Elm Tree House

What families say

Families visiting Elm Tree House consistently mention the warm reception they receive from staff. There's a sense that everyone who works there genuinely wants residents and their visitors to feel comfortable and at ease.

Based on 4 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
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership73
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-19 · Report published 2019-01-19 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied that risks to residents were identified and managed, that medicines were handled appropriately, and that staffing was sufficient at the time of the visit. The home is registered for 20 beds, which is a small environment where individual residents should in principle be well known to staff. No concerns, enforcement actions, or requirement notices were recorded against this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is the baseline you need, but for a home specialising in dementia, the detail behind the rating matters as much as the headline. Good Practice research consistently shows that safety in care homes most often slips at night, when staffing ratios are at their lowest. In a 20-bed home, even one or two fewer staff overnight can significantly affect how quickly your parent's needs are noticed and responded to. The absence of any concerns in this domain is positive, but the published report does not tell you how many staff are on at night, whether the home relies on agency workers, or how it logs and learns from falls or incidents. These are questions only the home can answer directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios and consistent use of permanent rather than agency staff are among the strongest predictors of safety outcomes in care homes supporting people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how many staff are physically on the premises overnight, and what is the ratio to residents currently in the home? Also ask whether those night staff are permanent employees or agency workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the skills and knowledge to support residents well, including dementia training, care planning, and coordination with health professionals such as GPs. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would have expected to see evidence of appropriate training and care planning. No concerns were recorded, suggesting these requirements were met. The published report does not, however, include specific examples of care plan content, training records reviewed, or GP access arrangements.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent living with dementia, effectiveness means more than ticking a training box. It means staff understanding how dementia changes communication, how to interpret behaviour that looks challenging as an expression of an unmet need, and how to adapt care as the condition progresses. A Good rating suggests the home meets the standard, but families in our review data consistently highlight that care plans which genuinely reflect individual preferences, not just medical needs, make the biggest difference to daily quality of life. Ask to see the format a care plan takes, and ask how often it is reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that care plans used as living documents, reviewed regularly and co-produced with families, are significantly associated with better outcomes for people with dementia compared to plans that are completed at admission and rarely revisited.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how soon after admission would my parent's care plan be completed, how often is it formally reviewed, and will I be invited to take part in that review?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This is the domain most directly concerned with how staff interact with your parent day to day, including whether residents are treated with warmth, respect, and dignity, and whether their independence is supported rather than undermined. A Good rating in this domain indicates inspectors were satisfied with what they observed and heard. The published report does not include any direct quotes from residents or relatives, or specific examples of caring interactions that inspectors witnessed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, cited positively in 57.3% of reviews across thousands of UK care homes. In homes where this is genuinely strong, families describe staff using residents' preferred names without prompting, pausing to listen rather than rushing through tasks, and responding calmly and patiently to distress. For your parent with dementia, non-verbal communication, tone of voice, and physical reassurance become increasingly important as verbal communication changes. A Good rating tells you inspectors saw no failures of dignity; it does not tell you how warm the culture feels on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. A visit is the only way to find this out.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlights that person-led caring in dementia settings depends on staff knowing each individual's life history, preferences, and communication style, and that homes which invest in this knowledge consistently produce better wellbeing outcomes than those relying on task-based routines alone.","watch_out":"On your visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name naturally in conversation, and watch what happens when a resident appears upset or confused. Is the response calm, unhurried, and individualised, or is it procedural and quick to move on?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors its support to each individual, whether there are meaningful activities on offer, and whether residents' changing needs, including end-of-life care preferences, are planned for and responded to. The home's small size of 20 beds should in principle make individual responsiveness more achievable than in larger settings. The published report does not describe specific activities, individual engagement approaches, or end-of-life planning processes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that resident happiness and activity engagement are two of the themes families comment on most after moving a parent into a care home. For someone with dementia, group activities alone are rarely enough, particularly as the condition advances and the ability to follow structured sessions reduces. Good Practice research points to the value of one-to-one engagement, familiar household tasks, and sensory activities tailored to the person's history and interests. A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but you will want to ask specifically what the home does for residents who cannot or choose not to join group sessions.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including familiar everyday tasks such as folding, sorting, or gardening, produce significantly better engagement and reduced distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia compared to group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: what would you do on a Tuesday afternoon with my parent if they could not or did not want to join the group session? Ask to see the activity records or a recent weekly timetable."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. Mrs Beverley Steele is named as Registered Manager and Mrs Vivien Gail Jones as Nominated Individual for Living Developments Limited. A named registered manager in post is a positive indicator; homes without a permanent manager tend to show more variable outcomes over time. A Good rating here indicates that governance systems, quality monitoring, and leadership culture were considered adequate by inspectors. The published report does not describe specific audit processes, how the home handles complaints, or the tenure of the current management team.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of consistent care quality over time. In our review data, families who feel well informed and able to raise concerns without hesitation are significantly more likely to describe a home as trustworthy. Good Practice research shows that homes where staff feel safe to speak up about concerns without fear of blame tend to catch and correct problems earlier. A Good Well-led rating is a positive signal, but it is worth asking how long the current registered manager has been in post, and how the home communicates with families when something goes wrong.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture of bottom-up accountability, where staff at all levels feel empowered to raise concerns, are among the most consistent predictors of sustained quality in care homes over time.","watch_out":"Ask: how long has the current registered manager been in post, and if I had a concern about my parent's care, what would happen if I raised it with them? Notice whether the manager is visible on the floor during your visit or whether you are directed only to administrative staff."}

  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 team at Elm Tree House works with residents who have dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. They provide residential care for people over 65, tailoring their approach to each person's individual needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on Dementia care forms part of the support available at Elm Tree House. The team understands that each person with dementia has their own story and needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.