Normanton Lodge Care Home

What families say

Based on 6 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement68
• Food quality68
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership73
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-04-22 · Report published 2022-04-22 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the June 2025 inspection. This suggests inspectors were satisfied with arrangements around staffing, medicines management, and protection from harm at the time of their visit. Normanton Lodge has 67 beds and supports people with dementia, a group that can be particularly vulnerable to safety risks if staffing levels or oversight are not well managed. No specific observations, incident data, or staffing numbers are recorded in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but the published findings do not give you the specifics that matter most if your parent has dementia: how many staff are on overnight, how often agency workers cover shifts, and how the home logs and learns from falls or incidents. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips, and agency reliance as the factor that most undermines the consistency your parent needs. The absence of published detail here means you should treat the Good rating as a starting point for your questions, not as a complete answer.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios and continuity of permanent staff are among the strongest predictors of physical safety for people with dementia. Homes that rely heavily on agency cover tend to show weaker incident learning and poorer response times.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a planned template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency names appear on night shifts across those 67 beds, and ask how falls are recorded and what happened after the last three."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the June 2025 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right training, whether care plans are detailed and kept up to date, whether your parent can access GPs and other health professionals promptly, and whether food and nutrition are managed well. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would have expected to see evidence of dementia-specific training and care planning. No specific detail about any of these areas is recorded in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home means more than ticking training boxes. It means the person who helps your mum at breakfast actually knows her history, her preferences, and what agitation looks like for her specifically. Our family review data shows that food quality (mentioned in 20.9% of positive reviews) and dementia-specific care (12.7% of reviews) are the areas families notice most in day-to-day life. A Good rating here is a positive signal, but without seeing care plan examples or knowing how often they are reviewed, you cannot assess how personalised the care actually is.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function as living documents only when families are actively involved in their review. Homes where relatives are routinely consulted produce care plans that more accurately reflect the person's current preferences, communication style, and comfort needs.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan structure (with personal details removed) and ask how recently your parent's plan would be reviewed after moving in. Also ask what dementia training staff have completed in the past 12 months and whether the training covers communication with people who have limited verbal ability."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the June 2025 inspection. Caring covers how staff treat the people who live here: whether they are warm and unhurried, whether they respect privacy, whether they use preferred names, and whether they support independence rather than doing everything for people. Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for 55.2%. No specific observations, interactions, or quotes from residents or relatives are recorded in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"The Good rating for Caring means inspectors were satisfied with what they saw, but you cannot fully assess warmth from a report alone. The things that matter most to families, whether staff knock before entering a room, whether they use your mum's preferred name, whether they sit with her rather than rushing on to the next task, are things you need to observe directly. Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia, and that genuine person-centred care requires staff to know the individual, not just the care plan.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF Research evidence review found that families consistently rate unhurried, individually tailored interactions as the strongest indicator of genuine caring culture, and that these qualities are most reliably observed during unannounced or informal visits rather than scheduled tours.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch what happens in a corridor or communal area when a member of staff passes someone who is distressed or calling out. Do they stop, make eye contact, and respond by name, or do they walk past? That moment tells you more about the caring culture than any brochure."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the June 2025 inspection. Responsiveness covers whether your parent will have a life here: whether activities are meaningful and varied, whether individual preferences and history shape the daily routine, and whether the home is prepared for end-of-life care. The home supports people with dementia and sensory impairments, both of which require tailored approaches to activity and engagement. No specific detail about the activities programme, individual engagement, or end-of-life planning is recorded in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities matter enormously for people with dementia, and our family review data shows they feature in 21.4% of positive reviews, while resident happiness (closely linked to meaningful engagement) appears in 27.1%. Good Practice research is particularly clear that group activities alone are not enough: people with advanced dementia or those who withdraw from groups need one-to-one engagement built into the daily routine, not offered occasionally. A Good rating here is encouraging, but the published report does not tell you whether the programme is genuinely tailored or whether it relies on group sessions that some residents cannot access.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and everyday task-based approaches, such as folding, gardening, or simple food preparation, produce significantly better engagement and wellbeing outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than scheduled group entertainment alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what a typical Tuesday looks like for someone who does not leave their room or join group sessions. If the answer focuses mainly on group activities, ask specifically what one-to-one engagement your parent could expect each day."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the June 2025 inspection. The home has a named registered manager (Ms Claire Louise Jinks) and a nominated individual (Mr Paul Hearn). Leadership quality matters especially here because the home previously declined from Good to Requires Improvement and has now recovered. A stable, visible manager who knows the people living in the home and supports staff to speak up is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality. No specific detail about manager visibility, staff culture, or governance arrangements is recorded in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"The recovery from Requires Improvement to Good is genuinely meaningful, and the presence of a named, registered manager in post is a positive sign. Our family review data shows management quality appears in 23.4% of positive reviews, and Good Practice research identifies leadership stability as the single strongest predictor of a home's quality trajectory over time. What you cannot tell from the published report is how long the current manager has been in post, what specifically changed during the Requires Improvement period, and whether the improvements are embedded or still fragile.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes with stable, experienced managers who are known by name to residents and staff consistently outperform those with frequent management changes, and that the period immediately after returning to Good from Requires Improvement carries a higher risk of regression if the underlying issues are not fully resolved.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in this role, what were the main issues that led to Requires Improvement, and what specific changes did you make? A confident, specific answer is a good sign. A vague or defensive one is worth noting."}

  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 specialises in caring for older adults, with particular experience supporting those living with dementia and sensory impairments.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team at Normanton Lodge works to provide appropriate support tailored to individual needs. The home has experience caring for people at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.