Norwood Grange Care Home

What families say

Families describe a place where residents are treated with real dignity and respect, particularly those living with dementia. The care team takes time to build genuine relationships, with staff getting to know each person's preferences and personality. Many mention feeling reassured by the warmth and compassion shown, especially during difficult transitions.

Based on 22 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-08-06 · Report published 2022-08-06 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This indicates inspectors were satisfied that safety systems, medicines management, and staffing arrangements met the required standard. The home cares for up to 35 people, including those living with dementia. No specific safety incidents, concerns, or observations are recorded in the published text. The rating has remained stable since the inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but it tells you less than you might hope without the supporting detail. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that night staffing is the point where safety most commonly slips in care homes, yet this inspection gives no information about overnight cover for 35 residents. Agency staff usage is another key signal: homes that rely heavily on agency workers tend to have less consistent, less safe care because staff do not know the people they are caring for. You will need to ask these questions directly. On your visit, ask specifically: how many permanent carers were on duty last night, and how many nights in the past month were covered by agency staff?","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety failures in care homes, particularly for people living with dementia who may be distressed or at risk of falls overnight.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count the permanent staff names against agency names, and check whether overnight shifts are consistently covered by the same people."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and food. No specific examples of care planning practice, GP access arrangements, dementia training content, or food provision are recorded in the published text. The rating suggests inspectors were broadly satisfied, but the evidence base here is a domain-level judgement only.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effective means inspectors found training and care planning to be adequate. However, for a home that specialises in dementia care, the detail really matters. Our Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated regularly and co-produced with families, yet this inspection gives no indication of how often plans are reviewed or whether families are actively involved. Food quality is one of the clearest indicators of genuine care in our family review data, mentioned positively in reviews across thousands of homes, and yet there is nothing here about mealtimes, choice, or dietary support. Ask to see a sample care plan structure and visit at lunchtime to observe the experience for yourself.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans which are regularly reviewed with family involvement are associated with better outcomes for people living with dementia, particularly around managing behavioural changes and maintaining familiar routines.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often your parent's care plan would be formally reviewed, and whether you would be invited to contribute. Then ask to visit during a mealtime so you can see for yourself what the food looks like, how it is served, and whether staff sit with residents who need support to eat."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. No specific inspector observations of staff interactions, no resident quotes, and no family testimony are recorded in the published summary. The Good rating indicates inspectors found care practice to be satisfactory, but the published text provides nothing to substantiate this beyond the rating itself.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. These are the things families care about most, and they are exactly what cannot be assessed from a domain-level rating alone. The signals to look for on a visit are specific: does the staff member who greets your parent use their preferred name? Do staff move without hurry? When someone seems unsettled, does a member of staff stop and respond? These are the moments the inspection would normally describe, and their absence from the published text means you need to observe them yourself.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, including pace, eye contact, and physical positioning, is as important as spoken interaction for people living with dementia, and that homes with genuinely person-centred cultures show this in small, observable everyday moments rather than in policy documents.","watch_out":"On your visit, note whether staff address your parent (or other residents you observe) by their preferred name and whether interactions feel unhurried. If you see a resident who appears distressed, watch how staff respond. These moments are more informative than anything a manager will tell you in a meeting."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This covers activities, individual engagement, and responsiveness to personal preferences, including end-of-life care. The home is registered as a dementia specialism provider. No specific activity programme, engagement observations, or individual care examples are recorded in the published text. The rating indicates inspectors were broadly satisfied with responsiveness.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of the positive review themes in our data, and resident happiness for a further 27.1%. For a home specialising in dementia care, the question of individual engagement is particularly important because people with more advanced dementia often cannot join group sessions and need one-to-one interaction instead. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks as particularly effective for this group, yet the inspection gives no information about how the home approaches this. Ask the activities coordinator directly what happens for a resident who cannot join a group activity on a given day.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that tailored one-to-one activities, including everyday household tasks and familiar objects from a person's past, produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group activities alone, particularly in the later stages.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for a typical week and then ask what happens for a resident who is unable or unwilling to join a group session that day. A good answer will describe specific one-to-one alternatives, not a general commitment to person-centred care."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. A named registered manager, Miss Nicola Jane Gill, and a nominated individual, Mr Kevin James Prince, are both confirmed in the registration record. No specific observations about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or family communication are recorded in the published text. The rating indicates inspectors found leadership and governance to be satisfactory at the time of inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive review themes in our data, and communication with families for a further 11.5%. Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time: homes with consistent, visible managers tend to maintain standards, while those with frequent management changes often see quality slip. This inspection confirms a named manager was in post in 2022, but tells you nothing about whether they are still in post now, how visible they are to residents and staff day-to-day, or how the home communicates with families when something changes. These are questions worth asking directly before you make a decision.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that leadership stability, including the ability of staff to raise concerns without fear, is one of the clearest predictors of sustained care quality, and that homes where staff feel genuinely empowered tend to perform better across all domains over time.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether they are typically present during the day. Then ask a member of care staff (not the manager) how they would raise a concern if they were worried about a resident. The confidence and specificity of that answer will tell you a great deal about the culture."}

  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 Norwood Grange cares for adults both under and over 65, with particular expertise in dementia care. They understand the complexities that different conditions bring and adapt their approach accordingly.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team recognises that dementia affects each person differently. Their approach focuses on maintaining dignity and finding ways to connect, even as communication becomes more challenging. Families particularly value how staff treat residents as individuals, not just their diagnosis. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.