slips in small residential homes, and that agency staff use can undermine the consistency that people with dementia rely on. With only 13 beds, you would hope to see a small, stable permanent team, but the published findings do not confirm this either way. Our review data shows that families notice staff attentiveness as a safety signal well before any formal concern is raised, so trust your own observations on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency reliance are two of the clearest predictors of safety risk in small residential dementia settings, and that incident learning processes are a reliable marker of whether a home improves over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not a template. Count how many permanent staff were on duty overnight, and ask how many nights in that week were covered by agency or bank workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Dale Mount received a Good rating in the Effective domain at its June 2018 inspection. This domain covers care planning, dementia training, healthcare access, nutritional standards, and how well the home works with other professionals. No specific observations, examples, or quotes supporting this rating are available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating means inspectors were satisfied that the home was meeting the required standards in care planning and health oversight at the time of the inspection, which is now over six years ago. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that care plans should function as living documents, updated regularly to reflect changes in your parent's condition and preferences, not filed away after admission. The published findings cannot confirm whether this is happening at Dale Mount. Given the dementia specialism, you should also ask specifically about the content of staff dementia training, as the quality and recency of training varies significantly between homes.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that care plans used as active, regularly reviewed tools, rather than compliance documents, are one of the strongest predictors of person-centred outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see how a care plan is structured for a resident with dementia. Specifically ask when plans are reviewed, who is involved in reviews, and whether families are invited to contribute. A plan last updated at admission is a concern."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Dale Mount received a Good rating in the Caring domain at its June 2018 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well staff know the individuals they support. No inspector observations, resident feedback, or family quotes from this inspection are available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family experience in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. The inspection confirmed a Good standard, but without the underlying observations it is difficult to know what specifically impressed inspectors. The Good Practice evidence base notes that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia. On your visit, watch how staff approach your parent: do they crouch to eye level, use their preferred name without being prompted, and move without hurry? These small details are more telling than anything on paper.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that non-verbal cues, including pace, eye contact, and physical proximity, are the primary channel through which people with dementia experience care quality, often long after verbal communication has become unreliable.","watch_out":"During your visit, observe a corridor interaction between a staff member and a resident who has not been told you are watching. Does the staff member stop, make eye contact, and address the resident by name? Or do they pass without acknowledgement? This is one of the most reliable live indicators of caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Dale Mount received a Good rating in the Responsive domain at its June 2018 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, responsiveness to complaints, and end-of-life care planning. No specific detail about activities programmes, individual engagement approaches, or complaint handling is available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities and engagement account for a further 21.4%. A small 13-bed home like Dale Mount has the potential to offer highly individual engagement, which is a significant advantage for someone with dementia who may struggle with large group settings. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that people with dementia benefit most from one-to-one activities and familiar everyday tasks, not just group sessions. The published findings do not confirm whether Dale Mount delivers this. Ask specifically what would happen on a quiet Tuesday afternoon for a resident who cannot join a group activity.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based and everyday-task approaches to activity, such as folding laundry, simple cooking tasks, or tending a garden, produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than structured group activities alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager or activities lead to describe what a typical weekday looks like for a resident with moderate to advanced dementia who cannot join group sessions. If the answer defaults to television or resting in a chair, that is worth probing further."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Dale Mount received a Good rating in the Well-led domain at its June 2018 inspection. A registered manager, Mrs Kerry Johnson, and a nominated individual, Mrs Sarah Louise Eves, are named in the registration record. The home is run by Nicholas James Care Homes Ltd. No further detail about management culture, staff support, governance systems, or how the home learns from incidents is available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and families consistently tell us they want to feel a named person is accountable and present. The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. The last full inspection was in June 2018, which means over six years have passed without a published reassessment. The July 2023 monitoring review found no cause for concern, but a lot can change in a management team over that period. Ask directly whether the same registered manager is still in post, and how long they have been there.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that leadership stability, specifically manager tenure and the degree to which staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality in residential dementia settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at Dale Mount specifically, not just in care. Also ask when the most recent staff survey or feedback exercise was carried out, and what changed as a result. A manager who can answer the second question with a specific example is a positive sign."}

  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 Dale Mount provides specialist dementia care alongside general support for adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home's approach to dementia care focuses on helping residents maintain their confidence and social connections. Families particularly value how the team understands the importance of making each person feel valued. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.