The Willows

What families say

Families mention feeling genuinely welcomed when they visit. There's something reassuring about seeing your relative looking content and well-cared for, and that's what visitors often find here.

Based on 7 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 & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-06-11 · Report published 2019-06-11 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Safe was rated Good at the May 2019 inspection. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so this represents a meaningful step forward. No specific safety concerns were described in the published findings, and no incidents or enforcement actions were noted. However, the published report does not include detail on staffing ratios, falls management, medicines administration, or infection control practices.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating tells you that inspectors did not find immediate risks, but for a home that specialises in dementia care, the detail behind that rating matters enormously. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips, particularly in small homes where a single member of staff may be managing the whole building. With 12 beds, the staffing picture overnight could be very lean. The inspection does not tell you what that looks like here, so this is the single most important question to ask before you sign anything.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) found that agency staff reliance and low night staffing ratios are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes. Small homes are not immune, and consistency of staff, meaning your parent seeing the same faces night after night, is a key protective factor for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many permanent staff names appear on night shifts compared to agency or bank staff, and ask what the minimum staffing level is overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at the May 2019 inspection. This domain covers care planning, dementia-specific practice, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published report does not include specific observations on any of these areas. The home is registered as a dementia specialist, which means inspectors will have assessed training and care planning, but no detail from those assessments was published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home specialising in dementia care, the Effective domain is where you most need to see specifics, and the published report does not provide them. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans should be living documents, reviewed at least monthly and updated after any significant change in your parent's condition. Family inclusion in those reviews makes a real difference to quality. Ask to see a sample care plan structure (anonymised if needed) to get a sense of how detailed and personal they are, rather than relying on the Good rating alone.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training content, particularly in non-verbal communication and understanding behaviour as a form of communication, is one of the clearest markers separating genuinely good dementia care from care that is merely compliant. A Good Effective rating does not tell you which training model this home uses.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia-specific training the staff team has completed in the past 12 months. Request the name of the training programme and ask whether it covers responding to distress behaviours, not just personal care tasks."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good at the May 2019 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident quotes, or specific examples of dignified care. No concerns were raised. The previous Requires Improvement rating means that Caring has either been maintained or improved since the earlier inspection.","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 together appear in 55.2%. These are the things families notice and remember most. Because the published report does not include observations or resident testimony for this home, you will need to form your own judgement on a visit. Watch how staff speak to residents in corridors and communal areas, not just in a formal introduction. Are they unhurried? Do they use preferred names? Do they make eye contact and wait for a response?","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people living with dementia. Staff who crouch to eye level, use a calm tone, and allow processing time are demonstrating person-led care in a way that is directly observable during a visit.","watch_out":"Arrive at the home unannounced if possible, or at a different time from any pre-arranged tour. Watch how a member of staff approaches a resident who appears unsettled. Do they move slowly, speak calmly, and stay with the person? Or do they move on quickly? This single interaction tells you more than any brochure."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good at the May 2019 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and responsiveness to personal preferences and complaints. The published report does not describe the activity programme, individual engagement approaches, or examples of care being tailored to specific residents. For a home with 12 beds and a dementia specialism, individual rather than group-based activity is particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities engagement appears in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. For a 12-bed home, the risk is that group activities dominate and residents who cannot participate are left without stimulation. Good Practice research is clear that for people with advanced dementia, one-to-one engagement, including everyday tasks such as folding, gardening, or looking through familiar objects, is more meaningful than organised group sessions. The inspection does not tell you whether this home does this. It is worth asking directly and observing on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found strong evidence that Montessori-based and task-based individual activities produce measurable improvements in wellbeing for people living with dementia, compared with group entertainment models. Ask whether staff have been trained in any structured individual engagement approach.","watch_out":"During your visit, look at what is happening in the communal space at a quiet time of day, such as mid-morning on a weekday. Are residents engaged in something, even something small, or are they sitting quietly with the television on? Ask the activity lead (or the manager if there is no dedicated activity staff member) to show you last week's actual activity record, not a planned schedule."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good at the May 2019 inspection, up from what had been a Requires Improvement service. The home is run by S Kirk and G Kirk, with Gary Leslie Kirk named as the registered manager. This family-run, owner-managed structure can be a strength in a small home. The published report does not describe the governance systems, staff culture, or complaint handling processes in any detail. A July 2023 review found no new concerns.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, and our Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership continuity as a key factor in whether improvements are maintained. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good and held that rating through a 2023 review is genuinely positive. However, the inspection is now more than five years old. Ask how long the current manager has been in post, and whether there have been significant staffing changes in the past year. Communication with families, cited in 11.5% of positive reviews, is also worth exploring directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear of consequences tend to maintain quality more consistently. Ask the manager how staff feedback is gathered and whether there is a recent staff survey you could see the headline results of.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in this role, and what is the biggest change you have made since the last inspection? The quality of the answer tells you as much as the content. A manager who cannot describe specific improvements may not be closely engaged with the day-to-day running of the home."}

  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 Willows specialises in caring for people over 65, including those living with dementia and mental health conditions.. Gaps or open questions remain on While the home lists dementia care as a specialism, visiting to see their specific approaches and activities would help you understand how they support residents with memory challenges. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.