Fessey House

What families say

Families visiting Fessey House mention how welcoming and helpful the staff are when they arrive. The care team seems to understand that visits are important for everyone, making sure relatives feel at ease.

Based on 8 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth85
• Compassion & dignity92
• Cleanliness65
• Activities & engagement70
• Food quality60
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness80

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-08 · Report published 2019-05-08 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Fessey House was rated Good for safety at the March 2019 inspection. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and whether the home learns from accidents and near-misses. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so achieving Good for safety represents a genuine step forward. The published summary does not provide specific detail on staffing ratios, agency staff use, or night staffing arrangements. These gaps are worth exploring directly with the home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but it is worth remembering that safety is where things most often slip between inspections, particularly at night and when agency staff are covering shifts. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the period where risks are highest and where permanent, familiar faces matter most for people with dementia who can become disorientated in the dark. Because the last full inspection was in 2019, you should ask specifically about what has changed in staffing since then. Our family review data shows that attentive, consistent staffing is mentioned by families in 14% of positive reviews, making it a clear priority for the people who already have a parent here.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the strongest predictors of inconsistent care quality, particularly for people with dementia who depend on familiar faces and established routines to feel safe.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty overnight for all 68 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Fessey House was rated Good for effective at the March 2019 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and whether staff have the knowledge to support people with dementia and other complex needs. The home lists dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment as specialisms, which means inspectors would have looked for evidence of appropriate training and care planning across these groups. The published summary does not describe the specific content of dementia training or how frequently care plans are reviewed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good effective rating means that at the time of inspection, staff had the training and tools they needed to support your parent well. For families of people with dementia specifically, 12.7% of positive reviews in our data mention dementia-specific care as a key reason for satisfaction, above and beyond general kindness. The Good Practice evidence base points to care plans as living documents that should be updated every time your parent's needs change, not just at a fixed annual review. When you visit, ask to see a sample of how the home documents a change in health and how quickly that feeds through to the care plan.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans which reflect a person's life history, preferences, and daily routines are associated with better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia, and that regular GP access is a key marker of effective health monitoring in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often a GP visits the home and what the process is if a resident's health changes between visits. Then ask whether families are routinely included in care plan reviews or whether you would need to request that separately."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Fessey House was rated Outstanding for caring at the March 2019 inspection, the highest rating available and one awarded to fewer than one in ten care homes. This rating reflects inspector findings of strong, consistent evidence of warmth, dignity, respect, and person-centred interactions across the home. Inspectors would have observed staff in action, spoken privately with residents and family members, and reviewed records before awarding this grade. Outstanding for caring is specifically about how staff behave with people day to day, not just whether policies are in place.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: 57.3% of positive reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes mention it by name. An Outstanding caring rating is the strongest possible signal that this was genuinely present at Fessey House when inspectors visited. For people with dementia, the Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as words: whether staff make eye contact, move without hurry, and respond to agitation calmly are as important as anything said aloud. Watch for these behaviours during your visit, because they are the things that are hardest to fake and easiest to observe.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that person-led care, which requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style, is the strongest protective factor for wellbeing in people with dementia living in residential care.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff greet your parent during the tour. Do they use their preferred name without being prompted? Do they pause and make eye contact, or are they moving on to the next task? These small behaviours are the most reliable indicator of whether the Outstanding rating still reflects everyday reality."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Fessey House was rated Good for responsive at the March 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether the home meets individual needs, offers meaningful activities, responds to complaints, and supports people at the end of their lives. The home's range of specialisms suggests it aims to support a varied group of residents with different needs. The published inspection summary does not describe specific activities, one-to-one engagement programmes, or end-of-life planning arrangements.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness accounts for a further 27.1%. These are the areas where families most often say they wish they had asked more questions before choosing a home. Good Practice research consistently shows that group activities alone are not enough for people with advanced dementia: one-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, reminiscence, and sensory activities, is what makes the difference for residents who cannot easily join a group session. The inspection findings do not tell us whether Fessey House offers this level of individual engagement, so it is an important question to raise directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including involvement in everyday tasks such as folding laundry or setting a table, produce significantly better engagement outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for the past four weeks, not just the current week's plan. Ask specifically what happens for a resident who cannot join group sessions: is there a named staff member responsible for one-to-one engagement, and how is that recorded in the care plan?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Fessey House was rated Good for well-led at the March 2019 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. The home is run by Swindon Borough Council as an in-house provider and has a named registered manager, Mrs Sharron Black. Two nominated individuals, Mrs Kelly Keane and Mrs Caroline Little, are also on record. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good for leadership is significant: it indicates that governance problems identified at an earlier inspection were addressed under the current management structure.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Good Practice research shows that homes with consistent, visible leadership, where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, maintain quality more reliably than homes where management changes frequently. A previous Requires Improvement rating followed by a return to Good is a positive signal, but it is worth asking how long the current manager has been in post and whether the senior care team is stable. Our family review data shows that 23.4% of positive reviews mention management quality directly, often noting that a visible and approachable manager made families feel confident. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive mentions, so ask how the home keeps you informed if your parent's needs change.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that leadership stability, specifically a consistent registered manager who is known to staff and residents alike, is one of the most reliable predictors of sustained care quality in residential homes for older people.","watch_out":"Ask Mrs Sharron Black directly how long she has been registered manager at Fessey House and how long the current senior care team has been in place. A stable, experienced leadership team is the most reliable sign that the Good rating from 2019 reflects the home you will see today."}

  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 Fessey House supports residents with various needs including sensory impairments, physical disabilities and mental health conditions. They care for people over 65 who need different levels of support.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialist care tailored to individual needs. The bright, colourful environment can help with orientation and wellbeing. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.