Jack Dormand Care Home

What families say

When families have needed to be near their loved ones, the home has opened its doors completely. One family found they could stay day and night during a particularly important time, with staff providing both practical help and emotional support throughout.

Based on 3 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth88
• Compassion & dignity90
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement82
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership88
• Resident happiness82

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-10-19 · Report published 2023-10-19 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, meaning inspectors were satisfied that your parent would be safe here. A Good rating in Safe covers areas including staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. No significant concerns or requirement for improvement notices were issued. The home is registered for nursing care, meaning registered nurses must be present, which is an important safeguard for a dementia nursing home. The full detail of what inspectors observed u2014 including falls data, agency usage, and night staffing u2014 is not available in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is reassuring but is not the same as Outstanding u2014 it means the home meets the standard, not that it exceeds it. For families choosing a dementia nursing home, the detail that matters most is often what happens at night: how many staff are on, whether they are permanent or agency, and how quickly they respond when your parent needs help. Our Good Practice evidence base finds that safety most commonly slips during night shifts when staffing thins out and agency staff who don't know your parent are covering. The 14% of families who specifically mention staff attentiveness in positive reviews are often describing daytime care u2014 night arrangements are harder to assess from the outside. We'd encourage you to ask directly about overnight nurse cover before making a decision.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the strongest predictors of safety incidents in dementia care settings, as unfamiliar staff cannot recognise changes in a person's baseline behaviour that might signal deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How many registered nurses are on duty overnight, and what proportion of those night shifts are covered by permanent staff rather than agency workers?' Then ask to see the signing-in book or rota for the past month."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at this inspection, covering how well the home translates care into positive outcomes for your parent. This domain includes training, care planning, access to healthcare, nutrition, and dementia-specific practice. A Good rating means inspectors were satisfied with standards but did not find exceptional or distinctive practice in this area. The home specialises in dementia care and provides nursing, which requires ongoing clinical competence from registered staff. Without the full inspection narrative, it is not possible to confirm specific findings about dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or how often care plans are reviewed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For dementia families, Effective is about whether staff genuinely understand your parent's condition u2014 not just their physical needs, but how their dementia affects their communication, their fears, and their daily experience. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that dementia training which goes beyond basic compliance u2014 covering non-verbal communication, behaviour as communication, and life history approaches u2014 makes a measurable difference to wellbeing. Twenty percent of families in our review data specifically highlight healthcare responsiveness as a driver of positive reviews, and access to a GP when your parent is unwell (not just at scheduled review) is one of the most common concerns raised by families who move their parent after things go wrong. Ask the home how they alert families when they contact the GP, and what the typical waiting time is for a GP visit when your parent seems unwell.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans treated as living documents u2014 regularly updated with family input and reviewed after every significant change u2014 were associated with better outcomes and fewer preventable hospital admissions in dementia nursing home populations.","watch_out":"Ask: 'When was the last time my parent's care plan was reviewed, and how would I be involved in that process?' Then ask what dementia-specific training staff have completed in the past 12 months, and whether it goes beyond mandatory e-learning."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Caring was rated Outstanding u2014 the highest possible u2014 at this inspection. This is the domain that most directly reflects what families experience day to day: whether staff are kind, whether your parent is treated with dignity, whether their independence is respected, and whether they are genuinely known as a person. An Outstanding rating in this domain is rare and requires inspectors to observe specific, consistent evidence of exceptional practice u2014 not just compliance with dignity standards. Without the full inspection narrative, the specific observations and quotes that convinced inspectors cannot be confirmed, but the rating itself is a strong positive signal.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single highest-weighted theme in our family review data, cited in over 57% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55%. When families choose a care home for a parent with dementia, they are placing enormous trust in strangers to treat the person they love with the same care they would. An Outstanding Caring rating means inspectors saw something that stood out u2014 whether that was staff using your parent's preferred name, sitting with them rather than rushing past, or responding to distress in a calm and knowing way. The Good Practice evidence base confirms that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 a reassuring touch, a calm tone, recognising a familiar face u2014 is as important as any clinical intervention. This is the domain where Jack Dormand Care Home appears to genuinely distinguish itself.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that person-led care u2014 where staff know the individual's life history, preferences, and communication style u2014 is the most consistent predictor of emotional wellbeing in people with dementia, outperforming environmental and clinical factors in most studies reviewed.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff interact with your parent in the corridors and communal areas u2014 not just when they are delivering care. Are they making eye contact, using their name, pausing to acknowledge them? That unhurried quality is what Outstanding Caring looks like in practice."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Responsive was also rated Outstanding, meaning inspectors found strong evidence that the home tailors its care and daily life to the individual needs and preferences of each person u2014 not just offering a standard programme. For a dementia nursing home, this typically includes activities that are meaningful to each person, care that adapts as needs change, and effective end-of-life planning. Responsive also covers how the home handles complaints. An Outstanding rating here is particularly significant for families of people with dementia, where the risk of generic, one-size-fits-all care is well documented. The full detail of what inspectors observed u2014 including specific activity provision and care planning arrangements u2014 is not available in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Over 27% of families in our review data specifically mention resident happiness and engagement as a driver of their positive assessment, and 21% highlight activities. For people living with dementia, a meaningful daily life is not a luxury u2014 it is a clinical need. The Good Practice evidence base shows that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household activities (folding, sorting, gardening) are often more sustaining for people with moderate to advanced dementia than structured group activities, because they draw on long-term procedural memory that is preserved even when short-term memory has gone. An Outstanding Responsive rating suggests this home understands that distinction. For people who can no longer join group activities, one-to-one engagement is essential u2014 ask specifically how this is provided.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes offering individually tailored activity u2014 including activities drawn from a person's life history and occupational identity u2014 showed significantly lower rates of agitation and social withdrawal in residents with moderate to severe dementia compared with group-only activity provision.","watch_out":"Ask: 'What would a typical Tuesday afternoon look like for my parent if they couldn't join a group activity?' Ask to see the activities programme for the past month and check whether it includes individual as well as group sessions."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Outstanding, the third of three Outstanding domains at this inspection. This domain assesses the quality of leadership, the culture of the home, how staff are supported, how the home uses information to drive improvement, and how openly it engages with families and external bodies. An Outstanding Well-led rating requires evidence of a learning culture, not just a compliant one u2014 inspectors will look for signs that staff can raise concerns, that managers act on them, and that the home's quality is improving over time. Notably, this home's overall rating improved from Good to Outstanding at this inspection, which itself is a marker of progressive leadership. The registered manager is Mrs Ann Marie Shillaw, with Ms Anna Gretchen Selby as nominated individual.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Our Good Practice evidence base is clear: homes with consistent, visible management maintain standards more reliably than those with frequent management changes, especially during periods of growth or staff turnover. The improvement from Good to Outstanding between inspections tells you something important u2014 this home is on a positive trajectory, not resting on past results. Eleven and a half percent of families in our review data specifically mention communication with management as a positive factor; knowing who is in charge and feeling that they are genuinely accessible makes an enormous difference when you have concerns. Ask how long the current manager has been in post and how they prefer to communicate with families.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that leadership culture u2014 specifically whether staff feel empowered to raise concerns and whether managers visibly act on feedback u2014 is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than any single structural factor, including staffing ratios or building quality.","watch_out":"Ask to meet the registered manager during your visit, not just a senior carer. Ask: 'How long have you been in post, and what is the one thing you most want to improve about the home in the next year?' Their answer will tell you a great deal about both their tenure and their honesty."}

  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 both under and over 65, including those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those concerned about dementia care, the home has experience supporting people with this condition as part of their broader care approach. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.