Normanby House – Saint Cecilia's Care Group

What families say

Based on 3 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
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership55
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-09-11 · Report published 2019-09-11 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for safety at its September 2019 inspection. This indicates that inspectors did not identify significant concerns around staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, or safeguarding at that time. The home is registered for 25 beds, which is a relatively small size and can support safer staffing ratios if managed well. However, without the full inspection text, the specific evidence underpinning this rating u2014 including falls data, incident logs, agency staff usage, and night staffing numbers u2014 cannot be reviewed. The inspection is now over five years old, which is a significant gap.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is reassuring as a starting point, but safety is the area where families most need specifics rather than headline ratings. In our review of over 3,600 family reviews, staff attentiveness was one of the most frequently mentioned concerns. Good Practice research consistently shows that safety can slip most significantly at night and when agency staff cover shifts, because continuity of care breaks down. With only 25 beds, this home is small enough that permanent staff should know your parent well u2014 but you need to confirm that permanent staff actually do cover the majority of shifts. The five-year gap since inspection means you should treat the safety rating as a prompt to ask questions, not as current confirmation of safety standards.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes, particularly for people with dementia who may be more vulnerable and distressed overnight.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how many permanent staff are on duty overnight, and what percentage of shifts in the last three months were covered by agency staff rather than regular employees?"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Effective at its September 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right training and knowledge, whether care plans reflect individual needs, whether people have access to healthcare professionals, and whether nutrition and hydration are managed well. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means effective dementia-specific training and care planning should be demonstrably in place. Without the full inspection text, the specific evidence u2014 care plan content, GP access frequency, staff training records, food quality observations u2014 cannot be reviewed. The rating alone cannot confirm whether these practices have been maintained and developed in the years since.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that specialises in dementia care, the Effective domain is where you need the most detail. Our Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated regularly and co-produced with families u2014 not completed once at admission and filed away. In our family review data, dementia-specific care knowledge was mentioned in 12.7% of reviews as a key concern. A Good rating tells you inspectors were broadly satisfied in 2019, but ask to see how a care plan is structured, how often it is reviewed, and whether you would be invited to contribute to reviews for your parent. Food quality is also part of this domain u2014 a meaningful marker of genuine care u2014 and is worth observing directly at a mealtime visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans which are regularly reviewed and genuinely co-produced with families and the person themselves are associated with better outcomes for people with dementia, including reduced distress and more appropriate responses to changing needs.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan structure and ask: how often are care plans reviewed, and how would you involve me as a family member in updating my parent's plan if their needs changed?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Caring at its September 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether staff treat people with kindness and respect, whether dignity is upheld, and whether people's independence is supported. A Good rating here indicates inspectors were satisfied that the culture of care met the required standard. Without the full inspection text, no specific quotes from residents or relatives, no direct observations of staff interactions, and no examples of dignity-preserving practice can be confirmed. The Caring domain is typically where residents' and families' voices are most prominent in inspection reports u2014 the absence of that text is a genuine gap for families trying to assess this home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data u2014 mentioned across 57.3% of positive reviews u2014 and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are not soft metrics; they are what families remember and what determines whether your parent feels safe and settled or anxious and diminished. Good Practice research shows that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal for people with dementia u2014 how staff approach your parent, whether they make eye contact, whether they use your parent's preferred name u2014 all of these signal whether the culture is genuinely person-centred. A headline Good rating cannot substitute for what you will observe in person. Visit at different times of day, and pay attention to unscripted interactions in corridors and communal areas.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care u2014 where staff know and consistently use individuals' preferred names, life histories, and communication styles u2014 significantly reduces distress and agitation in people with dementia, and is a marker of genuinely caring culture rather than procedural compliance.","watch_out":"On your visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted, and observe how a member of staff responds when a resident appears confused or distressed u2014 do they slow down, make eye contact, and engage calmly, or do they redirect and move on?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Responsive at its September 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether care is tailored to individual needs, whether people have access to meaningful activities, whether complaints are handled well, and whether end-of-life care is planned and delivered appropriately. For a home with a dementia specialism, responsiveness to individual needs u2014 including for people who cannot communicate verbally or join group activities u2014 is especially important. Without the full inspection text, the actual activity programme, evidence of individual tailoring, and any complaint handling examples cannot be reviewed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"In our family review data, resident happiness and engagement accounts for 27.1% of positive mentions, and activities are mentioned in 21.4% of reviews. But the Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are insufficient u2014 people with advanced dementia especially need one-to-one engagement, and everyday meaningful tasks (folding, sorting, simple cooking) can provide as much wellbeing benefit as formal activity sessions. At 25 beds, this home is small enough that personalised engagement should be feasible, but you need to ask whether it actually happens. End-of-life planning is also part of this domain u2014 ask how the home approaches these conversations and whether preferred priorities of care are documented from early in a person's stay.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches u2014 including everyday household tasks u2014 are associated with significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than standardised group activity programmes, particularly for those with moderate to severe cognitive impairment.","watch_out":"Ask: if my parent reached a stage where they couldn't join group activities, what would a typical Tuesday afternoon look like for them u2014 who would engage with them, doing what, for how long?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Well-Led at its September 2019 inspection. This domain covers the quality of management and leadership, the culture of the home, governance systems, and whether the home learns and improves over time. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with how the home was being run at that point. Without the full inspection text, specifics about the registered manager's tenure, the governance framework, staff empowerment, and quality monitoring systems cannot be confirmed. Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality u2014 and a rating from 2019 cannot confirm whether the same leadership is in place today.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of mentions in our family review data, and Good Practice research consistently identifies leadership stability as a predictor of quality trajectory u2014 homes that maintain consistent, visible, values-led management tend to sustain quality between inspections, while those with frequent management changes are more vulnerable to drift. The five-year gap since this inspection means that management may have changed entirely since the Good rating was awarded. Communication with families u2014 covering 11.5% of family review mentions u2014 is also assessed under this domain, and you should ask directly how the home keeps families informed, how complaints are handled, and whether there is a regular forum for family feedback.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that bottom-up staff empowerment u2014 where care staff feel able to raise concerns and contribute to improvements without fear u2014 is a stronger predictor of sustained good care quality than top-down governance systems alone, and is a key indicator of genuine rather than performative leadership.","watch_out":"Ask: how long has the current registered manager been in post, and has the management team changed significantly in the last two years? Then ask a staff member directly u2014 not the manager u2014 whether they feel comfortable raising concerns if something worried them about a resident's care."}

  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 here supports residents with various needs — from sensory impairments to physical disabilities. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents, with particular experience in dementia care.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the home provides specialist support tailored to individual needs. Staff understand how to create reassuring routines and environments that help residents feel secure. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.