Barchester – Emily Jackson House Care Home

What families say

Families describe walking into a place where staff remember their names and ask about their day. The atmosphere feels relaxed and friendly, with residents joining in activities like dancing, karaoke, and arts and crafts. People notice how staff take time with residents who might be confused or upset, speaking gently and helping them feel calm again.

Based on 54 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership73
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-24 · Report published 2019-01-24 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Emily Jackson House was rated Good for safety at the April 2024 inspection. The home is registered as a nursing home, meaning registered nurses should be present on site. Beyond the Good rating itself, the published inspection text does not contain specific observations about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls records, or infection control practice. A named registered manager is in post, which supports accountability.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is a positive baseline, but our Good Practice evidence base (61 studies, March 2026) consistently finds that safety risks in care homes are most likely to emerge at night and when agency staff are used frequently. With 55 beds, you want to know how many permanent carers and nurses are on duty after 8pm, and how often the home relies on agency cover. The published findings do not answer these questions, so you will need to ask directly. Cleanliness, a theme mentioned in 24.3% of positive family reviews in our data, is also not described in the inspection text. Check communal areas, bathrooms, and any bedrooms you are shown on your visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, March 2026) found that night staffing ratios are the point at which safety most frequently deteriorates in otherwise well-rated homes. A Good daytime rating does not automatically mean adequate overnight cover.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past week, not the planned template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency names appear, especially on night shifts, and ask what the registered nurse-to-resident ratio is overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Emily Jackson House was rated Good for effectiveness at the April 2024 inspection. The home holds a dementia specialism registration and is also registered for nursing care and physical disabilities. The published inspection text does not provide specific detail on care planning practice, GP access, dementia training content, or food quality. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the evidence presented during the visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia context means care plans that are genuinely kept up to date, staff who know your parent as an individual rather than a diagnosis, and reliable access to GP and specialist support. Food quality is mentioned in 20.9% of positive family reviews in our data and is widely recognised as a reliable signal of how well a home understands the people it cares for. The inspection text does not describe any of this in specific terms. Ask to see an anonymised example of a care plan, and ask how frequently plans are reviewed when a person's condition changes.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents updated in response to daily observations, not as administrative records completed at admission. Homes where families are actively involved in reviews consistently show better outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed, who is involved in those reviews, and whether you as a family member would be invited to contribute. Ask specifically what happens to the plan when your parent has a bad week or their needs change."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Emily Jackson House was rated Good for caring at the April 2024 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well staff know individual residents. The published inspection text does not include specific observations of staff interactions, direct quotes from residents or relatives, or examples of how dignity and privacy are maintained in practice.","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 together account for a further 55.2%. A Good rating for caring is encouraging, but the only way to form a reliable impression is to observe it yourself. When you visit, watch whether staff knock before entering rooms, use your parent's preferred name without prompting, and move at an unhurried pace. Non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal, particularly for people living with more advanced dementia who may not be able to tell you how they feel.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style. In homes where this knowledge is embedded, residents living with dementia show measurably lower rates of distress behaviour.","watch_out":"On your visit, pay attention to a single interaction between a staff member and a resident in a corridor or communal area. Does the staff member pause, make eye contact, use the resident's name, and respond to their mood? That brief moment tells you more than any policy document."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Emily Jackson House was rated Good for responsiveness at the April 2024 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care. The published inspection text does not describe the activity programme, how individual preferences are accommodated, or what provision exists for people who cannot join group activities. The specialism registration confirms the home accepts people living with dementia.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is a theme in 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities account for 21.4%. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that tailored one-to-one activity, not just group programmes, is particularly important for people living with more advanced dementia who may find group settings overwhelming. A Good rating for responsiveness does not tell you how many activity staff are employed, whether the programme runs at weekends, or what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot engage with a group. These are questions you need to ask in person.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and the inclusion of familiar everyday tasks, such as folding, sorting, or simple gardening, produce better engagement and lower distress in people with dementia than structured group entertainment alone.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual activity record for the past two weeks, not just the planned schedule. Ask specifically what one-to-one activity your parent would receive on days when they are unable or unwilling to join a group, and who would deliver it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"Emily Jackson House was rated Good for being well-led at the April 2024 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Sheryl Ducusin De Villiers, is in post, and Mr Dominic Jude Kay is the nominated individual for Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited. The published inspection text does not describe the manager's visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home handles complaints and learning from incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of consistent quality in care homes. Our Good Practice evidence base found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to speak up are closely linked to better outcomes for residents. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive review themes in our data. A named manager in post is a positive sign, but you want to know how long she has been in the role and whether staff know her well enough to raise concerns. Ask the manager directly how they prefer to communicate with families and what happens when things go wrong.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that bottom-up staff empowerment, where care workers feel confident raising concerns without fear of reprisal, is a reliable marker of a well-led home and correlates with fewer serious incidents.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long she has been in post at this home specifically, and ask a care worker you meet on the visit whether they know the manager's name and whether they feel comfortable raising concerns with her. The answer, and the way it is given, will tell you a great deal."}

  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 home provides specialist dementia care alongside support for physical disabilities and general care for over-65s. They've developed programmes that work for different ability levels, from gentle gardening to livelier karaoke sessions.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the staff show particular skill in managing confusion and distress without frustration. They create a calm environment where people can participate in activities at their own pace, maintaining dignity even during challenging moments. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.