Yarningdale Care Home in Codnor, Ripley – Exemplar Health Care
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Nursing homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds20
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Mental health conditions, Physical disabilities, Substance misuse problems
- Last inspected2021-10-12
- Activities programmeThe home runs regular activities both inside and out in the community. Some residents enjoy group outings while others prefer quieter pursuits tailored to their interests. The team works to match activities to what each person actually wants to do, rather than following a rigid schedule.
- Visit Website
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
Families talk about the warmth they feel from the moment they arrive. Staff take time to learn what makes each person tick, whether that's a favourite hobby or a particular way they like their morning routine. Residents support each other too, with older and younger people forming friendships that cross age gaps.
Based on 12 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth72
- Compassion & dignity72
- Cleanliness70
- Activities & engagement40
- Food quality55
- Healthcare70
- Management & leadership72
- Resident happiness65
What inspectors found
Inspected 2021-10-12 · Report published 2021-10-12 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to incidents and risks. The published report does not include specific observations or detail about staffing ratios, night cover, or agency use. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement overall rating suggests that earlier safety concerns were addressed before this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is reassuring, but the published findings give very little to go on beyond the headline. Our Good Practice evidence base identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in homes of this size: with 20 beds, a small reduction in overnight cover can have a real impact on how quickly staff respond if your parent falls or becomes unwell. Agency staff reliance is a related concern, since unfamiliar staff are less likely to recognise early signs of distress in someone with dementia. The fact that the home improved from Requires Improvement is a positive sign, but it is worth asking what specifically changed.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that learning from incidents, including falls and medication errors, is one of the strongest markers of a genuinely safe home. A home that records, reviews, and acts on incidents is safer than one that simply reports them.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the incident log for the past three months and explain one specific change they made as a result of an incident. If they cannot give a concrete example, that is worth noting."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good. This covers care planning, staff training, access to healthcare professionals, nutrition, and how well the home meets individual needs over time. The published report does not include specific detail about care plan review frequency, dementia training content, or GP access arrangements. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the evidence they reviewed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality and healthcare access are the two Effective themes that matter most to families in our review data, with food mentioned in over one in five positive reviews. The inspection gives no detail on either here, which means you need to find this out yourself. On dementia care specifically, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans should be treated as living documents, updated when your parent's needs or preferences change, not filed and forgotten. Ask how often care plans are reviewed and whether you will be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that regular, structured review of care plans, with family input, is associated with better outcomes for people with dementia, particularly around pain recognition and behavioural changes that may otherwise be misread as agitation.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample of how a care plan is structured (with personal details removed) and ask when the last review took place for a current resident. Then ask how families are informed when something in the plan changes."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good. This domain assesses whether staff treat people with kindness, respect their dignity, and support their independence. The published report does not include specific inspector observations of staff interactions, resident testimony, or examples of how dignity is maintained in practice. The Good rating indicates the inspection found no concerns in this area.","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 together account for a further 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities: they show up in whether your parent is addressed by the name they prefer, whether staff knock before entering their room, and whether care is delivered without hurry. The inspection does not give us specific observations here, so this is something you need to assess yourself during a visit. Arrive at a time when personal care or a mealtime is happening, not just during a quiet afternoon.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken words for people with dementia. Staff who make eye contact, move calmly, and position themselves at the same level as the person they are supporting are demonstrating genuine person-led care, regardless of what is written in a policy.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how a staff member greets your parent or another resident in a corridor or communal area. Do they use the person's name, slow down, and make eye contact, or do they pass through quickly? That interaction tells you more than any policy document."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Requires Improvement at the January 2022 inspection. This is the domain that covers activities, individual engagement, how the home responds to complaints, and whether care is tailored to each person's preferences and background. This is the only domain not rated Good, and the published report does not include specific detail about what was found to be insufficient. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement overall rating was not matched by an improvement in Responsive.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement rating in Responsive is the most significant concern for any family choosing this home, particularly if your parent has dementia or another condition that means they cannot easily advocate for themselves. Our review data shows that resident happiness is mentioned in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities in 21.4%. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not enough: people with more advanced dementia need one-to-one engagement and the opportunity to take part in everyday tasks that feel familiar and purposeful. Ask specifically what has changed since the January 2022 inspection and whether a responsive action plan was put in place.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and household-task approaches to engagement are more effective for people with advanced dementia than structured group activities. A home that only offers group sessions may be leaving your parent unstimulated for large parts of the day.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual activity record for the past two weeks, not the planned schedule. Count how many one-to-one sessions are recorded, and ask what your parent would do on a day when no group activity runs and the activity coordinator is off."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good. A named registered manager and a nominated individual are both identified in the published report, suggesting a defined leadership structure. This domain covers governance, how the home monitors quality, staff culture, and whether the home acts on feedback. The published report does not include specific detail about manager visibility, staff survey results, or how complaints are handled.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Our Good Practice evidence base found that homes with consistent, visible leadership are more likely to maintain standards and respond well when things go wrong. The fact that the home improved from a previous Requires Improvement overall rating suggests that leadership was effective in addressing earlier concerns. However, the Responsive domain remaining at Requires Improvement raises a question about whether all areas of improvement have been followed through. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive review mentions in our data, and the inspection gives no detail on how Yarningdale keeps families informed.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review identified that bottom-up empowerment, where frontline staff feel safe to raise concerns and suggest improvements, is a reliable marker of good leadership. Ask staff, not just the manager, whether they feel heard.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post and what the biggest change they made in the past year was. Then ask a staff member the same question separately. Consistent answers suggest genuine, embedded leadership rather than surface-level compliance."}
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 Yarningdale supports adults of all ages with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and substance misuse challenges. The mixed age community creates opportunities for different generations to learn from each other.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the home's approach centres on understanding each person as an individual. Staff work to maintain connections with personal interests and build daily routines that feel familiar and reassuring. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.
The DCC Verdict
Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.
DCC Family Score
Yarningdale scores well across most themes, with Good ratings in four of the five inspection domains, but the Requires Improvement rating for Responsive care pulls the overall picture down, particularly on activities and individual engagement.
Homes in East Midlands typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families talk about the warmth they feel from the moment they arrive. Staff take time to learn what makes each person tick, whether that's a favourite hobby or a particular way they like their morning routine. Residents support each other too, with older and younger people forming friendships that cross age gaps.
What inspectors have recorded
Staff here seem to genuinely understand that younger adults need different things from care. They pair residents with staff members who share their interests and energy levels. The team shows real awareness of how past experiences shape present needs, adjusting their approach for each individual.
How it sits against good practice
If you're looking for somewhere that sees the person behind the diagnosis, Yarningdale might be worth exploring.
Worth a visit
Yarningdale, a 20-bed nursing home in Codnor, was rated Good overall at its inspection in January 2022. Four of five domains, including Safe, Effective, Caring, and Well-led, were all rated Good, and the home improved from its previous Requires Improvement rating, which is an encouraging trajectory. A named registered manager was confirmed in post, and the home cares for people with a range of needs including dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. The main concern for families is the Responsive domain, which was rated Requires Improvement. This covers whether your parent will have a meaningful, engaged life at the home, including activities, individual engagement, and how the home responds to personal preferences. The published report contains very little descriptive detail beyond the ratings themselves, so much of what matters to families, including staff warmth in practice, food quality, night staffing levels, and whether one-to-one activities are available for people who cannot join groups, cannot be verified from the inspection text alone. Use the checklist above to ask the home directly on your visit, and ask specifically what has changed in the Responsive domain since the inspection.
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In Their Own Words
How Yarningdale Care Home in Codnor, Ripley – Exemplar Health Care describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where younger adults find purpose and older residents share wisdom
Dedicated nursing home Support in Codnor
There's something different about Yarningdale in Codnor. This East Midlands care home brings together residents of all ages, creating a community where everyone's story matters. Staff here understand that caring for younger adults means thinking differently about daily life.
Who they care for
Yarningdale supports adults of all ages with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and substance misuse challenges. The mixed age community creates opportunities for different generations to learn from each other.
For those living with dementia, the home's approach centres on understanding each person as an individual. Staff work to maintain connections with personal interests and build daily routines that feel familiar and reassuring.
Management & ethos
Staff here seem to genuinely understand that younger adults need different things from care. They pair residents with staff members who share their interests and energy levels. The team shows real awareness of how past experiences shape present needs, adjusting their approach for each individual.
The home & environment
The home runs regular activities both inside and out in the community. Some residents enjoy group outings while others prefer quieter pursuits tailored to their interests. The team works to match activities to what each person actually wants to do, rather than following a rigid schedule.
“If you're looking for somewhere that sees the person behind the diagnosis, Yarningdale might be worth exploring.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
