Spring House

What families say

The reception families receive here seems to make a real difference. Visitors mention being offered refreshments and feeling welcomed right away. One family member has noticed their relative seems content in their new surroundings.

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
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness65

What inspectors found

Inspected 2021-12-31 · Report published 2021-12-31 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Safe at its November 2021 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This improvement suggests that earlier safety concerns, which may have related to staffing, medicines, or risk management, were identified and resolved. The published summary does not reproduce specific inspector observations, staffing numbers, or medicines audit results. Spring House is a small home with 21 registered beds, which can support closer supervision but also means that a single staff absence has proportionally more impact. No safeguarding concerns or enforcement actions are recorded in the available information.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families, a move from Requires Improvement to Good in Safety is genuinely encouraging. It suggests the management team can recognise problems and act on them, which is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality. However, the published findings do not tell you how many carers are on duty at night, how heavily the home relies on agency staff, or how it logs and learns from falls. Good Practice research identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in small homes, and agency reliance as a risk to consistency. For a 21-bed home with a dementia specialism, you should ask specifically about night cover before you decide.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two factors most commonly linked to safety incidents in small residential care homes.","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 versus agency workers, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty between 10pm and 6am for the 21 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Effective at the November 2021 inspection. Effective covers whether staff have the right training, whether care plans are detailed and up to date, whether residents have regular access to GPs and other health professionals, and whether food meets individual needs. The published summary does not reproduce specific findings in any of these areas. Dementia is listed as a registered specialism, which means inspectors will have assessed whether staff training and care planning are appropriate for people living with dementia, though the detail of that assessment is not available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality is the third most mentioned theme in our review data, appearing in 20.9% of positive family reviews. Dementia training is mentioned in 12.7% of reviews as a specific reassurance. Neither is addressed in detail in the published findings here, so you are relying on the Good rating rather than direct evidence. Good Practice research is clear that care plans should function as living documents, updated regularly and involving families in review, rather than paperwork completed on admission and rarely revisited. Ask the home how often your parent's care plan would be reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) found that dementia-specific training content, particularly on non-verbal communication and behaviour as communication, significantly improves care quality outcomes in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training all care staff have completed in the last 12 months and whether that training covers recognising pain in people who cannot communicate verbally. Ask also how often care plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to those review meetings."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Spring House received a Good rating for Caring at the November 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether staff treat people with warmth and respect, whether residents are addressed by their preferred names, whether personal care is carried out with dignity, and whether people's independence is supported. The published summary does not include direct quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific inspector observations about staff interactions are reproduced. The rating itself indicates that inspectors were satisfied with what they observed, but the detail is not available for independent verification.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity are mentioned in 55.2%. These are the things families notice immediately on a first visit and continue to monitor throughout a parent's time in a home. The published findings do not give you specific evidence to assess this at Spring House, so a visit is essential. Good Practice research shows that person-led care requires staff to know the individual, including their history, preferences, and how they communicated before dementia progressed, not just their medical needs. Ask on your visit how staff get to know new residents.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) found that non-verbal communication and attentiveness to individual history are as important as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia, and that families consistently rate these as the primary markers of genuine care.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how staff speak to residents in corridors and communal areas when they are not being formally assessed. Notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name, make eye contact, and move without appearing rushed. These informal interactions are more reliable than anything you will see in a planned tour."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Responsive at the November 2021 inspection. Responsive covers whether the home tailors activities and daily routines to individual preferences, whether people who cannot join group activities are supported with one-to-one engagement, and whether there are clear processes for managing complaints and end-of-life wishes. The published summary provides no specific detail about the activity programme, individual engagement, or complaints handling. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means inspectors will have considered whether the home responds appropriately to the specific and changing needs of people living with dementia.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for 48.5% of positive themes in our family review data, making them among the most important things families track. Good Practice research is particularly clear that for people with dementia, group activities alone are insufficient; one-to-one engagement and familiar household tasks (folding laundry, tending plants, helping to lay a table) maintain a sense of purpose and reduce distress. The published findings do not confirm whether Spring House offers this. If your parent is in the later stages of dementia, this is one of the most important questions to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) found strong evidence that Montessori-based and activity-based approaches tailored to the individual, including everyday household tasks, significantly reduce agitation and improve wellbeing in people with dementia compared to group activity programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you last month's activity records, not the planned programme. Check whether one-to-one time is recorded for residents who do not attend group sessions, and ask specifically what a typical afternoon looks like for a resident with advanced dementia who can no longer follow group activities."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Well-led at the November 2021 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. Two registered managers are named in the inspection record: Mrs Amy Louise Burgess and Mr John Paul Weldrick, with Mr Weldrick also listed as the nominated individual. The presence of two named managers in a 21-bed home is worth clarifying, as it raises practical questions about who is accountable day to day and how leadership is divided. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in this domain is the most significant finding available, suggesting that governance and accountability were strengthened between inspections.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in care homes. A management team that has demonstrated it can identify and correct problems, as this one appears to have done, is more reassuring than one with an unblemished record in a newly opened home with no track record. However, the inspection is now over three years old. Our family review data shows that communication with families is referenced in 11.5% of positive reviews, and families consistently describe wanting to know who to call when something changes. With two registered managers listed, ask clearly who your first point of contact would be and how handover between them works in practice.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence review (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) found that leadership stability, defined as consistent management over a period of at least two years, is one of the most reliable predictors of sustained care quality in small residential homes.","watch_out":"Ask both registered managers directly: how long have you each been in post, what were the main changes made after the Requires Improvement rating, and how is leadership divided between you day to day? A confident, specific answer to all three is a good sign."}

  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 Spring House provides residential care for adults over 65, and also welcomes younger adults who need support. The home has experience caring for people living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, Spring House offers specialized support. The team understands the unique challenges families face when a loved one has dementia, and they work to create an environment where residents feel secure. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.