Claremont House Care Home

What families say

Visitors often comment on the welcoming atmosphere they experience at Claremont House. The communal spaces have been designed to encourage social connections, with families noting how the environment supports both wellbeing and engagement between residents.

Based on 15 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement68
• Food quality68
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-05-05 · Report published 2023-05-05 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Beyond the rating itself, the published report does not contain specific detail about how safety is maintained at Claremont House. The home is registered for a wide range of needs, which requires strong medicines management, infection control, and staffing discipline across all shifts. No concerns were raised in the inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but the evidence here is general rather than specific. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety most often slips in larger homes, and 75 beds is a significant size. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness accounts for 14% of what families highlight in positive reviews. Until you can see actual rotas and ask about falls records, treat the Good rating as a floor, not a ceiling, and verify the specifics yourself.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two strongest predictors of safety risk. A home rated Good can still have thin overnight cover or high agency use that is not visible in a single inspection.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not a template. Count how many permanent carers and how many agency staff were on each night shift across a 75-bed home, and ask what the minimum safe number is according to their own policy."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not record specific observations about care plan quality, dementia training content, GP access, medicines management, or food provision. The home is registered as a dementia specialism provider, which requires staff to hold appropriate training and for care plans to reflect individual needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home comes down to whether staff truly know your parent as an individual and whether care plans are updated as needs change. Healthcare access accounts for 20.2% of what drives family satisfaction in our review data, and food quality accounts for a further 20.9%. Neither is specifically evidenced in this inspection text, so these are the areas to probe directly. The Good Practice evidence base highlights care plans as living documents: ask whether your parent's plan would be reviewed when their condition changes, not just on a fixed annual schedule.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies regular, meaningful care plan reviews involving families as a key marker of effective dementia care. Homes that treat care plans as administrative documents rather than daily tools tend to miss important changes in need.","watch_out":"Ask to see a blank copy of the care plan template and ask how often plans are reviewed in practice. Specifically ask: if your parent stopped eating well or became more unsettled, how quickly would the plan be updated and who would contact you?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, quotes from residents about how they feel treated, or specific examples of dignity being upheld. A Good rating in Caring is nonetheless a meaningful signal, as inspectors observe interactions directly during visits.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. What inspectors look for in this domain, such as unhurried interactions, preferred names being used, and privacy being protected, is exactly what you should observe on your own visit. The inspection evidence here is general rather than specific, so use your visit to watch how staff move through corridors, how they speak to residents in communal areas, and whether they knock before entering rooms.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) emphasises that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication in dementia care. Staff who crouch to eye level, maintain calm body language, and avoid rushing convey dignity even when words are not understood by the person they are caring for.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch a staff member interact with a resident who is not expecting you. Do they use the resident's preferred name? Do they make eye contact? Do they appear hurried? These small signals are the most reliable indicators of genuine caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not record specific detail about the activities programme, individual engagement for residents who cannot join groups, or how the home responds to changing needs. The home's broad specialism registration, covering dementia, mental health, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, suggests it aims to be responsive to a wide range of individual needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of what families highlight in positive reviews, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with advanced dementia; one-to-one engagement, including everyday household tasks and sensory activities, is what makes the difference. The inspection does not confirm whether this happens at Claremont House, so this is a critical question for your visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies Montessori-based approaches and tailored one-to-one activity as the most effective methods for maintaining engagement in people with moderate to advanced dementia. Homes that rely solely on group sessions leave the most vulnerable residents without meaningful occupation for large parts of the day.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you the actual activity records from last month, not the planned schedule. Ask specifically: for a resident who cannot join the group session, what happened on a typical Tuesday afternoon? How is that recorded?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Mrs Jane Olafsen is named as registered manager and Ms Victoria Craddock as nominated individual, indicating a defined leadership structure. The published report does not contain specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home handles complaints and incidents. No concerns about leadership were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of what drives positive family satisfaction in our review data. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory over time: homes where the registered manager is consistent and visible tend to sustain their rating, while homes with frequent management changes often decline. The inspection confirms a manager is in post, but does not tell you how long she has been there or how visible she is to staff and residents day to day.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies bottom-up empowerment as a key marker of well-led dementia care homes. Staff who feel able to raise concerns without fear, and managers who are seen on the floor rather than only in the office, are associated with better outcomes for the people living there.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post, and how many managers has this home had in the last three years? Then ask: if a care worker spotted something worrying about a resident, what would they do and what would happen next? The 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 The team at Claremont House has experience supporting residents with complex needs including sensory impairments, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. They welcome both younger adults under 65 and older residents, providing specialist care across different age groups.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialist support as part of their comprehensive care approach. The team works with families to understand each person's individual needs and preferences. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.