Forest Manor Nursing Home

What families say

Families often mention feeling genuinely welcomed here, with staff creating a warm atmosphere where residents settle in comfortably. The sense of being included extends to relatives too, who appreciate how approachable the team remains.

Based on 13 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-03-18 · Report published 2020-03-18 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for safety. No specific findings, observations, or concerns are recorded in the published summary for this domain. The home is registered and active, with 51 beds across a nursing home setting caring for people with a range of needs including dementia and physical disabilities. Without the full published narrative, it is not possible to confirm what specific safety systems were observed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means inspectors did not find significant concerns around medicines, staffing, falls, or infection control. That is reassuring as a starting point. However, Good Practice research consistently shows that safety can slip at night, when staffing is thinner and oversight is reduced. With 51 beds and a mix of nursing and dementia care needs, the night staffing ratio matters greatly. Our family review data shows that attentiveness of staff is mentioned in 14% of positive reviews, which tells you families notice and remember when someone is paying attention. You should verify the night-time picture yourself before deciding.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing is the point in a 24-hour period where safety most commonly deteriorates in care homes, and that high agency staff use on nights is a specific risk factor for inconsistent care.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual night-shift rota for the dementia unit. Count how many permanent staff were on duty versus agency cover, and ask what the minimum staffing level is if someone calls in sick at short notice."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for effectiveness. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. No specific observations, quotes, or record review findings are included in the published summary. The home's registration covers nursing care and treatment of disease and injury, which means a qualified nurse should be present at all times, but this has not been confirmed in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a care home means staff know what they are doing and the systems around your parent actually work, from GP access to dementia training to the care plan that describes who your parent is and what they need. Food quality is a particularly telling marker: our family review data shows it features in 20.9% of positive reviews, and Good Practice evidence confirms that mealtime experience reflects broader care culture. A home that gets food right, with real choice, appropriate texture, and unhurried support, tends to get other things right too. Ask to visit at lunchtime so you can see this for yourself.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents updated with family input after every significant change, and that homes where families contribute to care planning show better outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and check whether it includes the person's life history, food preferences, communication style, and preferred routines, not just medical information. Ask when it was last reviewed and who was involved."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for caring. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and supporting independence. No inspector observations, resident quotes, or specific examples are available in the published summary. A Good rating here means inspectors were satisfied that care was being delivered with kindness and respect, but the evidence behind that conclusion is not visible in the published text.","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 appear in 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities: they show up in small, observable moments. Does a staff member use your parent's preferred name without being prompted? Do they knock before entering a room? Do they crouch to eye level rather than stand over someone? Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as words for people with dementia, especially as verbal communication becomes harder. A Good inspection rating in this domain is a promising signal, but you need to see it for yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual well enough to read non-verbal cues, and that homes with low staff turnover consistently score higher on dignity indicators because continuity builds that knowledge.","watch_out":"During your visit, walk a corridor with a member of staff and watch whether they acknowledge every person they pass, using a name, a smile, or a brief word. If staff walk past residents without any interaction, that tells you something important about the everyday culture of the home."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for responsiveness. This domain covers activities, engagement, individuality, and end-of-life care. No specific activity programmes, individual care examples, or end-of-life arrangements are described in the published summary. The home's registered specialisms include dementia and mental health conditions, which means the activities programme should be designed to meet a wide range of needs and abilities.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness features in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities appear in 21.4%. But Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not enough, particularly for people in later stages of dementia who may not be able to join a group session. What matters is whether someone comes to your parent's room for a conversation, a hand massage, or to look through a photo album together. A Good rating in responsiveness is encouraging, but ask specifically about one-to-one time. Independence is valued by families too, appearing in 7.4% of reviews, so ask how the home supports your parent to do things for themselves rather than doing everything for them.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including familiar household tasks and sensory activities delivered one-to-one, produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with advanced dementia than group programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator how many hours per week are dedicated to one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot join group sessions. Ask to see the activity records for a resident with advanced dementia to check whether individual sessions are actually happening and being recorded."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for well-led. This domain covers management quality, culture, governance, and accountability. The home is run by ASHA Healthcare (Sutton in Ashfield) Limited, with a nominated individual named in the registration. No specific observations about the manager's visibility, staff culture, or governance systems are recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality matters more than many families realise before choosing a home. Our family review data shows management and leadership features in 23.4% of satisfaction signals. Good Practice research is particularly clear that leadership stability predicts quality over time: a manager who has been in post for several years, who staff trust and who residents recognise, is one of the strongest indicators of a consistently good home. A Good well-led rating tells you inspectors were satisfied with governance and culture. What it cannot tell you is how long the current manager has been in post, whether staff feel able to raise concerns, or how the home would respond to a significant complaint from your family.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear consistently perform better on safety and care quality indicators, and that bottom-up leadership culture is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than top-down compliance systems.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at Forest Manor specifically (not in care management generally), and ask what the staff turnover rate was in the past 12 months. High turnover and a recently appointed manager together are a signal worth taking seriously, even in a Good-rated home."}

  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 support for people living with dementia, mental health conditions, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, families report that staff maintain consistent routines and familiar faces throughout their stay. The team's experience with dementia care shows in their patient approach during difficult moments. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.