Herries Lodge care home, Sheffield

What families say

Visitors consistently describe finding residents engaged in activities throughout the day. The atmosphere strikes a balance between structured support and relaxed comfort, with staff who take time to be friendly and helpful.

Based on 4 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
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-01-12 · Report published 2023-01-12 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with safety arrangements at the time of the December 2022 visit. Herries Lodge is registered as a dementia specialist home with 47 beds. No safeguarding concerns, medication errors, or staffing failures are mentioned in the published summary. The home is run by Anchor Hanover Group, whose size means it typically has access to centralised governance and oversight systems. No detail is available on night staffing ratios, agency use, or falls management processes from the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe is reassuring, but it tells you more about the absence of serious problems than it does about the quality of day-to-day safety culture. What matters most for your parent living with dementia is what happens after 8pm u2014 when staffing typically reduces and the risk of falls, distress, or unmet needs increases. Our family review data shows that 'staff attentiveness' accounts for 14% of what drives positive family reviews, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that night staffing is where safety most commonly slips in residential dementia care. The inspection gives you a baseline, but the specific numbers u2014 how many staff are on overnight, how falls are recorded and acted on u2014 need to come from the home directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff use is consistently associated with reduced care consistency for people with dementia, who benefit most from familiar faces and predictable routines. Homes with low agency reliance tend to perform better on safety indicators over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: 'How many staff are on duty on the dementia unit between 10pm and 6am, and what proportion of those shifts are covered by your permanent team rather than agency or bank staff?'"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Effective as Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with the home's approach to training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition at the time of the visit. Herries Lodge carries a dementia specialism, meaning inspectors would have considered whether staff training and care practices are appropriate for this group. No specific details about dementia training content, GP access frequency, medication management, or food quality are provided in the published summary. Anchor Hanover Group typically provides centralised training frameworks across its homes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent living with dementia, 'effective' care means staff who genuinely understand how dementia progresses u2014 not just completing mandatory e-learning, but knowing how to communicate with someone who has lost words, how to respond to changed behaviour, and how to spot early signs of physical deterioration. Food quality is one of the clearest markers of genuine care: our family review data shows it drives 20.9% of positive reviews. Whether meals are nutritious, varied, and served with time and patience matters enormously, especially as dementia affects appetite and swallowing. The inspection doesn't give us the detail to score this highly with confidence, so these are important questions for your visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as 'living documents' u2014 they should reflect the person your parent is now, updated regularly as dementia progresses, and co-produced with families. Homes where care plans are reviewed less than monthly for people with moderate-to-advanced dementia tend to miss significant changes in need.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example of how care plans are updated when a resident's condition changes, and ask: 'When did you last review my parent's care plan, and how would you involve me in that process?'"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Caring as Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with how staff treated residents at the time of the visit. This domain typically captures dignity, respect, warmth of interaction, and whether residents feel their individuality is recognised. No direct observations, resident quotes, or family testimonies are included in the published summary for this home. The absence of specific detail means we cannot verify what inspectors actually saw in terms of staff-resident interactions, preferred names being used, or unhurried care.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"The Caring domain is the one that matters most to families u2014 our review data shows staff warmth (57.3%) and compassion and dignity (55.2%) are the two highest-weighted themes in what drives positive family experiences. A Good rating here is meaningful, but the real test is what you observe on a visit: are staff using your parent's preferred name without being prompted? Do they crouch down to make eye contact rather than talking over them? Is the pace unhurried, even during busy morning routines? For people living with dementia who may not be able to tell you how they're being treated, these small moments of dignified, patient interaction are everything.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia. Staff who are trained to read and respond to non-verbal cues u2014 posture, facial expression, restlessness u2014 provide meaningfully better care than those who rely solely on spoken communication.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff greet your parent on arrival and notice whether they use their preferred name naturally, make unhurried eye contact, and respond calmly to any signs of agitation u2014 these micro-moments reveal the real care culture more than any policy document."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Responsive as Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with how the home meets individual needs, provides activities, and handles complaints and end-of-life planning. Herries Lodge is registered as a dementia specialist home, so inspectors would have considered whether the activity programme and daily routines are meaningful for this group. No specific activities, individual engagement approaches, or end-of-life planning examples are provided in the published summary. Whether the home provides one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot participate in group activities is not addressed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent with dementia, 'responsive' care means more than a weekly sing-along. It means someone knowing that your dad used to be a plumber and giving him something he can do with his hands, or knowing your mum loves Radio 2 and making sure it's on in her room. Our family review data shows activities and engagement drive 21.4% of positive reviews, and the Good Practice evidence is clear that tailored individual activities u2014 not just group programmes u2014 are what genuinely sustain wellbeing as dementia progresses. If your parent can no longer follow group activities, the critical question is what happens for them during those hours: are they engaged one-to-one, or are they sitting alone?","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies Montessori-based and occupation-focused approaches u2014 including everyday household tasks like folding, sorting, and simple cooking u2014 as among the most effective activity interventions for people with dementia, because they draw on procedural memory that often remains intact even in advanced stages.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: 'What would a typical Tuesday look like for my parent if they couldn't join the group session u2014 who would spend time with them, and what would that look like?' Then check whether the answer matches what you observe on an unannounced afternoon visit."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Well-led as Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with the management, governance, and culture of the home. A named Registered Manager (Miss Sarah Louise Burley) and Nominated Individual (Mr Daniel Ryan) are recorded, confirming clear accountability structures are in place. Herries Lodge is operated by Anchor Hanover Group, a large not-for-profit provider with central governance systems. No detail on management visibility, staff culture, complaint handling, or how the home acts on feedback is provided in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good leadership in a care home is what sustains quality between inspections u2014 it's what determines whether a difficult staffing period is managed well, whether concerns raised by families are taken seriously, and whether the culture remains kind even under pressure. Our family review data shows management and leadership accounts for 23.4% of what drives positive family experiences. The fact that Herries Lodge is run by Anchor Hanover Group provides some structural reassurance u2014 large providers typically have oversight mechanisms that smaller independent homes lack u2014 but the quality of your parent's day still depends on the on-the-ground manager and the culture they've built. Manager tenure is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability as a key predictor of sustained care quality. Homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years tend to have lower staff turnover, stronger care cultures, and better family communication u2014 all of which directly affect the experience of people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: 'How long have you been in this role, and how has the staffing team changed over the past 12 months?' u2014 high turnover at management or senior carer level often signals underlying instability that an inspection snapshot may not capture."}

  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 provides specialist dementia care alongside general support for residents over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here support residents with dementia as part of their specialist services. The team maintains a professional yet caring approach to meet individual needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.