Kingsleigh Care Home – Care UK

What families say

Families talk about walking in at different times and finding the same thing — residents joining in activities, chatting with staff, or simply looking content. Entertainment and trips seem to be regular fixtures, with people noticing how staff know just how to lift someone's spirits when they're having a tough day. There's something reassuring about hearing families describe feeling genuinely welcomed whenever they visit.

Based on 22 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 & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-12-12 · Report published 2020-12-12 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection, improved from a previous rating of Requires Improvement. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home manages risk. No specific inspector observations, staffing numbers, or incident data are included in the published report. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring a change to this rating. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is the clearest signal available that previous safety concerns were addressed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Safe rating matters, but what it does not tell you is how many staff are on the dementia unit at two in the morning, or whether agency workers cover a significant number of shifts. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, and heavy agency reliance can undermine the consistency that people with dementia particularly need. The jump from Requires Improvement to Good suggests the home identified and fixed specific problems, which is genuinely positive. However, because the inspection text contains no specific detail, you cannot rely on this rating alone to answer questions about day-to-day safety. The checklist below includes the questions you need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff usage are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes, yet they are frequently under-documented in published inspection summaries.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff and how many by agency workers, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty overnight for 67 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This domain covers the quality of care assessments, care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition. No specific detail about care plan content, GP access, medication management, or food quality is included in the published report. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies staff should have relevant training, but no training records or content are described. The July 2023 monitoring review did not flag any concerns in this area.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families considering Kingsleigh for a parent with dementia, the Effective rating covers some of the things that matter most: whether staff understand dementia well enough to interpret behaviour rather than just manage it, and whether your parent's care plan reflects who they actually are rather than a generic template. Our family review data shows that dementia-specific care quality is mentioned in 12.7% of positive reviews, and Good Practice research identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated whenever your parent's needs change, not just annually. The published findings do not tell you whether Kingsleigh meets that standard. Ask to see a sample care plan structure, and ask how often plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to take part.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies regular, family-inclusive care plan reviews as one of the strongest markers of genuinely person-led care for people with dementia. Homes that treat care plans as administrative documents rather than working tools tend to show poorer outcomes in responsiveness to changing needs.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute. Also ask what dementia training all carers receive, not just team leaders, and whether any staff hold a recognised dementia-specific qualification such as the Dementia Champion or equivalent."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This domain is the closest official equivalent to what families care most about: whether staff are kind, whether your parent is treated with dignity, and whether interactions feel unhurried and respectful. No inspector observations of specific staff interactions are included in the published report, and there are no resident or family quotes. The rating alone confirms that inspectors assessed this area and found it satisfactory.","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 together account for 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities. They show up in specific, observable behaviours: staff using your parent's preferred name rather than a generic term, not interrupting a conversation to move on to the next task, sitting at eye level rather than standing over someone. The inspection confirms a Good rating but provides no specific examples of these behaviours at Kingsleigh. Good Practice research is clear that for people with dementia, non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken words, and staff who know individual histories deliver meaningfully better care. You will need to observe these things yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care in dementia settings depends on staff knowing each individual's life history, preferences, and communication style. Homes that invest in this knowledge show measurably better outcomes for resident wellbeing and family confidence.","watch_out":"When you visit, spend 15 minutes sitting quietly in a communal area and watch how staff speak to and move around the people who live there. Notice whether staff crouch or sit to speak to someone seated, whether they use names, and whether interactions feel rushed. These are things no inspection rating can tell you."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This domain covers whether care is tailored to individual needs, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether the home responds well to complaints and changing needs. No specific activity programmes, individual engagement examples, or complaint-handling details are described in the published report. The home serves a wide range of needs including dementia, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions, which makes individual tailoring particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities engagement is valued by 21.4% of families in our positive review data, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. For people with advanced dementia who cannot participate in group sessions, Good Practice research identifies one-to-one engagement as essential rather than optional. This includes familiar, everyday tasks such as folding laundry, tending plants, or looking through photographs, which can provide continuity and comfort even when other capacities have diminished. The published findings give no information about whether Kingsleigh provides this kind of individual engagement. Given the home's mix of specialisms, ask specifically how the activity programme is adapted for residents at different stages of dementia.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review identified Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches as producing significantly better engagement and reduced agitation in people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared with group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity timetable for the last two weeks, not just the planned schedule. Then ask how residents who cannot join group activities are supported with one-to-one engagement, and who is responsible for that on days when the activity coordinator is not on shift."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection, improved from a previous Requires Improvement rating. A named registered manager, Mrs Kelly Kelleher, is in post, and a nominated individual, Ms Rachel Louise Harvey, is recorded. The home is operated by Care UK Community Partnerships Ltd, a large national provider. No specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home handles complaints is included in the published report. The improvement in this domain from Requires Improvement is the strongest specific signal available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management leadership accounts for 23.4% of what drives positive family reviews, and Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in a care home. A home that was previously rated Requires Improvement and has since achieved Good across all five domains has demonstrated it can identify problems and act on them, which is genuinely meaningful. However, you should check how long the current registered manager has been in post, because manager turnover can quickly reverse a positive trajectory. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive review themes, and the published findings say nothing about how Kingsleigh keeps families informed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture in which staff feel safe to raise concerns are among the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Homes where staff feel unable to speak up tend to show declining outcomes even when headline ratings remain positive.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether they are present across a full working week. Also ask how you would be contacted if your parent had a fall, a health change, or a difficult day, and how quickly the home would expect to reach you."}

  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 supports people living with dementia alongside those with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. This mix of specialisms means staff work with quite complex needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, families mention seeing their relatives engaged in activities and seeming content in their surroundings. Staff appear skilled at reading mood changes and knowing how to provide comfort during difficult moments. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.