Cherrydale Residential Home
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Residential homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds22
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Dementia
- Last inspected2023-01-19
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
Based on 7 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth60
- Compassion & dignity62
- Cleanliness62
- Activities & engagement55
- Food quality55
- Healthcare60
- Management & leadership65
- Resident happiness58
What inspectors found
Inspected 2023-01-19 · Report published 2023-01-19 · Inspected 7 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for Safe at the April 2024 inspection. This follows a previous Inadequate rating, which means inspectors were satisfied that meaningful improvement had been made in safety-related areas. The published report does not describe specific findings: there are no details about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls monitoring, or infection control observed during the visit. The home has 22 beds and a dementia specialism, which means safe staffing at night is a particularly important question.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A move from Inadequate to Good in Safety is encouraging and should not be dismissed. It means inspectors looked specifically at whether earlier concerns had been resolved and concluded they had. However, Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in small residential homes, and the published report gives no information about how many staff are on duty overnight here. For a 22-bed home where some residents may have advanced dementia and be at risk of falls or wandering, this is the most important question you cannot yet answer from the published findings alone. Cleanliness and safe environment together account for more than 36% of the themes that drive positive family reviews in our data, so observing the state of the premises on your visit matters.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 61 studies, 2026) identifies agency staff reliance as one of the most consistent predictors of safety deterioration in small dementia homes, because unfamiliar faces increase agitation and reduce the consistency needed to spot subtle changes in a resident's condition.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency or bank staff, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty between 10pm and 7am."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for Effective at the April 2024 inspection. Effective covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published report does not provide narrative detail about any of these areas: there are no descriptions of dementia training content, care plan quality, GP access arrangements, or how the home manages nutrition for residents who have difficulty eating. The home's dementia specialism means these areas are particularly important to understand.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effective is the domain that most directly answers whether the staff genuinely know how to care for someone with dementia, not just in theory but in practice. Our Good Practice evidence highlights care plans as living documents that should record your parent's life history, preferred name, daily routines, food preferences, and triggers for distress. Healthcare access is also a key concern: 20.2% of positive family reviews in our data specifically mention good healthcare coordination. You cannot assess any of this from the published findings, which means your visit and your questions are the only way to build confidence here. Ask to see a (anonymised) example of a care plan, and ask how often care plans are reviewed with family involvement.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies personalised care plans, written with the person and their family rather than about them, as one of the strongest predictors of wellbeing for people with dementia in residential care. Plans that record life history and individual communication preferences are associated with reduced agitation and better staff-resident relationships.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed, who is involved in those reviews, and whether families receive a copy of any updates. Then ask to be shown where dementia-specific training records are kept and when the most recent training took place for staff on the unit."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for Caring at the April 2024 inspection. Caring covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. The published report contains no inspector observations about staff interactions, no description of how staff address residents, no mention of whether residents appeared settled or content, and no resident or relative quotes. A Good rating in this domain means inspectors were satisfied, but the detail behind that judgement is not available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data: it appears in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for a further 55.2%. When families describe what makes a good care home, they describe what they see in corridors, at mealtimes, and in brief moments between staff and residents. No published finding can substitute for watching this yourself. On your visit, pay attention to whether staff make eye contact with residents who cannot initiate conversation, whether anyone is left sitting alone for long periods without acknowledgement, and whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being reminded.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies non-verbal communication as equally important to verbal communication in dementia care. Staff who make eye contact, touch gently, and move without hurry produce measurably lower agitation levels in residents with moderate to advanced dementia, even when verbal communication is limited.","watch_out":"Sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes on your visit without announcing you are observing. Watch whether staff passing through the room acknowledge residents who are seated, whether any resident appears distressed without a staff response, and whether interactions feel rushed or unhurried."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for Responsive at the April 2024 inspection. Responsive covers activities, individual engagement, and how well the home adapts to each person's needs and preferences. The published report provides no description of what activities are offered, how often they run, whether they are tailored to individuals with dementia, or how the home responds to residents who are unable to join group activities. The home's dementia specialism makes these questions particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for nearly half the weight in our family review themes, and our Good Practice evidence is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia. One-to-one engagement, familiar household tasks, music connected to personal history, and sensory activities are associated with significantly better wellbeing outcomes than a standard group programme. A Good rating tells you the inspectors were satisfied; it does not tell you whether your parent will have meaningful moments in their day. Ask specifically what would happen for your parent on a day when they cannot or will not join a group activity.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies Montessori-based and meaningful occupation approaches, which involve familiar, purposeful activities tailored to an individual's retained abilities, as producing sustained improvements in engagement and reductions in distress for people with dementia, including those in the later stages.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (or whoever leads activities) to describe what a typical Tuesday looks like for a resident who prefers not to join groups. Ask whether there is a named person responsible for one-to-one activities, and ask how many hours per week are dedicated to individual engagement rather than group sessions."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for Well-led at the April 2024 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Susan Elaine Haines, and a named nominated individual, Mr Navneet Singh Johar, are confirmed in the registration record. The published report does not describe management visibility, staff culture, how complaints are handled, governance arrangements, or whether staff feel able to raise concerns. The improvement from Inadequate makes the stability and quality of current leadership particularly important to understand.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and communication with families together account for nearly 35% of the themes driving positive family reviews in our data. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability, specifically a manager who has been in post long enough to know every resident by name and build a settled staff team, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality. Given that this home was previously rated Inadequate, understanding who was responsible for the turnaround and whether they are still in post is a key question. A home can improve for an inspection and then slide back if the leadership that drove the improvement moves on. Ask directly how long the current manager has been in post and whether there have been significant staff changes in the past 12 months.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership continuity as a critical factor in quality maintenance: homes where the registered manager changes frequently show higher rates of quality deterioration between inspection cycles, particularly in smaller homes where the manager's direct presence in day-to-day care is more significant.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in their current post, what the main changes were that led to the improvement from the previous rating, and how many care staff who were working here 18 months ago are still in post today. High staff turnover alongside a recent improvement can be a warning sign."}
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 dementia care and supports adults aged 65 and over. The team understands the unique needs that come with later life care.. Gaps or open questions remain on With dementia care as a key specialism, Cherrydale provides support for residents at different stages of their journey. The team works to maintain familiarity and comfort in daily routines. — 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
Cherrydale has moved from Inadequate to Good across all five inspection domains, which is a meaningful improvement. However, because the published report provides almost no substantive narrative detail, individual theme scores reflect that improvement trajectory rather than specific observed evidence, and most sit in the cautious mid-range as a result.
Homes in South East typically score 68–82.Worth a visit
Cherrydale, a 22-bed residential home in Camberley specialising in dementia care for adults over 65, was rated Good across all five inspection domains at its most recent assessment in April 2024. This is a significant and positive shift from a previous Inadequate rating, and the improvement trajectory is real and recorded. A named registered manager is in post, and the home is registered and active. The main difficulty for any family reading this report is that the published text provides almost no narrative detail about what inspectors actually saw, heard, or found. There are no staff observations, no resident or relative quotes, and no descriptions of daily life inside the home. A Good rating matters, but on its own it cannot tell you whether your parent will feel warm, safe, and known as an individual. Before making a decision, visit the home in person, ask to see last week's actual staffing rota (including nights), ask how dementia training is delivered and how recently staff completed it, and spend time in a communal area at a mealtime to observe how staff interact with the people who live there.
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In Their Own Words
How Cherrydale Residential Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Friendly care team welcomes families seeking support in Camberley
Compassionate Care in Camberley at Cherrydale
When you're looking for care in Camberley, finding the right environment matters. Cherrydale focuses on supporting adults over 65, including those living with dementia. The team here takes time to get to know residents and create a welcoming atmosphere.
Who they care for
The home specialises in dementia care and supports adults aged 65 and over. The team understands the unique needs that come with later life care.
With dementia care as a key specialism, Cherrydale provides support for residents at different stages of their journey. The team works to maintain familiarity and comfort in daily routines.
“Why not arrange a visit to see if Cherrydale feels right for your family?”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
